On Saturday, March 21, State Senator J.D. Ford, Democratic congressional candidate for Indiana’s 5th district, met with a small group of supporters in the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, 220 N. Union St., Kokomo, to discuss his Social Security plan.
Ford said his plan is built on accountability.
“We are going to, one, scrap the cap so that billionaires must pay the same rate into the system as the autoworker in Kokomo,” Ford said. “This will close the long-term funding gap and extend our ability to pay 100 percent of the benefits that you’ve earned. We’re going to adjust the COLA using the CPI-E so that your cost-of-living increase actually reflects the high cost of your healthcare and housing. We’re going to protect staffing because when you call the Social Security office, you deserve to talk to somebody, to talk to a real human, not wait on hold for hours because of DOGE cuts that gutted our local field offices. The last thing I think we need is a full-time commissioner to oversee and quarterback the Social Security.”
Although he did not discuss it publically, a handout provided to those in attendance also listed caregiver credits as a priority. That point reads, “Let’s give Social Security credits for time spent out of the workforce to care for children or aging parents.”
Ford also announced that he and former President Joe Biden’s Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley will hold a town hall to discuss Ford’s Social Security plan at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Maring-Hunt Library, 2005 S. High St., Muncie. You can find details about that and RSVP online at electjdford.com/event.