Alliance for Retired Americans Blog

Seniors active in Occupy Wall Street actions across nation

Retirees across the country are joining their younger counterparts in protests against Wall Street greed and failed economic policies.  Numerous events took place this weekend and will continue indefinitely.

Today marks Day 25 of "Occupy Wall Street" actions, spurred by the group Adbusters.

Phillip Meyers, active with the Alliance for Retired Americans in Georgia and the retiree chapter RUFF (Retirees Unite for the Future) reports that yesterday seniors were up bright and early to stake out the turf for the OCCUPY SAVANNAH rally yesterday and stayed despite steady rain and forceful winds. Several were interviewed here:

 

Florida weekend action

Find an #Occupy action near you here

Trumka on the State of our Union

Post by Joshua Roll

Last Wednesday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka gave a passionate speech on the state of our Nation and the choices we have going forward. Using real life examples, of a 9/11 firefighter and child care provider, he called attention to the ever growing inequality in American society, and demonstrated the need to combat it.

Expounding upon Obama’s Tucson speech last week, in which the President urged us, as a nation, to build a future that "lives up to our children's expectations" Trumka outlined a way for our nation to become great again. Trumka criticized both political elites and the ruling class for failing to act while people remain jobless and wages remain stagnant, saying, “we are falling behind because we are governing from fear, not from confidence. And we have let our transnational business titans convince our politicians that our national strength lies in their profits, not our jobs”.

While Trumka paints a bleak picture of America in its current form, he see’s brighter days ahead, an America that makes things again, leads the world in infrastructure, educates it’s citizens, has a booming middle class, cares for the elderly, and provides Jobs for the masses. While achieving these goals in the short term may seem impossible, Trumka highlights a few possible solutions: ending the political bickering, investing heavily in infrastructure and education, and ending tax cuts for the wealthy.

While these solutions offered by Trumka are all common-sense, many politicians do not get elected by standing for common sense issues, they get elected by playing into fear and greed.

This upcoming election in 2012, voters need to take a stand, choose the America they want, a prosperous America that provides Job security and can compete globally or an America that is a “winner-take-all society, a faded casino that pays a big jackpot now, an intolerable future of scant job security, inequality.” It’s truly our choice, we have the power to choose our future and we must make the right decision.

Joshua Roll is a Junior at American University

[Photo from previous Press Club event 7.29.2010]

California Alliance for Retired Americans Fights to Protect Social Security

Re-posted from the California Labor Federation blog www.calaborfed.org

by Katie Gjertson, AFL-CIO and Jody Reid, CARA

Leading up the recent failed vote on the Deficit Commission report, the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) held successful demonstrations in front of Speaker Pelosi’s San Francisco office and Xavier Becerra’s Los Angeles Office.

The Deficit Commission (The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform) was created by an Executive Order signed by President Obama in February. The Executive Order directs the commission to recommend how to reduce the annual deficits to 3% of the national economy by 2015. The Commission has been meeting for eight months of negotiations among the eighteen commissioners - all of whom are Washington insiders who reflect little sense of the everyday realities for the working families who are looking for leadership and job creation from their national leaders.

CARA fully supports the President on the critical need to reduce our nation’s budget deficit, but many  are troubled by the false claim that Social Security is to blame for the deficit, even though the program has not contributed to the federal deficit and maintains a $2.5 trillion surplus. In fact, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), most of the projected budget deficit over the next 10 years will result from President Bush’s tax cuts for the rich, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, skyrocketing health care costs and the continuing effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

CARA’s rally could not have come at a better time as the Deficit Commission zeroed in on cutting Medicare and Social Security. Calling for "No Cuts to Social Security," seniors and union activists sang and rallied in the rain – to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic: 

We don’t know how you make it, as you live from day to day.
With income fixed and prices up, there’s always more to pay.
So minding our arthritis, let us march and sing and say:
Let’s all go bravely on!

Chorus: Holy Moley, it’s our MON-EY. Holy Moley, it’s our MON-EY! Holy Molely, it’s our MON-EY! We paid when we were young!

The debate has just begun. And while it is unlikely the commission will approve a report that will actually reach the floor of the House and Senate, we can be certain that the job-killing plans under the guise of "deficit reduction" will continue. Social Security’s long-term solvency can be resolved by relatively modest adjustments and without cutting benefits. The following are solutions to consider:

· Raise the payroll tax on Social Security taxes for the wealthiest Americans
· Put people back to work in good-paying, decent American jobs.
· Tax the bonuses of the Wall Street millionaires and billionaires who are doing so well.

It's time to put a stop to the  unwarranted claims that Social Security and Medicare are to blame for the deficit -- we must fight against the Commission’s detrimental ideas, includling raising the retirement age. Learn more at www.CaliforniaAlliance.org.

Happy Birthday Social Security!

Social Security celebrates its 75th birthday today and Alliance activists and Americans nationwide continue celebratory parties and events.

The week of August 1st, Alliance members held several events in Arizona, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina in advance of the birthday.

Last week, over 50 Alliance events took place in communities across the states, and festivities continue next week.

Social Security is a true American success story, one that has kept generations of seniors out of poverty, and allowed millions to retire with dignity and peace of mind. Because this landmark anniversary is tainted by the deficit commission's calls to cut Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age, Alliance activists are busier than ever staging events to celebrate and educate across the country. Check out very personal accounts from Alliance members about how Social Security has impacted their lives here.

Festivities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa recently helped spread the word that Social Security puts $7.2 billion into the Iowa economy by releases on Social Security matters coinciding with birthday celebrations. The Social Security Works for Iowa report adds, "Without Social Security, half (50.8) percent of Iowa women aged 65 or older would have incomes below the poverty line." U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) joined the celebration in Cedar Rapids and added his personal story about Social Security survivor benefits. The Congressman told attendees that without Social Security survivor benefits, he would not have made it through college. Other state reports here.

Yesterday, seniors in Omaha, Nebraska gathered to join the month-long, national commemoration of Social Security and the people it serves. ‘With more than 50 million people receiving Social Security benefits today, the program helps virtually every American family,” Donna M. McGrath, Secretary of the Nebraska Alliance said. “Beyond the candles and the cake, we have a more serious message – Social Security must be remain strong for current and future retirees.”

Members nationwide speak out on the issue. Here is Don Thacker from South Carolina:

Jo Price from Florida also shares her thoughts on Social Security:

Check out some news clips including interviews with Alliance members here:

Wisconsin

• 'Social Security celebrates 75 years' - Wisconsin Radio Network
  Billy Feitlinger is Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. “We feel very strongly, if it is not the greatest program that the federal government has done, it’s clearly one of the most successful programs. And we feel very strongly right now that it’s under attack.
• Seniors celebrate the 75th anniversary of social security - WEAU Channel 13 Eau Claire
  Social security provides benefits to more than one million Wisconsinites. Besides sharing a cake, speakers discussed the importance of social security and the adjustments needed to have it for future generations.

North Carolina

• Etheridge visits Louisburg Senior Center to celebrate Social Securit's 75th anniversary - The Franklin Times
  With a 75-year-old as the guest of honor, the Louisburg Senior Center was the appropriate place for a birthday party.

Connecticut

• 75 years of Social Security celebrated (video) - The New Haven Register
  NEW HAVEN — A 75th birthday party was held Wednesday for the nation’s Social Security Act, and guests, including U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, wished for many, many more.

California

• Senior Group Plans SF Social Security Rally - KPIX CBS Channel 5 San Francisco
  ... several organizations in San Francisco are warning against suggestions by some in Washington, D.C. to cut Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age in order to fix the federal government's deficit woes.

Alliance leaders speak out:

• 'A federal plan that works' - Toledo Blade letter from Sam Burnett
  Social Security has been the lifeblood of people age 65 and older. Without monthly Social Security payments, nearly half of Americans over 65 would live in poverty.
  Help us celebrate this successful government program, which is run by fine people who care about senior citizens.

• Alliance President Barbara Easterling's column on Huffington Post commemorates Social Security's 75th birthday.

Happy birthday Social Security... and many more!

Alliance Executive Director Edward F. Coyle Testifies In Front Of Fiscal Commission

On Wednesday, June 30, the president's Fiscal Commission met to discuss the nation's mid- and long-term fiscal challenges. However, the conversation was almost entirely dominated by the topic of federal health care spending.

The meeting included an "open-mike," in which witnesses were given a chance to speak. Alliance Executive Director Ed Coyle (at right) addressed the Commission: "Retirees are deeply disturbed by talk coming out of this Commission about cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age." He also decried AmericaSpeaks for recommending that the retirement age be raised to 69, which would reduce benefits and be devastating for American workers. Coyle suggested raising the payroll tax cap for the wealthiest Americans in order to further strengthen Social Security's financial structure.

CNN Money's feature article, which summarized the recommendations given during the "open-mike" session, included a declaration by Mr. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans: "Social Security did not cause these deficits -- it has a $2.5 trillion surplus and a dedicated source of revenue."

Additionally, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) director Doug Elmendorf testified, presenting the CBO's latest report on the long-term federal budget. Most members of the Commission were concerned that the CBO's projections pertaining to the new health care law's effects understate its potential to reduce costs.

The fiscal commission is set to meet three more times before it drafts its recommendation for Congress and the President. The next meeting is set for July 28.

To view Mr. Coyle's testimony in front of the Fiscal Commission on Youtube, click here.

States Keep Close Eye on Commission Meetings

Field Update by Terry Lochhead-

New Hampshire Alliance members braved Wednesday's heat wave to warn commuters outside Sen. Judd Gregg's Concord NH office that he wants to raid Social Security to pay down the national debt. Gregg met in Washington, D.C. with the new Fiscal Commission charged with identifying a means of reducing the nation's deficit.

New Hampshire residents gathered with signs that read: "It's the defense budget Judd, not Social Security" and "Sen. Gregg: Social Security and Medicare are not the problem."

More photos here.

Social Security facts and commission background here.

Seniors in Today's Economy - new fact sheet

Over 94 million Americans aged 50 and older who are approaching retirement or already retired have been greatly impacted by the slumping economy, according to the Urban Institute.  Seniors on low and fixed incomes are being dealt the harshest blow, suffering increased costs due to higher food, home energy and health care costs.  Social service agencies are being flooded with calls from frail elders who are worried about how they’ll make ends meet on Social Security checks and dwindling savings.  Many seniors are faced with gut-wrenching and unacceptable solutions to their economic situations:  They are splitting pills or deciding not to refill prescriptions.  They’re missing doctors’ appointments, skipping needed dental work, or canceling home-care services.  While the value of a dollar may be diminishing, the value of our aging senior population is not.  It is time to return our gratitude to older Americans by adequately funding programs and services that serve our seniors.   

Impact of Today’s Economy on Seniors:

• One out of every 10 senior citizens is living in poverty.

• In 2008, almost 12 percent of women and 7 percent of men 65 and older lived in poverty.

• Over the last 12 months, retirement accounts have lost over 17 percent of their value.

• The rate of bankruptcy among those ages 65 and older has more than doubled since 1991.

• The collapse of the housing bubble has resulted in the destruction of most or all of a retiree’s home equity savings. 

• Many elderly men and women have stopped going out, increasing their isolation at home and the potential for depression or neglect.

• The number of seniors relying on food stamps to meet their everyday nutrition needs is steadily climbing. 

• The number of unemployed people ages 55 and older more than doubled from November 2007 to August 2009, a historic high for this age group. 

Download DOWNLOAD NEW FACT SHEET pdf

Download DOWNLOAD NEW FACT SHEET msword

'Billionaires for Social Insecurity' Gather at Pete Peterson Event

Today, Peter Peterson and his foundation convened a closed-door meeting of Wall Street billionaires and millionaires at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building in D.C. 

Peterson is a former CEO of Lehman Brothers and former chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He underwrites the foundation with his own money, and his agenda is not a secret.

Peterson says the coming retirement of baby boomers is a threat to the economy and the federal budget. He wants to see significant cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits, and would prefer a stream-lined process via a commission to implement these changes to "reduce the deficit." 

After taxpayers bailed out Wall Street for over $700 billion, Peterson is worried about the deficit. And, of course the real problem is... Social Security. (The problem certainly would not be recent tax cuts, unfunded wars, and billions of taxpayer dollars squandered on bonuses to the very financial managers who brought the economy to near-ruin.)

Let's look at the facts:

• Social Security has a $2.5 trillion surplus, which is enough to pay benefits for 25 years or more.
• Without Social Security, 55% of severely disabled workers and their families would live in poverty; 47% of elderly households would live in poverty; another 1.3 million children would fall into poverty
• Social Security’s long-term solvency can be resolved by relatively modest adjustments and without cutting benefits.

The group today which included Alan Greenspan; Robert Rubin; Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI); Erskine Bowles; John Castellani; Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH); and Bill Clinton, didn't catch the show outside the Ronald Reagan Building over lunch hour.  Some "Billionaires for Social Insecurity" in tuxedos and gowns countered the secret meeting inside with a more public ask of the public (today this happened to include large groups of children on field trips) to donate their Social Security benefits so that they, the billionaires, could continue business as usual.

PHOTOS

Retiree voices heard in wake of massive pension cuts

Post by Norm Wernet

Last week, the Alliance for Senior Action, an Ohio Alliance affiliate, organized a meeting for retirees to speak directly to the elected officials and political power brokers. Faced with daily notices in the mail that the pensions they worked for are being slashed 40-70%, Delphi retirees wanted to send a message about fair and equal treatment for all retirees and the economic impact on the region.

ASA leaders Elizabeth Knauf, president of IUE-CWA 717 retirees, and Melissa Long, a community activist, organized this public forum bringing together retirees both union and non-union, labor and management, hourly and salaried. Together the retirees sent a message about accountability in our businesses and in our government.

As one fellow said:

"I am the second generation to work a lifetime for a pension and have it pulled out from under me. I don’t want this to happen to my children. I want results."

The Community Advocacy Network (CAN) developed by the Alliance nationally is at work on the ground here in Ohio. The message is simple retirement security is a matter of economic and social justice.

The Alliance for Senior Action as a CAN has the advantage of bringing many views and experiences together. Steelworkers who went through this in the 1980’s helped members of the coalition learn strategies and tactics to get the issues in front of the public and those in power.

The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans is strengthened by the willingness of local activists to continue campaigns like this for administrative action and legislative solutions. The ASA is an example of how retiree and senior voices can get heard.

"We cannot have a solid, stable retirement unless we have a solid, stable middle class."

Former Alliance President George Kourpias said this winter, "We cannot have a solid, stable retirement unless we have a solid, stable middle class." (Download Full statement)

Kourpias' sentiments apply to the current economic and job crisis in America.

Today new AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke at the Economic Policy Institute's (EPI) “Spotlight on Jobs” conference.

Trumka pointed out that "Over a period when we needed to create 2 million jobs just to keep up with population growth, we have lost more than 8 million jobs.  That’s more than 10 million jobs in the hole since the recession began in 2007.  And we have not yet hit bottom."

He laid out the AFL-CIO's 5-point plan for creating and saving at least 2 million jobs over the next year. This plan includes:

• Extending unemployment benefits, food assistance and health care for the unemployed
• Putting America to work on our broken infrastructure
• Boosting aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services & prevent more layoffs
• Dirctly creating jobs that put people to work in communities meeting pressing needs
• Putting TARP funds to work for Main Street

Download Trumka statement at EPI Jobs Conference