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Union Labor News / 2008 / September / Article

Retirees: Vote Nov. 4 To Save Social Security

Retired union activists gathered to light candles and eat birthday cake to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of Social Security, August 14, at the Warner Park Community Center.

Seventy-three years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Today, more than 42 million Americans count on that monthly check to help buy groceries, pay the rent or get medicine. For all these 73 years, Social Security has never missed a payment.

Social Security: Here Today,
And Still Here Tomorrow

On August 14th Social Security celebrated its 73rd anniversary, a good time to reflect upon a program that allows us to retire after a lifetime of work and keeps millions of people out of poverty.

But advocates for privatization continue to paint a bleak picture of Social Security’s future, and the message has reached young adults in particular: 73 percent born between 1977 and 1994 believe the program will no longer exist when they retire.

The reality is far more optimistic.

Since the early 1980s, Social Security has been taking in more in worker contributions than it has been paying out in benefits. This has resulted in a growing trust fund of more than $2 trillion. These reserves are projected to grow for another decade, and then will decline and run out in 2041. If no action is taken, benefits will have to be cut by about 25 percent, as they will be funded entirely from current contributions. Even if lawmakers allowed this to happen, future retirees will receive benefits that are more generous than those received by previous generations. Retiring at 65, the typical young adult born between 1980 and 1990 will receive retirement benefits valued at $188,000 in 2007 dollars, up from $181,000 for retirees born between 1960 and 1970.

The bottom line is that Social Security is in good shape – we should all be so lucky at age 73. Changes to shore up the program’s financing and make it more progressive are warranted, but there is no crisis, and certainly no need to rush to dramatic reform.

–By Alexander Hertel, Economic Policy Institute

But if retirees, people with disabilities and other Social Security beneficiaries had to count on Wall Street and the stock market to ensure Social Security’s stability – as Sen. John McCain, President Bush and other Republican privatizers of Social Security have long sought – that reliability would replaced by an unacceptable risk. That’s the message members of the Alliance for Retired Americans were spreading in dozens of Social Security celebrations and rallies across the country.

“If we privatize Social Security, the average retiree will lose $134,000 in benefits during 20 years of retirement,” said Darold (Dode) Lowe, president of AFSCME Retirees Subchapter 52 and treasurer of the Wisconsin Alliance of Retired Americans, speaking at the birthday celebration.

McCain Dangerous for Seniors Seniors should not forget that in remarks at a July 7 forum in Denver, McCain called Social Security “a disgrace,” said Lowe. According to the Washington Post, McCain said “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.” “Unlike Senator John McCain, the members of the Alliance for Retired Americans do not think Social Security is a disgrace. We are disturbed that Sen. McCain appears to misunderstand the basic financing mechanism of Social Security,” said Lowe. “We are a nation in which Americans support one another.”

Unlike McCain, who has voted to privatize Social Security, Sen. Barack Obama has voted to strengthen Social Security and strongly opposes privatization. He also pledged not to cut benefits or raise the retirement age, two options McCain says are “on the table.”

Obama’s Pledge Also marking the occasion, Sen. Obama made the following pledge: “On this anniversary of Social Security, let’s reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that Social Security remains a safety net that seniors can count on today, tomorrow, and always.

“As President, I will protect Social Security for today’s seniors and future generations. That means strengthening Social Security’s solvency while protecting middle class families from benefit cuts, tax increases or increases in the retirement age. It means treating Social Security not as a political football or describing it as an “absolute disgrace,” but instead honoring it as the cornerstone of the social compact in this country.

“And it means opposing efforts to privatize Social Security, as I did when President Bush proposed risky private accounts a few years ago. Privatization is wrong and tears at the fabric of Social Security – the very idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a secure, earned retirement to the whims of the market. The Bush privatization plan that Senator McCain now embraces would tell millions of elderly Americans that they’re on their own, putting them at risk of falling into poverty.”