MALVEAUX: We're going to put aside the polls for a minute. Where do the candidates really stand on the issues that matter to you most? All this week we are honing in on the critical campaign issues. Today, it is Social Security. Such a controversial hot-button issue, normally, nobody wants to touch it. But several Republican candidates see making cuts to Social Security as necessary to getting the economy back on track. So, many of them also support Representative Paul Ryan's plan to encourage retirees to buy private insurance as a way of taking pressure off the Social Security system. For the most part, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman both back the Ryan plan, which would reduce Social Security benefits for everyone except current retirees. That is part of an effort to reduce the overall federal deficit. Mitt Romney says he is on the same page as the Ryan plan. He would consider raising the retirement age and limiting the amount of money high-income retirees get. Newt Gingrich originally called the Ryan plan too radical but more recently he walked back his criticism. He said he'd back the bulk of those changes. Ron Paul believes that Social Security is unconstitutional but should be maintained for the time being to benefit seniors who count on it. He also thinks that young Americans should be able to withdraw from Social Security and make their own investments. Rick Perry has called Social Security a ponzi scheme and a failure. He believes states ought to be able to opt out of Social Security and design their own programs. And he backs gradually raising the retirement age. Tomorrow, we're going to be taking a hard look at where the candidates stand on another hot-button issue. We're going to talk about immigration. That is at 11:00 eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM."
Where GOP Candidates Stand on Social Security