"Raising the retirement age would inflict further hardship among a group of workers who are likely to face health and economic problems in their 60s." –Doug Hart, President, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans
"Of all the lies and confusion that still surround the Affordable Care Act, perhaps the greatest is that it is bad for seniors." - Dave Meinell, President, Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans
"My father died when I was three. Because of Social Security (survivors) benefits, my Mom, my younger sister and I survived." – Diane Fleming, DC Alliance Member
"We fear that Congress will balance the budget on the backs of the 98 percent, which is working Montanans and retired Montanans. We simply cannot afford these devastating cuts to vital services such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," –John Forkan, President, Montana Alliance for Retired Americans
"Along with national parks and Social Security, Medicare is one of the best ideas we Americans have ever devised." -Tim Cunningham, New Mexico Alliance Member
"Seniors have earned and deserve their Social Security checks, and they shouldn't have to go to Congress every 10 years and beg for the program to be renewed." –James Parent, Alliance for Retired Americans Regional Board Member
"Today's retirees paid Medicare and Social Security taxes in every paycheck we ever earned. Now that we are retired, these programs help us to be able to stay healthy and pay our bills. They are the promise we make to people who worked hard all their lives, and we need to keep that promise for today’s workers." –Tony Fransetta, President, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans
"Today's seniors want to lower the budget deficit. We do not want a large debt to be the legacy we leave to future generations, but we should not punish people who have paid Social Security taxes all their lives." –Jim Moore, President, North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans
"Social Security should remain what it has been for 77 years – a solid, reliable way that generations of workers have been able to retire with dignity, economic security, and peace of mind." –Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
"The fight for Social Security and Medicare is part of a larger fight for justice and fairness"—Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
"The health insurance reform helps not just seniors, but also middle-class families and young Americans, who are just starting to see the benefits. Don’t let Republicans take all that away." –Don Rowen, President Emeritus, Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans
"Honoring the promise of Social Security and Medicare should not be a partisan issue. Honoring the contributions that we make throughout our working years so that we may feed and clothe ourselves, keep a roof over our heads and those of our family, there is no reason for that to be a hotly contested partisan issue." –Edward Coyle, Executive Director, Alliance for Retired Americans
"We need to make sure that people who need Social Security to make ends meet will have it, and not fall victim to ill-informed and unnecessary cuts to these vital programs."
–Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
Press Releases
GOP Stacks Debt Panel with Opponents of Social Security and Medicare
March 12, 2010
For Immediate Release
GOP Stacks Debt Panel with Opponents of Social Security and Medicare
The "Sock Our Seniors Six" Taints Objectivity of Debt Commission
The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
"Current and future retirees have every reason to be alarmed by who the Republican congressional leadership today named to the newly-created bipartisan commission to lower the federal budget deficit.
"The 'Sock Our Seniors Six' is a group of lawmakers who have consistently voted to weaken Social Security and sell off Medicare to the big drug and insurance companies. They reflect a failed ideology that fueled George W. Bush's and John McCain's efforts to let Wall Street gamble away privatized Social Security on the roulette wheel of Wall Street. One look at a recent 401(k) statement shows what dangerous folly that would have been.
"The new panel members - Senators Tom Coburn, Mike Crapo, and Judd Gregg and Representatives Dave Camp, Jeb Hensarling, and Paul Ryan - combine to average a 6.5 percent lifetime rating on the Alliance for Retired Americans Voting Record on key congressional votes on Social Security, Medicare, and other issues affecting retirement security.
"Today's appointees call into sharp question the objectivity of this panel, particularly when combined with former Senator Alan K. Simpson recently being named as its Co-Chair. Simpson has referred to older Americans as 'greedy geezers' and as a Senator, he wanted to lower Social Security benefits by changing the statistical formula used to calculate Cost-of-Living Adjustments.
"The Alliance for Retired Americans strongly encourages the Commission to examine the full range of tax and spend policies that led to these large deficits. Since 1983, American workers have paid enough Social Security payroll taxes to accumulate a $2.5 trillion surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund. We hope the Commission will accurately point out the reckless fiscal decisions that got us to this point, and also reaffirm that Social Security and Medicare are two of our nation's greatest success stories and have helped generations of seniors stay healthy and out of poverty.
"Today's developments are an inauspicious start to this new commission. It is a reminder that America's retirees need to keep a close eye on this panel and be educated and active on these important issues."
# # #
Contact: Laura Markwardt, (202) 637-5178 or lmarkwar@retiredamericans.org
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