Social Security Numbers March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
For Immediate Release
Retiree Leader Cautions Against Overreacting to Latest Social Security News
Beware of "Sky is Falling" Attempts to Cut Benefits, Coyle Says
The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in response to published accounts that the recession has hurt the Social Security Trust Fund.
"News that the recession is reducing the Social Security Trust Fund underscores the critical need for a long-term economic recovery plan that puts Americans back to work at good jobs with good benefits. If more Americans are working, then more money will flow into local, state, and federal coffers, including the Social Security Trust Fund. Our nation's inter-related economic and health care crises are what should demand our lawmakers' immediate attention. Reforming health care would help the Medicare Trust Fund, which unlike Social Security, does face a critical shortfall.
"Current and future retirees should be suspicious of those who react to today's news with 'sky is falling' predictions of doom. These warnings mask an ongoing ideological agenda to cut Social Security benefits and increase the retirement age, and are brought to you by the same people who have been badly discredited after years of advocating for a privatized Social Security tied to the roulette wheel of the stock market.
"According to noted economist Henry J. Aaron of the Brookings Institution, the recent decrease in Trust Fund revenue will account for less than a few one-hundredths of one percent decrease in the 75 year projection for the Social Security Trust Fund. A number we should be worried about, according to economist Dean Baker, is that older workers and retirees have lost nearly $15 trillion to the collapse of the housing bubble and the plunge in the stock market.
"This is neither the time nor the place for risky, ideological gambles. Instead, we must all focus on the lasting benefits of improving our economy and reforming our nation's health care system."
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Contact: Marcie
Kohenak, (202) 637-5178 or mkohanak@retiredamericans.org
Michael Buckley, (202) 330-1913 or mbuckley@retiredamericans.org