CWA 1180 - Political Action

Bush's retirement poverty plan
by Linda Jenkins
May 2005

President Bush has been touring the country promoting his so-called plan to “save” Social Security. He claims that the system is in crisis and that establishing private accounts will fix the problem. Well just like there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, there is no crisis in Social Security.

Just look at the facts. According to the Social Security trustees’ report, the program can provide all benefits through the year 2042, with no changes whatsoever. Even after 2042 the program would always be able to pay retirees a higher benefit (in today’s dollars) than what current retirees receive. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that Social Security is even stronger. It projects that Social Security can pay all benefits through the year 2052 with no changes whatsoever. By either measure, Social Security is more financially sound today than it has been throughout most of its history.

The Bush plan puts Social Security in jeopardy and would cut Social Security’s guaranteed life-long benefits by 25 to 50 percent. And those benefit cuts would apply even if a worker chooses not to invest in a private account. Private accounts gamble Social Security benefits in the stock market and leave them open to corporate misconduct. Private accounts would cost more, not less, than the current Social Security system.

Today’s Social Security system spends less than 1 percent of its revenues on administrative costs, but Wall Street management fees for private accounts could suck up as much as 20 percent of a person’s earnings. This plan would in fact create an immediate financial crisis for Social Security by draining an estimated $4.9 trillion from the Trust Fund and increasing the national debt by $1 trillion or more over the next ten years. It is clear that Bush is out to destroy Social Security and what it represents for working families. Remember, Social Security is not only a safety net for retirees, but also for survivors and the disabled. Bush’s proposed changes would drastically cut survivor and disability benefits, too--pushing more people into poverty.

We have to speak out and fight back to save Social Security. That means making sure that our families, co-workers, and communities understand how important this issue is to all our futures. Congress is expected to vote on Social Security legislation later this year. We cannot afford to be silent. We need to make it clear to our members in Congress (especially the Republicans) that we want to strengthen Social Security, not destroy it. It’s up to all of us to contact our senators and representatives and insist that they oppose Social Security privatization.

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