• Organizing
• Mobilizing
• News
• Members
• Political
  • Political Action Committee
  •  Regional Political/ Educational Issues
• Culture
• Links

Regional Political and Educational Issues

STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY, DON'T WEAKEN IT!!!

 The White House should drop its plan to divert tax dollars from Social Security. Instead, all sides and ages must work together to assure the Social Security will always be a safety net for our elderly and disabled.
 The relatively small amounts of additional taxes necessary to assure the continued growth of Social Security benefits for the next 75 years can easily be raised without raising workers' payroll taxes. In a December 16, 2004 news conference, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney stated "President George W. Bush should shore up the nation's most successful family protection program by requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share into the system." He also stated "Bush should transfer the revenue from the estate and gift tax each year to Social Security and Congress could make the highest wage earners pay their fare share to Social Security by raising the cap on earnings subject to payroll tax".
 Bush's scheme to divert Social Security funds to private accounts would lead to benefit cuts, a higher federal deficit and raising the retirement age, according to studies from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Century Foundation.
 Privatizing Social Security would leave retiring survivors of workers who die young and people with disabilities subject to the whims of the stock markets while enriching Wall Street by as much as 940 billion over the next 75 years, according to the study from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. In addition, estimates show transition cost to private accounts could cost the government 2 Trillion.
 For more information on the coalition's response to Bush's Social Security privatization plan visit the website www.ourfuture.org.
We here at the Political Department of Rochester Regional Joint Board believe that every worker should be aware of how this issue will affect their retirement years. We all must get involved. We, as working people, need to write, call or e-mail our representatives in the House and Senate to oppose this administration's scheme to weaken and privatize Social Security. (www.house.gov and www.senate.gov).
 The Political Department will continue to follow this issue and keep you informed of developments on this website.