A Greek proverb comes to mind when I think about the work that the folks at the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans are doing to protect social security from privatization:
Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
The proposed reforms to programs like social security are an issue that young people and Gen X-ers should be screaming about from the rooftops, but until they start, the folks in this picture and millions more like them are going to champion the cause on their behalf. Senator Toomey was recently pretty deceitful about his record on social security policy, when he was interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, claiming he “didn’t remember” whether or not he supported full social security privatization. In fact, (spoiler alert) Pat Toomey literally wrote a book about the topic.
Let’s check out what Wayne Burton, the president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, had to say about Senator Toomey yesterday when they rallied in Harrisburg:
Hello. I am Wayne Burton, President of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans. We are a grassroots advocacy organization of 4.4 million people who are fighting to protect retirement security for all Americans.
In Pennsylvania we have more than 300,000 members. And our members are united in the belief that we must strengthen our Social Security system, which is critical to the retirement security of older Americans now and has been for the last 81 years.
To date, our senator, Pat Toomey has not agreed with us. That’s why today we’re here to launch a campaign to try to educate Senator Toomey about the benefits of Social Security for all Pennsylvanians, and demand that he sign this document and publicly agree protect Social Security for the millions of current and future Pennsylvania retirees.
In 2009, Pat Toomey literally wrote the book on Social Security privatization. In his book, The Road to Prosperity, his ideas about our Social Security system are discussed at length. And his votes against retirees stretch go back even further, to 2001 when President George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security.
But oddly, Senator Toomey recently told a Pennsylvania reporter than he “can’t remember” whether or not he said he favors Social Security privatization.
Let us help refresh his memory.
It’s pretty simple. Establishing private accounts for some or all current or future retirees is privatization. And privatizing Social Security even for just a small number of workers will wind up weakening it for us all.
In fact, Senator Toomey has been very clear about his desire to shift from guaranteed, earned Social Security benefits to risky, 401(k) type accounts.
He’s written op-eds and urged other members of his party to adopt his views.
He hasn’t convinced us. Retirees have seen too many boom and busts over the years, and the suffering of too many of our friends and family members who are still suffering from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on their savings.
We can never allow Social Security, which has kept generations of seniors out of poverty for 80 years, to be put into the hands of Wall Street.
Simply put, replacing a guaranteed Social Security benefit with risk based accounts is a risk we are not willing to take.
We do believe that Social Security needs to be expanded and the trust fund needs to be strengthened for future generation. Sen. Toomey voted against expanding Social Security. He voted NO on an Amendment proposed last year by Senator Elizabeth Warren and supported by 42 Senators “to establish a deficit neutral reserve fund relating to expanding Social Security.”
We could pay for expansion by lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap and making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. Today, millionaires and billionaires only pay into Social Security on the first $118,500 they earn. Pat Toomey thinks that millionaires and billionaires should pay a lower percentage of their income into Social Security than their secretaries and butlers.
When talking about Social Security, it’s important not to be distracted by false arguments. Social Security did not cause the federal deficit. In fact, Social Security has a $2.8 trillion surplus which will continue to grow to $2.9 trillion by 2019. The Social Security trust fund is solvent through 2033. After that, the system would be able to pay about 75% of scheduled benefits.
Our members believe – and we want Senator Toomey to understand – that Social Security needs to be strengthened and expanded, not cut. The typical benefit received by a retired worker in Pennsylvania was $16,727 in 2015. That’s even less than minimum wage and not enough to keep up with the rising cost of food and housing, much less the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs.
For 81 years Social Security has been a cornerstone of American retirement security and kept generations of Americans out of poverty. Before Social Security half of American seniors lived in poverty. Today, thanks to Social Security, the senior poverty rate is less than 10%. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that over 20 million Americans, including more than 14 million seniors, live above the poverty line. Social Security ensures seniors can retire without fear of financial ruin.
In the coming weeks we will be working to educate Senator Toomey about the importance of Social security to current and future Pennsylvania retirees. We will organize in our neighborhoods, make phone calls and organize online. We want him to understand how important it is and publicly commit to opposing cuts in benefits and privatization for current and future retirees.
Thank you.
If you’re thankful for what Wayne and others are doing to speak out on this issue, click the tip jar, recommend, and share, so we can get the word out on what they’ve been doing for us all.