Friday Alert Archives

The House on Thursday night voted on the $858 billion tax cut package negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders. Lawmakers in both parties expressed unhappiness with aspects of the package, but the House passed it 277-148 and sent it to the President for signature. On Wednesday, the Senate had overwhelmingly approved the measure by a vote of 81-19.  Results of the House and Senate votes are available at http://bit.ly/fVJM4o and http://bit.ly/eBs1iS. According to The New York Times, many Democrats opposed provisions granting tax cuts to the highest earners, as well as an exemption for estates of up to $5 million per person, or $10 million per couple. However, Republicans said they would not accept any change. Another tax reduction, a one-year payroll tax cut, would lower from 6.2% to 4.2% the Social Security tax levied on income up to $106,800. The government would then borrow about $112 billion to make Social Security whole. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax cut; those making $100,000 would get a $2,000 cut. The deal would also extend unemployment benefits at their current level for 13 months, through the end of 2011. “Seniors worry – with good reason - that relying on borrowed money could eventually force the Social Security program to compete with other federal programs for scarce dollars, leading to cuts,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. Last Friday, the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, comprised of 250 organizations and representing more than 50 million members from many of the nation’s leading aging, labor, and civil rights organizations - including the Alliance - sent a letter to Congress regarding the Social Security payroll tax cut.  The letter urged Congress to oppose the tax “holiday.” To see it, go to http://bit.ly/gakc4Y. 

Also last week, a group of Senate Democrats, led by Sens. Jeff Merkley (OR) and Mary Landrieu (LA), pushed for an alternative tax cut agreement that strengthens Social Security rather than providing bonus tax cuts on income over $1 million.  To see the Senators’ letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), go to http://bit.ly/i6sQGZ.

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President Obama announced a tentative deal with Congressional Republicans on Monday to extend the Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels for two years. The package would reduce the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax on all wage earners by two percentage points, to 4.2%, for one year. However, the package would cost about $900 billion over the next two years, and would be financed entirely by adding to the national debt. The deal would also extend unemployment benefits at their current level for 13 months, through the end of 2011.

The Social Security payroll tax cut is estimated to cost $120 billion per year, and is a provision that Senate Democrats say could ultimately be the undoing of Social Security. Allowing the payroll tax to expire in a year will mean that workers will see a nearly 50% jump in payroll taxes as the rate reverts back -- an event that is likely to be described as a tax hike. According to The Huffington Post, reducing a person's responsibility to contribute to Social Security also deprives the program of the political and moral capital that has kept the program intact despite fierce opposition from a determined investor class. In arguing against the deal, Nancy Altman, head of the group Social Security Works, noted that such responsibility was put into place by FDR for just that purpose. To see more from FDR on the topic, go to http://huff.to/gVorby. Altman said that dividing the stimulus evenly by simply sending an equal check to every worker would be far more desirable. Both the Senate and the House are expected to debate and vote on the proposal next week.

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The President’s Fiscal Commission suffered a defeat Friday morning, as 11 of 18 panel members voted to support their far-reaching deficit-cutting plan.  However, 14 of the 18 members of the Commission needed to vote for it to make it an official recommendation, and Commission Co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson acknowledged that Congress will not consider their work at least until next year. “Retirees were very relieved today when Commission members rejected their Co-chairs’ proposal to balance the budget on the backs of retirees,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. According to The Washington Post, the panel’s final blueprint for rebalancing the federal budget closely resembles the plan the Co-chairs released earlier. Like the original, it offers a prescription for reducing deficits by nearly $4 trillion by the end of the decade, in large part by slashing domestic spending, including Social Security. Future retirees would face significant sacrifices, including higher Medicare premiums and a retirement age of 69 in 2075.  The proposal would also cut the annual Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment, and cut benefits overall for middle-income earners by 17% to 36%. The early retirement age would rise to 64 from 62. The final package would balance the budget more quickly than the original, wiping out annual deficits by 2035. To see how each panel member voted, go to http://bit.ly/eNp7FN.

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As the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Co-Chairs continue to release details of their plan to address the nation’s debt, many other proposed solutions are also being offered. On Tuesday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the same Fiscal Commission, released her own deficit reduction plan, after rejecting the proposal of the commission’s co-chairs.  Rep. Schakowsky plans to keep Social Security benefits intact, while making deep reductions at the Pentagon by cutting what many consider unnecessary weapons systems and reducing troop levels.  She calls for a rise in corporate taxes on companies that outsource jobs, as well as controlling excessive pay for chief executives.  Over half the proposed budget cut - $430 billion annually in 2015 - would be achieved by eliminating various corporate tax breaks, ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, and creating a new energy tax through the cap-and-trade system.  At the same time, a proposed additional $200 billion economic stimulus would create jobs and combat unemployment. Schakowsky’s plan calls for “sustained, long-term economic growth by ending the trend of concentrating more and more wealth in the hands of the rich and less and less in the hands of the middle class.

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On Wednesday, the co-chairmen of the White House Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson, released their ideas for dealing with the country’s massive debt. The recommendations are from Simpson and Bowles only, and do not represent the opinions of the full commission. The proposals include a reduction in Social Security cost-of-living increases for current retirees; a reduction in Social Security benefits for most future retirees; and a hike in the Social Security retirement age to 69 by 2075. In response, Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance, said, “The Bowles-Simpson proposal is not a package we can support.  In fact, it is a package we will strongly oppose. While seniors are more than willing to pay their fair share to reduce the nation’s debt, we must not turn to them to pay off such a huge portion of what was accumulated by the entire country.”  He also said that raising the retirement age to 69 is not a viable solution, when so many older workers in difficult jobs are already struggling.

He added, “The Social Security cuts would hit current retirees, contrary to what was promised, since the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) seems to take effect immediately. This will lower seniors’ benefits by about 3% after they have been retired for 10 years, and by about 6 % after 20 years.” He said that changing the CPI is an attack on the middle class, since today’s 20-year old workers who retire at age 65 would see their benefits cut by 17% if their wages average $43,000 over their working lives. He also called it “ridiculous” that billionaires pay the same amount into the system as someone earning $106,800, the current cap. He stressed that a better proposal would be requiring employees (and their employers) who make more than $106,800 a year to pay Social Security taxes on all their wages, not the 90% in the proposal. Coyle concluded, “We must not bully seniors into shouldering such a massive percentage of the debt while Wall Street millionaires once again just skate on through scot-free.”  To see the co-chairs’ proposal, go to http://bit.ly/ajfG8p. To see “Ten Reasons the Social Security Proposal of the Fiscal Commission Co-Chairs Should be DOA (Dead on Arrival)” from Social Security Works, where the Alliance is a member of the Steering Committee, go to http://bit.ly/bLN4Q1. To see Mr. Coyle’s full statement, go to http://bit.ly/by0k67.

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In the U.S. House, Republicans have netted 60 seats so far, with 8 Democratic districts too close to call. According to The Washington Post, most projections put the total GOP gain in the mid-60s, although several of the uncalled contests are almost certainly headed for recounts. GOP candidates defeated not only Democratic incumbents who won their seats in 2006 or 2008, but also long-serving incumbents such as Reps. John Spratt (S.C.), Ike Skelton (Mo.), Rick Boucher (Va.) and Jim Oberstar (Minn.). Historically, the Republican gains mark the biggest midterm election seat swap since 1938, when Democrats lost 71 House seats.  Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is set to become the next Speaker of the House.

In the Senate, Republicans made solid gains but will remain in the minority when the 112th Congress convenes. The GOP gained six seats -- Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Arkansas, Indiana and Wisconsin -- on Tuesday night, with a race in Alaska still not called. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) won the seat of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) claimed the seat of retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D). The timing of California Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D) victory ensured Democrats would retain the majority. Democrats also won a major symbolic victory in Nevada as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) defeated former state assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R). Rep. Mark Kirk (R) and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) emerged victorious in very close contests for the Senate seats in Illinois and Pennsylvania, respectively.  Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Sen. Patty Murray (D) won close races in Colorado and Washington.

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This Tuesday is Election Day, and seniors have as much at stake as any age group this year. “For anyone you know who thinks that voting doesn’t matter, tell them that 104 lawmakers are on record as supporting the privatization of Social Security,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.  “If those lawmakers become the majority, we are more likely than ever to see our Social Security benefits gambled away on Wall Street.  Please vote.”  For a list of the 104, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/27/gop-privatize-socialsecurity.  Privatizers are not the only problem that could be coming down the pike with a bad election outcome. In an interview with National Journal out this week, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was asked what his party's main political job will be after next week's election. He gave a blunt answer: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

“We now have it on record that, if Republicans win control of the Senate, the man who aspires to be Majority Leader is placing his own political interests ahead of the needs of seniors and everyone else,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.  Seniors are set to have a massive impact on the election results. For anyone who has difficulty casting a ballot, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights has set up a national hotline at 1-866-Our-Vote to address problems.


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Ten years have passed since the “hanging chad” problem in Florida, and since then a majority of states across the nation have overhauled their voting methods in hopes of simplifying the process and making it more accurate. One of the most pronounced changes has been the move away from lever and paper voting in favor of optical and electric voting methods.  However, limited funds for voting equipment and rapidly aging voting machines in some areas are an indication that the country is not immune from problems re-emerging. In addition, voter suppression occurred recently when a front group called “Latinos for Reform,” run by a major donor to former President George W. Bush, was caught running television ads in Nevada telling Hispanic voters NOT to vote on November 2nd as a way of protesting.  The ads are now off the air.

The following resources focus on election protection. They are produced by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, who have set up a national hotline for any voting problems: 1-866-Our-Vote. For information on fundamental voting rights and commonly asked questions, go to http://www.866ourvote.org/elections-101. For pages with state-specific laws and pdf's with more detailed information on your state's election laws, click on http://www.866ourvote.org/state. In addition, for information on the voting rights of the disabled from the National Disability Rights Network, go to http://bit.ly/bokzr8. “Voters can go the polls with peace of mind, knowing that the system has improved,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “However, if you do experience a problem, help is available. Don’t go home without casting your ballot.”


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The federal government announced today that tens of millions of Social Security recipients will go through another year in 2011 without an increase in their monthly benefits, marking only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted. The first year was 2010. The cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in 1975. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that when Congress returns in November, he will press for passage of $250 in emergency relief for Social Security recipients and disabled veterans to compensate for the lack of a COLA. That same proposal was defeated in the Senate on March 3, when only one Republican voted to allow the amendment to be considered. Sanders said the estimated $13 billion cost of the help for seniors is only a fraction of the $70 billion in annual tax breaks that Senate Republicans are pushing for the wealthiest Americans.

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According to USA Today, early voting, in which a voter may cast a ballot at an elections office, is underway in 14 states. Early voting gets underway in another 17 states and in the District of Columbia over the next two weeks. In all, 33 states and the District of Columbia offer some form of in-person early voting, while other states allow voters to file absentee ballots early, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Vermont kicked the voting off on Sept. 20, followed by South Dakota on Sept. 21, Iowa and Wyoming on Sept. 23, Nebraska on Sept. 27, Ohio on September 28, Wisconsin on October 3, California and Indiana on Oct. 4, and Arizona on October 7. Rather than setting a date far in advance, some states began offering ballots when they became available. For the first time this year, Illinois voters are casting absentee ballots without having to explain why they are doing so; this is known as “no excuse” absentee voting. “I encourage Alliance members to take advantage of early voting, so that your ballot will count even if you can’t make it to the polls on Election Day,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.

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