A national coalition, Strengthen Social Security, has organized the call-in day for Tuesday, Nov. 30. Find out how to participate.
The latest threat to Social Security comes from the President\'s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, headed by former Republican Senator Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowes, a longtime Wall Street investment banker. Their proposal:
• Raise the retirement age to 69.
• Slash retirement benefits by up to 35 percent for middle-income earners.
• Reduce Social Security\'s annual cost of living adjustments.
• Cut healthcare benefits, including Medicare, and raise fees for veterans.
Commission members are pushing for a vote by the lame duck Congress – or the new Congress that will take office in January.
“Social Security is a promise that must not be broken—we’ve worked hard for it and paid taxes for it. It belongs to our children, our parents, our neighbors and ourselves,” the coalition said in announcing the action.
National Nurses United blasted the commission for proposing an even greater burden on middle-income families — while Corporate America is spared.
“No end to the tax loopholes that enabled corporate giants like Bank of America and Citigroup to pay no federal taxes last year,” the NNU said on its website. “No end to the Bush administration tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. No end to the waste in lives and costs from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Virtually all the sacrifice is expected from retirees and working people, and our veterans.
“Far too many nurses have worked for years with substandard pension programs and inadequate compensation. Only in recent years have many made improvements in retirement security that are now threatened by these unwarranted and disgraceful proposals.”
About 160 million people contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes. About 53 million people receive monthly Social Security benefits, including:
• 34 million receive retirement benefits
• 4.3 million surviving spouses and parents
• 9 million disabled workers and their dependents
• 6.5 million children younger than 18 receive Social Security benefits as dependents of deceased, disabled or retired workers.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security Trust Fund is able to pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2043 without any current changes to the system. Supporters say some changes – such as requiring higher-income people to pay into Social Security on all of their earnings – would be fair and would strengthen the system for many decades into the future.
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A national coalition, Strengthen Social Security, has organized the call-in day for Tuesday, Nov. 30. Find out how to participate.
The latest threat to Social Security comes from the President\’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, headed by former Republican Senator Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowes, a longtime Wall Street investment banker. Their proposal:
• Raise the retirement age to 69.
• Slash retirement benefits by up to 35 percent for middle-income earners.
• Reduce Social Security\’s annual cost of living adjustments.
• Cut healthcare benefits, including Medicare, and raise fees for veterans.
Commission members are pushing for a vote by the lame duck Congress – or the new Congress that will take office in January.
“Social Security is a promise that must not be broken—we’ve worked hard for it and paid taxes for it. It belongs to our children, our parents, our neighbors and ourselves,” the coalition said in announcing the action.
National Nurses United blasted the commission for proposing an even greater burden on middle-income families — while Corporate America is spared.
“No end to the tax loopholes that enabled corporate giants like Bank of America and Citigroup to pay no federal taxes last year,” the NNU said on its website. “No end to the Bush administration tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. No end to the waste in lives and costs from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Virtually all the sacrifice is expected from retirees and working people, and our veterans.
“Far too many nurses have worked for years with substandard pension programs and inadequate compensation. Only in recent years have many made improvements in retirement security that are now threatened by these unwarranted and disgraceful proposals.”
About 160 million people contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes. About 53 million people receive monthly Social Security benefits, including:
• 34 million receive retirement benefits
• 4.3 million surviving spouses and parents
• 9 million disabled workers and their dependents
• 6.5 million children younger than 18 receive Social Security benefits as dependents of deceased, disabled or retired workers.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security Trust Fund is able to pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2043 without any current changes to the system. Supporters say some changes – such as requiring higher-income people to pay into Social Security on all of their earnings – would be fair and would strengthen the system for many decades into the future.