Ohio retirees group reacts to State of the Union Address
By
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To the editor:
Ohio retirees share President Obama’s goal to lower the federal budget deficit. We do not want a big debt to be the legacy we leave for our children and grandchildren. As Congress begins to consider budget cuts, activists with the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans will be urging our state’s congressional delegation to reject any cuts in Social
Security or an increase in the retirement age.
Despite what many in Washington and in the media contend, the reality is that Social Security has not added one penny to our budget deficit. The program is fully financed by worker and employer contributions. In fact, Social Security has a $2.6 trillion surplus today to pay for current retirees and those nearing retirement. To propose raising the
age or cuts in benefits to current or future retirees is to divert the Trust Fund surplus again for other purposes and to fail to repay what was loaned.
Workers retiring from Ohio’s industries have experienced the need for Social Security as the stable income floor for life after a life of work. Working men and women thought they could leave the workforce to make room for a younger generation but found their pensions were dumped and severely cut to promote business recovery or expansion or pay executive bonuses. Adding insult to injury, workers saw their retirement
savings dwindle from the speculation of the financial markets.
Ohio workers and retirees are disappointed that Social Security has been proffered as point of negotiation to raise the debt ceiling and that some see it as a wedge issue to pander to their political base. As retirees concerned for the future of our children and grandchildren, we have lived through tiered wage structures and know the negative effects proposed tiered Social Security would have on younger workers as they
reach retirement without a sustainable income floor.
Social Security is one of America's greatest success stories, and must be preserved for our children and grandchildren. It does not cause our budget deficits, and we cannot allow anyone to use our national debt as a political cover for cutting Social Security for current and future retirees.
Sincerely,
David Friesner,
President
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a grassroots organization representing more than 230,000 retirees in Ohio and 4 million retirees and seniors nationwide. The Alliance’s mission is to advance public policy that protects the health and economic security of older Americans by teaching seniors how to make a difference through activism. Learn
more about the Alliance and its work at www.retiredamericans.org.[[In-content Ad]]
Ohio retirees share President Obama’s goal to lower the federal budget deficit. We do not want a big debt to be the legacy we leave for our children and grandchildren. As Congress begins to consider budget cuts, activists with the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans will be urging our state’s congressional delegation to reject any cuts in Social
Security or an increase in the retirement age.
Despite what many in Washington and in the media contend, the reality is that Social Security has not added one penny to our budget deficit. The program is fully financed by worker and employer contributions. In fact, Social Security has a $2.6 trillion surplus today to pay for current retirees and those nearing retirement. To propose raising the
age or cuts in benefits to current or future retirees is to divert the Trust Fund surplus again for other purposes and to fail to repay what was loaned.
Workers retiring from Ohio’s industries have experienced the need for Social Security as the stable income floor for life after a life of work. Working men and women thought they could leave the workforce to make room for a younger generation but found their pensions were dumped and severely cut to promote business recovery or expansion or pay executive bonuses. Adding insult to injury, workers saw their retirement
savings dwindle from the speculation of the financial markets.
Ohio workers and retirees are disappointed that Social Security has been proffered as point of negotiation to raise the debt ceiling and that some see it as a wedge issue to pander to their political base. As retirees concerned for the future of our children and grandchildren, we have lived through tiered wage structures and know the negative effects proposed tiered Social Security would have on younger workers as they
reach retirement without a sustainable income floor.
Social Security is one of America's greatest success stories, and must be preserved for our children and grandchildren. It does not cause our budget deficits, and we cannot allow anyone to use our national debt as a political cover for cutting Social Security for current and future retirees.
Sincerely,
David Friesner,
President
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a grassroots organization representing more than 230,000 retirees in Ohio and 4 million retirees and seniors nationwide. The Alliance’s mission is to advance public policy that protects the health and economic security of older Americans by teaching seniors how to make a difference through activism. Learn
more about the Alliance and its work at www.retiredamericans.org.[[In-content Ad]]