From MoveOn:
Social Security provides monthly benefits to some 44 million Americans who are retired, disabled or the survivor of a deceased parent. It provides most of the income for older Americans--some 64 percent of their support. It has lifted generations of seniors out of poverty.
Social Security is not in crisis. That is an outright lie perpetrated in order to create the urgency for radical changes. Under conservative forecasts, the long-term challenges in Social Security do not manifest themselves until 2042. Even then Social Security has 70 percent of needed funds. That shortfall is smaller than the amount needed in 1983, the last time we overhauled Social Security. George Bush's Social Security crisis-talk is an effort to create a specter of doom -- just like the weapons of mass destruction claim in Iraq.
Phasing out Social Security and replacing it with privatized accounts means one thing: massive cuts in monthly benefits for everybody. Social Security privatization requires diverting taxes used to pay current benefits into privatized accounts invested in risky stocks. Without that money Social Security benefits will inevitably be cut - some proposals even cut benefits of current retirees. These benefit cuts are inevitable, since diverting Social Security money into privatized accounts means less money to pay current and future benefits.
Every serious privatization proposal raises the Social Security retirement age to 70. That might be fine if you're a Washington special interest lobbyist but it is incredibly unfair to blue-collar Americans with tough, physical jobs, or for African Americans and Latinos with lower life expectancies.
Privatization means gambling with your retirement security. There is probably an appropriate place for a little stock market risk in retirement planning -- but it isn't Social Security. Privatization exposes your entire retirement portfolio to stock market risks -- and the risk that you'll outlive any of your savings at retirement. You can't outlive your Social Security benefit.
So who does benefit? Wall Street. Giant financial services firms have been salivating for decades over the prospect of taking over Social Security. Wall Street would make billions of dollars in profit by managing the privatized accounts -- money that would come directly from your benefits.
Action is urgently needed today. President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress are joining forces with the financial services industry for a major campaign to convince the public there is a major crisis and pressure members of Congress to vote for privatization. Action is needed now before it is too late. Please sign MoveOn’s petition to protect Social Security at the link below.
http://www.moveon.org/socialsecurity/
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2 comments:
I sure like your blog site! I have added it to my favorites, so I can find it again.
Terribly worried about Social Security, as Dubya is gunning for it. Once again, he is pulling his tricks out of his hat and from up his sleeve... Those include using the weight of the media to push his "cause," disinformation, intimidation and threat tactics against those unwilling, and of course his greatest trick: fear. What is worrisome is that while many astute citizens will see his slight of hand for what it truly is--a con, the rest of the, shall we say, "ignorant types" will be fooled once again... The ignorant types don't yet understand that Dubya is not their drinking buddy or their friend or the great moral leader of our time. They don't get it that he does not care the least little bit about the common man. He actually once said, "Poor people are lazy people." This is from the guy who has had a silver spoon in his mouth since the day he was born and whenever he faced economic ruin (as he ran his own companies into the ground), his daddy or the Saudis covered his rear-end. He hasn't got a clue about the life of the average person living paycheck to paycheck and trying to provide the best for their kids. Compassionate conservative? I think not. So, someday when Jill Q. Public, age 72, is digging through the dumpster behind a restaurant for a bit of food, she will be able to thank this ridiculous man for "saving" Social Security. It's well known that before Dubya was ever made president in 2000, he had pledged to "privatize" (aka destruct) Social Security and overthrow Saddam Hussein... He's got one of his wishes, but I hope and pray he does not get the other one.
Wow, thank you for the kind words and the great response. I've only been blogging for a relatively short time, so it's a thrill to get a comment.
You point out some important things. One is Bush's tried-and-true use of fear, which is probably the best way to incite a riot - er, I mean, garner support. I also agree that it is weirdly ironic that so many people think Bush is a good-ol-boy drinkin' buddy, when he is really a truer example of the blue-blood, old-money "elite" that they hold in such contempt. You're right, he has never had to work a day in his life, and has no concept of what it means to struggle to pay rent and buy groceries. He'll never struggle in his old age, and what's more, he has never seen anyone else in his wealthy circle have to struggle in their old age (unless a family servant managed to remain in their employ that long).
Here's what I expect to see happen if Bush succeeds in privatizing social security: a financial bust (like the savings and load scandal in which his brother Neil was involved) will decimate old peoples' savings, and those old republicans will come crying to the government asking to share in whatever liberal social programs are still around to save them. And, in our compassion, we liberals will help them if we are able (which I am okay with), but it will increase the burdon on everyone else.
At least we know history will judge this man very harshly.
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