This week, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Social Security and the promise that after a lifetime of hard work, Americans and their families will not grow old in poverty.
When Social Security was signed into law during the Great Depression, economic instability was a part of everyday life, especially for seniors. Today, some retirees depend on Social Security as a supplemental source of income that helps them get by. For others, it is their only source of income.
We’ve been celebrating Social Security’s anniversary all week. In St. Cloud on Tuesday, Senator Amy Klobuchar and I met Charolette, who is 87. She told us that Social Security helps her get by, but she’s worried about the future. “You wonder about your kids,” she said. “Once I get upstairs, I can’t help them anymore.”
I’m committed to Charolette, and to her children and grandchildren. I will fight to protect Social Security. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, on the other hand, has said we need to be “weaned off” of Social Security. I think we should get what we pay for. We pay into Social Security so we have a stable retirement. We should be able to depend on that.
While the most recent Trustees report shows that the Social Security trust fund grew by $22 billion in 2009, and that it will be solvent through 2037, there is certainly work to be done to keep it strong for generations to come. Of course, Michele Bachmann’s goal is not to offer concrete solutions to the problems she sees.
Unfortunately, Bachmann is more concerned with making headlines than making a difference. This “rhetoric with no results” mentality pervades Washington these days, and bipartisanship is all but a fairytale to some. But if Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan could take action and agree to preserve Social Security, we can, too.
At another event with seniors this past Thursday, former Vice President Walter Mondale put it best:
"We passed Social Security. We improved Social Security. And now it's a basic part of everyone's life. But for some reason in this debate there's a portion of American political leadership that despises the idea that as a community we work together to solve a problem."
I’ve been working together with my neighbors, friends, fellow parishioners at my church, and community my whole life. There is no better reason to come together and get the job done than preserving a secure retirement for us all.
Happy 75th anniversary, Social Security!