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Social Security
A labor perspective |
An AFL-CIO perspective on
the Social Security debate
[2-5-05]
The "Working Families e-Activist
Network," a program of the AFL-CIO, has distributed an analysis of what
they see as "the high price working families would pay for privatization -
in benefit cuts, new government debt and the potential Enron-ization of
America's most successful family protection program."
Social Security:
Spread the Truth
Dear Working Families e-Activist:
When the president talks to America about
something as serious as working families' retirement security, we need to
hear sound facts and straight talk. But that's not what we heard from
President Bush in last night's State of the Union address.
Click here to get
the facts on Social Security privatization.
He didn't say working people would end up
with lower benefits under Social Security privatization. He didn't talk
about the high price working families would pay for privatization--in
benefit cuts, new government debt and the potential Enron-ization of
America's most successful family protection program. Here's what you didn't
hear--please share these facts:
 | With private pensions and public
employee retirement plans under attack, working families need more
retirement security, not less. But privatizing Social Security would make
retirement less secure by cutting guaranteed benefits by 30 percent even
for workers who do not choose privatized accounts.
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| For workers who do choose to have
privatized accounts, the government would take back 50 cents for every $1
in an account--on top of the 30 percent cut in guaranteed benefits.
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| For the average worker who lives 20
years beyond retirement, that's a $152,000 cut in guaranteed benefits.
Privatization would push many more seniors into poverty.
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| Privatization would hurt the economy and
explode the deficit, passing on $2 trillion in debt to our children during
the first decade alone. Most of that money would be borrowed from foreign
bankers in China and Japan.
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| Privatization would open Social Security
up to corruption, waste and Enron-ization because politicians would
hand-pick which Wall Street investment companies could make billions off
our privatized accounts. Decisions about Americans' retirement security
should be based on what's best for average people, not tied to
politicians' wealthy friends or companies that have political influence.
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| We must strengthen Social Security--but
we must take the time to do it right so we help rather than hurt working
families. We should be talking about commonsense fixes for Social Security
rather than slashing benefits. First, we must insist the government pay
back money that's been borrowed from the Social Security trust fund. We
also could end the "wealthy wage exemption" so CEOs pay the same Social
Security taxes on their incomes as average working people pay on theirs.
We could roll back President Bush's most excessive tax breaks for the very
wealthy. And we can help working families build private pensions and
savings on top of guaranteed Social Security. |
Americans deserve the Social Security
benefits we have paid for--we will not accept a privatization plan that
makes retirement less secure. And we will not accept the notion that keeping
our older Americans out of poverty is not "fiscally sustainable" while tax
breaks for millionaires are.
Last night President Bush may have been
fuzzy about his plans for Social Security--but he made it clear that when he
talks about fiscal discipline, he means disciplining working families and
America's most vulnerable--the children, the poor and people with
disabilities--to create and preserve policies that benefit the very rich. He
made it clear that when he talks about an "ownership" society, he really
means a "you're on your ownership" society. Count on the budget he proposes
next week to make this even clearer.
To get more information on Social Security,
including fact sheets and printable fliers, visit the AFL-CIO Social
Security website at
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/t7aC1S91rcvQ/
Thank you for acting to protect Social
Security for working families.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network,
AFL-CIO Feb. 3, 2005
*Based on analyses of the report by the
President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security.
You can sign up for Working Families
e-Activist Network at
http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/join.html?r=ydaC1S91-uBrE
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