 |
 |
November 10th, 2005Americans Against the Raid Petition Drive Launched
November 10th 05:35:08 PM
http://www.americansagainsttheraid.orgStudents for Saving Social Security joins with major partners in renewed fight for reform
Washington, D.C.- Students for Saving Social Security, (S4), a non-partisan student group with over 240 campus chapters in over 40 states, joined forces today with major partners FreedomWorks, The Seniors Coalition, and Citizens Against Government Waste to launch a new movement to advance the cause of Social Security reform.
The groups launched a new website, www.americansagainsttheraid.org to support Senators Santorum and DeMint's efforts to safeguard the annual Social Security trust fund surplus.
The website will host an online petition that will highlight Americans support for tackling reform. The petition is guided by two principles and reads in part:
- Unbeknownst to many Americans, Congress is currently spending Social Security taxes as part of the general budget, not just on Social Security benefits. We applaud Sen. DeMint for putting forth a solution to stop Congress from raiding Social Security taxes.
- Opponents of Social Security reform have misled many retired Americans - and impeded reform in the process - by suggesting that reform will reduce their benefits. This is not true. We applaud Sen. Santorum for offering a solution that will reassure those nearing retirement by guaranteeing that reform will not affect their benefits.
The full text of the petition is available at
Americans Against the Raid will be sponsoring days of action in www.americansagainsttheraid.orgPennsylvania and South Carolina, where the coalition will be collecting signatures on the ground in the two states, and demonstrating support for the Senators’ reform efforts.
continue reading the press release...
Jonathan Swanson, founder and director of S4, www.secureourfuture.org, discussed the purpose of the new campaign, "The petition will show the strong grassroots call for reform. The President and Congress have been mulling over proposals for months now, and the petition says that the people are ready for action. The time for political posturing is over. It is time to get the show on the road and that's exactly what Americans Against the Raid does."
S4's Director of Media Affairs, Chris Schrimpf, added, "There's a dual purpose to Americans Against the Raid just as there is a dual purpose to the work being done by the Senators. Santorum wants to safeguard the Social Security benefits of current retirees, and DeMint wants to safeguard benefits for future generations of retirees. In the same way Americans Against the Raid will show that once current retirees know they will be okay, and that the AARP can no longer use scare tactics on them; they will support reform movements for young Americans. It's a win-win situation for all ages of Americans."
Mr. Swanson concluded, "Americans Against the Raid represents a broad coalition of Americans that recognize the need to fix a broken system. It includes students, professionals, retirees, and activists. It shows that Americans are coming together to get the job done and will not stop until we see reform through."
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
November 09th, 2005Call To Action!!!
November 09th 08:09:32 PM
This week S4 launched Americans Against the Raid in partnership with FreedomWorks, Citizens Against Government Waste, and The Seniors Coalition.
Americans Against the Raid is online petition to support the recent efforts by Sens. Rick Santorum and Jim DeMint to end the raid on the Social Security trust fund. We just launched this, so we need to get as many signatures as possible! It is one of the most important and easiest things you can do to support reform. Visit www.AmericansAgainstTheRaid.org now! Sign the petition and then pass it on to all your friends, family, classmates, and co-workers.
It will only take a minute. Not even a minute. In fact by the time you've read this last paragraph you could've signed up! So, what are you waiting for? Go to www.AmericansAgainstTheRaid.org!!
Expect more exciting news soon...
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
CoMPASS Letter to All House Members
November 09th 06:21:35 PM
Here's the letter sent by CoMPASS to all House members:
Dear Representative:
The Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security (CoMPASS) – comprised of more than 530 business, senior, student and advocacy organizations – believes that provisions to fix Social Security must be included in any retirement security legislation passed by Congress.
Real retirement security requires reforming Social Security, as many of America's retirees rely on Social Security. A stronger Social Security system will mean retirement security for current and future retirees, and CoMPASS urges Congress to pass legislation that reforms pension laws and fixes Social Security.
The need for Social Security reform is an issue that will not go away, as the problem will only get worse – jeopardizing the retirement security of future generations.
continues...
As you know, the longer the debate on Social Security reform goes on, the greater the cost of fixing it will be to the taxpayer. For every year Congress does not act, the cost of reform will grow by $600 billion – or $2,000 per year for every American. That’s an additional cost taxpayers can do without.
CoMPASS members understand that limited time remains in the 2005 Congressional session and that a number of issues are competing for attention. However, we strongly believe that Social Security reform should be part of the priority action list for this fall.
We urge you to show the commitment, leadership and political courage necessary to fix Social Security as part of retirement security legislation, and we are highlighting our commitment to this issue with advertising, grassroots and media outreach.
Specifically, we encourage the House Ways and Means Committee to add Social Security reforms to the retirement security bill, and we urge the full House of Representatives to support these reforms when the legislation comes to the floor.
November 9, 2005
Page 2
The broad and diverse membership of CoMPASS believes that any final Social Security legislation must meet four key principles: It must protect benefits for seniors and those nearing retirement; give younger workers the option of personal retirement accounts; put the program on the path to long-term financial stability; and avoid raising taxes on employers or employees.
We look forward to working with you to seize this opportunity to provide Americans of all generations with a more secure retirement.
Sincerely;
John J. Castellani, President Derrick Max, Executive Director
Business Roundtable and CoMPASS CoMPASS
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (1)
Check It Out!
November 09th 01:21:13 PM
Genertions Together and COMPASS two of S4's allies in the fight for Social Security reform, ran this advertisement in Roll Call today.
The ad asks simply, "Could You Overhaul Your Car Without Fixing The Engine?"
It continues:
Passing retirement reform without including much-needed Social Security reform is like overhauling a car without fixing the engine.
Nine out of 10 Americans know that Social Security is in trouble. There's no question that Social Security is headed down a path of fiscal instability, putting at risk the retirement security of future generations – and the economic security of our nation.
The more than 530 member organizations of the Coalition for the
Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security (CoMPASS) -
representing seniors, students, business and advocacy groups - urge
Congress to include Social Security reform in the retirement security bill.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
In His Own Words
November 09th 10:15:51 AM
"If we do not address the financial challenges facing Social Security, future Congresses will be forced to cut other important government programs, raise additional taxes or issue massive amounts of new debt to meet the obligations to our senior citizens."
-- Remarks by Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) at a February 11 press briefing for the introduction of the Bipartisan Retirement Security Act
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
Student Wins Trimble Foundation Prize for Social Security Essay
November 09th 12:49:22 AM
"Social Security is one of the government’s best accounting illusions, while there seems to be a positive balance in the fund, the receipt of tax dollars are lent to other government agencies to finance current government projects. A look at these facts should make all young Americans concerned:
- The maximum original Social Security tax was just $60. Today it is $11,000.
-Social Security taxes have been raised more than 40 times since the program began.
-The Social Security payroll tax rate has grown from just 2 percent in 1949 to 12.4 percent today.
-A medium income worker born after 1965 can expect a rate-of-return of less than 2% on his or her Social Security taxes.
-In 2005, the Social Security Board of Trustees reported that in 1945, there were about 50 workers paying Social Security taxes for every retired person receiving benefits, and today, there are 3.3 workers. By 2050, when most of today’s college students are looking towards retirement, there will be only 2 workers paying Social Security taxes for every retired person receiving benefits."
Congratulations Constance Liu we couldn't have said it better ourselves. Read the entire essay.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (1)
5 Reasons to Reform Social Security
November 09th 12:14:28 AM
The Institute for Policy Innovation gives us five reasons to support reforming Social Security now:
1) Not doing anything will cost our children and grandchildren more than revamping the system now;
2) The changeover would pump $800 billion plus into the economy. That’s more than 7 percent of the country’s economy.
3) All of this economic activity means government revenues, which would help offset residual costs of the transition.
4) Every worker would have a stake in this country with their retirement plans. Even lower-income workers could amass millions over a 40-year career.
5) Because workers would have their retirement investments riding on the acts of Congress, citizens could and would exercise their right to self-governance more vigorously than ever. It’s called democracy.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
November 08th, 2005What Happens To Social Security After Death?
November 08th 04:07:21 PM
A terrifying take on the real problems some face because of the current Social Security system.
"I gave the eulogy at a friend's funeral earlier this week. He'd been in less than perfect health for a long time, but his sudden death last week caught everyone by surprise. At age 49, he still had a lot things left to do and say.
Now his wife is left with a lot of memories, funeral bills, and the prospect of growing older without the love of her life. She also faces the likelihood of economic disaster since half her family income is gone.
Once she retires in another twelve years, her situation may be even worse."
Read the rest here.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
Lesson From Mexico: Don't Trust Government With Your Money
November 08th 11:14:29 AM
Peter Mork publishes an excellent website where he puts a face to economic issues. The website is appropriately titled, www.economicswithaface.com. One of his most recent entries is "A Lessons from the Braceros: Don’t Trust the Government with your Money". It details the sad story of the Mexican Braceros who were forced to give the Mexican government ten percent of all their earnings to be saved for them for retirement later. Sound familiar? Only for them things didn't turn out so great, the government lost all the money. Read it all here. Anyone want a personal lockbox now?
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
Ellen DeGeneres on Social Security Reform
November 08th 12:11:42 AM
Fans of the NBC drama West Wing were subject to perhaps one of the least funny monologues in the history of television advertising. Before starting the Live Debate, Ellen introduced the show on behalf of American Express.
She talks about how on live television anything can happen, she could go out on stage and say, "You've told us your stance on Social Security, but what about your stance on Social Security cards." She then proceeds to go on about how flimsy they are, etc. All of my friends simply rolled their eyes. There seemed to be consensus that unless you're Chris Rock or House, it's hard to say something funny about Social Security reform. It's no laughing matter.
Listen to it all here.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf| Comments (0)
[Next 10 >>]
|
|
|
|
|
