Helen Thomas writes, "This year, 2011, marks the beginning of baby boomers receiving Social Security checks and they should be alerted of past perennial Republican attempts to partially privatize the program ... Let's not give the newly empowered Republicans - and their blindsided tea party allies - the ability to wipe out or even mitigate the only economic security deprived Americans can count on."
Republicans are once again attempting to privatize Social Security, 01/07/11. (art: M. Ryder/The Washington Times)
Privatizing Social Security Again?
07 January 11
his year, 2011, marks the beginning of baby boomers receiving Social Security checks and they should be alerted of past perennial Republican attempts to partially privatize the program.
Heaven forbid that plans prevail to invest a certain amount of those checks in the stock market, as many pension plans have taken a bath in the current meltdown. While there have been past GOP plans to partially privatize the program, fortunately they have all failed. So far the Social Security trust fund remains tempting for the gamblers and other risk takers on the market.
As a Detroiter, I remember the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929 when some of the plutocrats on Wall Street jumped out of windows as a result of their great losses. Those were bleak days when some of the jobless workers also lost hope in the bitterly cold winter as they stood in long lines at the Ford Motor Company, many without overcoats, hoping for a job on the auto assembly lines.
The movements for socialism and communism were given some credence as a way out of their misery.
The difference between the Great Depression and the current Great Recession is "spirit" - during the 1930s Americans cared about each other. They flocked to Washington - teachers, social workers, doctors and nurses - selflessly offering their services.
Next door to us, a family with six children lived on a $13 (equivalent to $163 today) per week welfare check. Somehow they survived and kept their faith. Along came FDR who told the stricken people, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself." The power of hope restored confidence in the country and in its leadership.
We were happy to emerge from the depression, but many Americans at the time believed we rebounded economically because of the looming clouds of World War II. The world by this time was swept up by the "isms." The U.S. was divided between the interventionists in World War II (on the side of the allies) and the non-interventionists - they were the isolationists - who disappeared at the start of the war on Dec. 7, 1941.
President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935 to cover the elderly, and eventually through amendments, widows, orphans and the disabled. Payments are split 50-50 by the employer and the worker. What has been missing in our current society is compassion and creativeness. Think of the bargains the President had to strike to renew the biggest (Bush) tax cut to the richest Americans, this in exchange for an extension of unemployment compensation for the millions who lost their jobs - some deal! That's the compassion part.
As for creativeness, where are the ideas to put people back to work? For Roosevelt, the caring advisors produced a bundle of alphabet agencies. Not the least was the Works Progress Administration which put people to work on rebuilding the broken infrastructure. The program put men on the streets - and even artists painting the walls of great buildings in the Nation's Capital. Ideas and ideals along with great imagination brought our country back. Where are the caring creators now?
Many believe it was World War II and the military needs that brought us back - but recovery was well underway by 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
According to the 2010 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds presented to Congress, 53 million Americans received benefits during 2009, including 36 million retired workers and dependents of retired workers, 6 million survivors of deceased workers, and 10 million disabled workers. During that same year, an estimated 156 million people paid social security taxes through payroll. Total expenditures in 2009 were $686 billion, while revenue totaled $807 billion - including $689 in tax revenue and $118 billion in interest earnings.
Many Republicans believe the Social Security Trust should be at least partly privatized - Bush failed to achieve this in 2005. There is fear as President Obama has claimed that the new Republican leadership will push again to partially privatize social security funds. With the ups and downs of the stock market - and considering the pension plans that were privatized went down the drain - who would lead us down that path again?
Let's not give the newly empowered Republicans - and their blindsided tea party allies - the ability to wipe out or even mitigate the only economic security deprived Americans can count on. Where is their heart?
|
THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community. |
 22 May 2012
|
 21 May 2012
|
 21 May 2012
|
 21 May 2012
|
 21 May 2012
|
 23 May 2012
|
 22 May 2012
|
 22 May 2012
|
 22 May 2012
|
Comments
We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.
General guidelines: Avoid personal attacks on other forum members; Avoid remarks that are ethnically derogatory; Do not advocate violence, or any illegal activity.
Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.
- The RSN Team
Where are the WPA type projects like those that helped people survive the depression and give us lasting treasures? The public buildings, the murals, the parks and hiking trails enjoyed by generations are wonderful things. Who will remember the AIG bailout in 20 years?
She's also right about the kind of emotional atmosphere. It's been turned in a dog-eat-dog frenzy with few signs of compassion for those already struggling. I sense we haven't hit bottom yet because the wrong set of levers were pulled. We are still heading for the iceberg because of the belief that the ship can withstand anything. The Captain just couldn't imagine his big new ship sinking.
There will be a lasting image of this era, but it will not be a memorial to the efforts of citizens.
L
I think that, one of the challenges that we all face, is the ability to clearly identify and distinguish between a (misguided) Republican, with a heart, and the Republican leaders in Congress and neo-cons on the airways. If we're (or Obama) are so clever, why haven't we been able to do that? I refuse to believe that all of the people in the middle class, that are Republicans, don't have common sense, a heart or decency. They need to be shown the difference between, not Democrats and Republican leadership, but THEMSELVES and Republican leadership.
And great summary of bjw above "We are still heading for the iceberg because of the belief that the ship can withstand anything. The Captain just couldn't imagine his big new ship sinking."
Exactly - buying more Chineese crap at Wallmart and bombing more Pashtoons (sp?) will not renew the USA.
Now that the R's have retaken the hill, we are likely to see heat and hot air to increase sharply for the next two years until Americans, beaten over the head with Republican ideology, kick them out of Washington for another 40-50 years. (With Fox and Halls as examples of the intellectual acumen vested in two important chairmanships, the handwriting is on the wall)
Talk about hypocrisy
While I think that Congressional Republicans in office today may "hate" SS, the votes on the House and Senate floors in 1935 show overwhelming support among both parties for SS. I haven't read the floor debates (in both House and Senate the debates took several days) but the House Republicans voted 81 (Y) and 15 (N), in the Senate it was 16 (Y) and 5 (N). (Both Chambers were significantly dominated by Democrats.)
The point being, we continue to denigrate those who see the other side of the political spectrum as the cause of our nation's problems. I would offer that the cause of our problems is more a lack of ongoing participation and a relinquishing of our national responsibility to those we elect who then fall under the sway of moneyed interests.
If we are ever to gain control of our political process, we must get corporate personhood revoked and private money out of the political arena. This demands unified action by We, the People.
If we fail to keep the Replicants from acting on behalf of their financial overlords in their efforts to get their hands on Social Security, then the last remaining pool of untapped wealth will have been effectively transferred from the middle class to the wealthiest 1%.
What will be left will be a country comprised mostly of debtor wage slaves continually living at the edge of poverty, and the ultra wealthy living in their gated communities.
SS used to be considered the "3rd rail" of politics, but conservatives and republicans are trying once again to undo it.
In 1981, the Chilean government under military dictator Augusto Pinochet .. killed thousands students .. i.e. saved on Social Security ..
The Chilean experience with social security privatization gives much reason for pause. Major
concerns include: the high cost of transition to a privatized system, exorbitant pension fund
management fees, non-participation in the scheme, the effects on low/middle-income workers and
women, and the vulnerability of workers to market risk.
No wonder Chile elected social dem women for two terms - Michelle Bachelet presided over the first meeting of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group - find more ..
Your number of words are limited and your message is cut short.... so, tell me...Find more of what? Where?
Chilean experience with social security privatization
some URLs are .... here, so the best process is to use above.
Promoting Chile Social Security Privatization under dictator Pinochet and Chicago Econ /Kissinger boys is sick.
And even if we forget the thousands killed (students, labor) - the privatization of Social Security did not work either ... check the numbers.
Michelle Bachelet - SOCIAL DEMOCRAT - created true economical miracle - leaving because of term limits with 80% + approval.
Bush was hitting 20% in USA ..
So move to Chile then, where it's so much better.
Every time i've tried to plus this comment the site puts a minus up there. This has happened many times on this site and i think they re messing with it trying to obscure people's true reactions. The important phrase was... the government bereaucrats couldn't get their hands on it... that's what we need-it has to be illegal with criminal penalties to even try to touch that money. SS is set up so it cannot possibly go broke and has currently got a $2.3 TRILLION surplus... or it would have if washington didn't keep "borrowing" from it and never repaying what they take. This is known as STEALING.
agree - start with Ronald Reagan's Legacy The federal deficit ballooned from 2.7% of GDP in 1980 to 6% of GDP in 1983, ... Increases in the payroll taxes that finance Social Security and Medicare, ...
to finance Pentagon with SS# - or financing costofwar.com with communist China credit?
Agreed but you forgot the most important point. The US govt only charges a measly 2% to handle the SS Trust Fund. That's what makes it work. If the greedy Wall St investment firms had their fingers in the pie, how much do you think they would charge?
Virtually every quarter when I receive my retirement statements, my balance has dropped further. Social Security is the one thing that Americans have that we can count on...that and the fact that the GOP will continue their heartless attacks on the poor and middle class.
THANK YOU, Helen Thomas for your insight and this article which renews again the dangers of privatization of our Social Security. I am grateful that you continue to write. Americans deserve a free press which is neither right nor left. Helen Thomas, you are the journalist whom I always seek out for your thoughtful, direct assessment of US politics. Keep doing what you do.
Both are pure political.
When Bush was in office and sending out their nasty propaganda about this, I was SHOCKED how easily younger adults turned against SS. A friend in Canada said the same about young adults there - they simply don't know what it was like prior to decent public programs and health care being put in place.
Amy
dd reforestation work and fought forest fires.We tiny tots did what is today called "recycling"--picking up
bottles, cans and papers and rags and assorted metals and selling them at the junkyard, with the money going on the kitchen table to buy groceries. A vegetable garden in the backyard, and a chicken pen, and a rabbit hutch helped....This countries infrastructure, much of it built in those years, is crumbling. There are bridges to be built, highways to be repaired, high speed rail lines needed, schools brought up to code....There are lots of jobs to be done, and the money that is being given to the ruling class by the Republicans could be used to do those jobs.
And so did, and do many Democrats, Helen; including the late Senator Patrick Moynihan.
While I've never quite made my mind up on some of the details there, it is rather important to remember that most Americans did support the Bush proposal to partially allow for voluntary private accounts for younger workers. Young workers were the most supportive.
It's unfortunate that the national media rather consistently presented the details incorrectly and sought to convince the public that an intellectual conversation on the issue was not to be allowed. Sen. Moynihan supported that old lost concept of "useful and intellectual dialog and debate on an issue - so that intelligent informed decisions can be made."
Just 1% of the population owns 42% of financial assets and the top 20% own a substantial 92%. With privatization, 56 million social security contributors could invest hundreds of billions of dollars into the stock market each year. The US stock market is currently valued at around $16 trillion and could appreciate 5% to 10% annually just on these contributions. The rich would profit the most since their investments and Wall Street would make $billions from fees and their own trading.
Could privatization be a get even richer scheme for millionaires and billionaires?
Also, it is too risky for the average person to put social security contributions in the same basket with their personal investments, IRAs, 401(k) and their company’s pension funds (if they have them!). It defies the basic principal of investment DIVERSIFICATION . Social security funds should not be put into the stock or even the bond markets.
I am sick of AIPAC running US media.
It is sad that there is NOT one of her friends there and stands up at the press conference and open mouth - where is Helen Thomas - we want her back ..
And thank God Bush did not privatize Social Security. Can you imagine what would have happened during the Bush crash of 2008 if it had been privatized?
Still hard to believe a few commenters are so blatantly ignorant of Wall Street's dangers.
For her Life's ongoing work,
an ocean of gratitude.
~Adrienne
The only way that the Republicans will be able to change Social Security and privatize it is if Obama and the Democrats cave in to them. That is my greatest fear because Obama and the Democrats have not shown the backbone that is needed to fight against the Republicans and Tea Party activists.
I fear Obama will make possible what Bush and the Republicans could never have done--bring an end to Social Security as we have known it.
RSS feed for comments to this post.