Alliance for Retired Americans Blog

Tell Your U.S. Rep. to Co-Sponsor Cicilline Resolution Opposing the Chained CPI

This week, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives expressing clear opposition to using the chained CPI method to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security benefits. In light of recent budget proposals that include chained CPI, it is crucial that Rep. Cicilline’s resolution receives a high level of support. More than 2,600 members of the Alliance have already contacted their Members of Congress asking them to co-sponsor the resolution. The Cicilline resolution is H. Con. Res. 34 and has 81 co-sponsors listed here.(Rep. Cicilline pictured at right with Rhode Island Alliance President John Pernorio)

To see why the Alliance opposes using the chained CPI and to add your voice to the cause, click here!

As a reminder, more than 4,800 Alliance activists have signed a letter to the White House opposing the Chained CPI. Help us reach 5,000 here!

On Grandparents Day, Generations Unite for Social Security

by John A. Pernorio and John J. Pernorio. John A. Pernorio is the President of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans.

As a Grandfather and Father, we hope that this year’s Grandparents Day, September 9th, can inspire different generations to work together to preserve Social Security.

Social Security is one of America’s greatest success stories. For over 75 years, it has helped retirees stay healthy and out of poverty. The senior poverty rate is now five times lower than it used to be. But Social Security is important to more than just seniors. Social Security helps workers who suffer career-ending injuries and illness, as well as children who have lost a parent. We used to be a nation where people worked until they died, but now Social Security gives workers of all ages hope that they may enjoy a safe and secure retirement.

Despite the decades of success, younger people remain quite skeptical about Social Security. A recent poll by the Associated Press showed that only 20 percent of people 35 and under believe they will receive Social Security. Why this cynicism? We believe it is because many in politics and the media perpetuate the false and corrosive myth that Social Security both is going bankrupt and causes our budget deficit. The more this is repeated, the more it is believed – but it is still false.

Here are the facts: Social Security has not added a penny to our deficit. It is fully paid for by worker and employer payroll taxes, and the Social Security Trust Fund has a $2.7 trillion surplus. The talk of greater life expectancy (and the assumption that you should spend those extra years at work!) is misleading. A lower infant mortality rate has raised overall life expectancy, but it has remained nearly the same once people enter adulthood. In fact, any gains that have been made have been almost exclusively for the highest income and education levels, not for the physically-demanding blue collar and service sector workers who would suffer terribly if the retirement age were increased to 70, as some in politics have suggested. John J., for example, has a very demanding physical job and at age 41 has already had a total hip replacement. Continuing at the present occupation to age 70 is not an option.

The average retiree on Social Security receives $1200 per month. If people think the government spends too much, they should not criticize these modest Social Security benefits retirees paid for throughout their working years, but rather tax breaks for big corporations and two long wars that were put on the nation’s credit card. The Social Security Trust Fund could be significantly strengthened for the long-term by simply requiring the highest earners to pay Social Security payroll taxes at the same rate that the rest of American earners do.

Not only is the future of Social Security clouded in misinformation, but it gives too many people the chance to play the politics of divide and conquer. Politicians and pundits try to pit one generation against the other to advance their own agendas. This is insulting because it assumes people only care about themselves and others their own age. People are better than that, and in 2012, life is more complicated than that. Generations are more intertwined than ever before. What affects one person in a family great affects everyone else.

While it often seems like we live in complicated, fractious times, we still believe that more unites us than divides us. Regardless of when and where we were born, or what we do each day, we all want to live a healthy, secure life and enjoy dignity and peace of mind. While September 9 may be officially known as Grandparents Day, we hope it is a day that brings generations together to improve the lives of people of all ages.

HAPPY 77TH BIRTHDAY SOCIAL SECURITY - THANK YOU FDR

A message from John Pernorio, President of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans

Today, August 14, 2012, Social Se curity celebrates its 77th birthday. Before Social Security, seniors worked until the day they died because they could never afford to retire. This week, retirees across the country celebrate the program that they contribute to in their working years and can rely on for modest benefits when they need it most. The program is more important than ever with the decline of defined-benefit pensions, plummeting 401ks and scanty savings.

I get upset when I hear politicians or TV commentators talk about how we should cut Social Security benefits. Politicians have talked for a long time about turning Social Security over to Wall Street, cutting benefits and raising the retirement age. Easy for them to say – maybe they have trust funds that the rest of us don’t.

As a retired Teamster, it bothers me when people think that Social Security is a hand-out or a give-away. The truth is we paid for it every day we worked. I know how important Social Security is to our community. Social Security helps seniors, persons with disabilities, widows, and children who have lost a parent. For many of these people, I just don’t know how they would survive without Social Security.

Working men and women paid for their Social Security through taxes that came out of every pay check of their lives, so it has nothing to do with our budget deficit. Our government must honor its commitment to workers, and if we want to lower the deficit, let’s instead take away all those tax breaks for millionaires and big corporations.

What are my children and grandchildren going to do? They are having a hard time of it now, so what will it be like for them when they retire? They’ll definitely need Social Security, so let’s make sure the politicians don’t take it away.

Social Security is a smart, responsible way to prepare for your retirement. A small amount of money comes out of each paycheck, week after week, year after year. Then, when you retire, that money is there for you.

Not only does this make perfect sense, but it’s also something we have earned and deserve. I know we need to lower the budget deficit, but I think we should start with unnecessary corporate tax breaks people don’t need, and not the Social Security that we have worked hard for all our lives.

Some candidates have promoted the ideas of turning Social Security over to Wall Street through privatization, cutting benefits and raising the retirement age to 70. There are better ways to strengthen the Social Security Trust Fund that don’t compromise this important lifeline. And there are definitely better ways to lower our national deficit, which Social Security did not contribute to.