Alliance for Retired Americans Blog

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.

Wisconsin Leaders Honored

Wisconsin Alliance Executive Director Billy Feitlinger was recently honored by the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups (CWAG) with the Alfred Hirsch Award for Outstanding Work as a Legislative Advocate.  He received this award with his friend, David Newby, the President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  

Newby (at left) and Feitlinger (at right) were honored together for their outstanding leadership and lifetime service as advocates on behalf of working Americans. 

William "Billy" Feitlinger has been the Executive Director of the WI Alliance for Retired Americans since  its inception in 2005. He has worked to advance public policy that affects older Americans and stays committed to improving their lives. Feitlinger educates seniors at community centers, nursing homes, in labor unions and other senior organizations about issues such as Medicare, Social Security and health care reform.

Prior to the passage of the new health law, Feitlinger traveled the state to make sure seniors understood the truth about its contents. He now educates seniors on how the new law affects them.  He also advocates to protect Social Security, especially in this crucial time when a new Fiscal Commission threatens cuts to the program.

David Newby, President of the 250,000-member Wisconsin AFL-CIO since 1994, has long fought for economic justice in the workplace and social justice in society. He was very pro-active in the state's charge to improve access to affordable, quality health care for Wisconsin families.

In 2003, Newby and the state federation created the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan - a dynamic health care proposal offering unique solutions to the health care crisis. In 2007, the state federation's plan was integrated with other universal health care proposals to create the "Healthy Wisconsin: Your Choice, Your Plan," which serves as a national model for further health care reform.

Wisconsin Alliance member Judy Burnick said, "Under their leadership, working together, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the Wisconsin ARA have formed a firm partnership to protect the health and economic security of seniors that rewards work, strengthens families and builds thriving communities. Both David and Billy are examples of what leaders in this movement should strive to be."

Coalition Unites to Defend Social Security

On Thursday, more than 60 groups, including the Alliance, announced the creation of the coalition “Strengthen Social Security…Don’t Cut It.” The new coalition pushes back against the Fiscal Commission assertions (backed by the Wall Street spin machine) that claim Social Security is a major component of the budget deficit and is teetering on the brink of disaster.

In a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the group outlined plans to build support in Congress to fight benefits cuts and press candidates this election to push back against any move to raise the retirement age or privatize the program. “We are united by our concerns over the new Fiscal Commission, which operates in virtual secrecy and with a fundamentally flawed understanding of how Social Security is financed and operates.  There is no government financial commitment at all.  Every dime comes from workers and employers,” Ed Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance, said at the event. 

The new group’s web site http://www.strengthensocialsecurity.org features great new videos and information.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee said: "We have a message for the Commission: Don't turn Social Security intothe scapegoat for the deficit. Social Security is not the problem. Don't raise the retirement age. Don't tamper with the COLA. If you break the promise that was made to America's working families, we'll hold you accountable."

Photos

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.