National Journal's Congress Daily: Youth Groups Skirmish Over Social Security Overhaul Plans
Youth-oriented groups on opposite sides of a proposed Social Security overhaul are working this week to become more than a sideshow in the debate, while also taking very different approaches to asserting their influence. Students for Saving Social Security, which supports private Social Security accounts, staged a rally Wednesday in the Upper Senate Park and were flanked by a snow-making machine and melting ice sculptures. "Congress is giving us the cold shoulder. Our future is melting away," University of Mississippi senior Ben Ferguson said today. "It's time for Congress to listen to us." Ferguson, the group's spokesman, said college students then met with House and Senate members, including "key members of the Senate Finance Committee." The student group and many of its 163 campus chapters are members of the business-led Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security. Ferguson said CoMPASS has encouraged its efforts, but said the student effort is not a "front group" for the business lobby.
Rock the Vote, which opposes private accounts, countered today by releasing a Web video to its more than 1 million members urging youth to question what the group considers overly pessimistic forecasts of Social Security's demise. "Social Security, You've been told it's going to disappear one day. Did you ever stop to think, 'Is it true?'" the video asks. "Social Security will never disappear." The video contends the program will keep running after the baby boom generation retires, noting that workers entering the workforce continue to pay payroll taxes. The video acknowledges problems with Social Security, but does not mention projected shortfalls. Rock the Vote Washington director Hans Riemer said many of its members, who are under 30, do not understand how Social Security is funded. "We want to start with a particular vantage point," Riemer said. "People have to understand the actual situation." Best known for its quadrennial get-out-the-vote drives, Rock the Vote is registered as a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 group and has a three-person Washington staff. The group has partnered with AARP for some events. Rather than focus on lobbying, Riemer said the group plans to focus its energies on events outside Washington this fall.
-- by Mark Wegner
Youth-oriented groups on opposite sides of a proposed Social Security overhaul are working this week to become more than a sideshow in the debate, while also taking very different approaches to asserting their influence. Students for Saving Social Security, which supports private Social Security accounts, staged a rally Wednesday in the Upper Senate Park and were flanked by a snow-making machine and melting ice sculptures. "Congress is giving us the cold shoulder. Our future is melting away," University of Mississippi senior Ben Ferguson said today. "It's time for Congress to listen to us." Ferguson, the group's spokesman, said college students then met with House and Senate members, including "key members of the Senate Finance Committee." The student group and many of its 163 campus chapters are members of the business-led Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security. Ferguson said CoMPASS has encouraged its efforts, but said the student effort is not a "front group" for the business lobby.
Rock the Vote, which opposes private accounts, countered today by releasing a Web video to its more than 1 million members urging youth to question what the group considers overly pessimistic forecasts of Social Security's demise. "Social Security, You've been told it's going to disappear one day. Did you ever stop to think, 'Is it true?'" the video asks. "Social Security will never disappear." The video contends the program will keep running after the baby boom generation retires, noting that workers entering the workforce continue to pay payroll taxes. The video acknowledges problems with Social Security, but does not mention projected shortfalls. Rock the Vote Washington director Hans Riemer said many of its members, who are under 30, do not understand how Social Security is funded. "We want to start with a particular vantage point," Riemer said. "People have to understand the actual situation." Best known for its quadrennial get-out-the-vote drives, Rock the Vote is registered as a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 group and has a three-person Washington staff. The group has partnered with AARP for some events. Rather than focus on lobbying, Riemer said the group plans to focus its energies on events outside Washington this fall.
-- by Mark Wegner
posted by Hans Riemer at 11:42 AM
13 Comments:
i liked it better when rock the vote didnt push a side and seemed more neutral(at least at the surface). its like the dnc ads that didnt support kerry but were anti-bush. rock the vote is misleading the youth with opinion. very sad. its my money, let me invest it. our government is trillions in debt, WOULD YOU INVEST IN A COMPANY THAT IS TRILLIONS IN DEBT? its a no brainer and its only 10% of the total contribution we are talking about. democrats are against it, just because republicans are for it. ask rich democrats if they have investments, hillary for sure knows the value of investing. if your think social security will be enough, my grandma would disagree with you.
So I got my paycheck today, and watched a good 12.4% of may money get sucked into a Social Security system that "promises" to pay me after the age of 67, which will likely be pushed to 70 if people like Reimer and Rock the Vote get their way. Of course, even that "promise" may not be met, and if it is, it'll have to be through tax increases and deficit spending that will basically render any "payment" I get useless, since I'll have spent so much on taxes through my working career that I'd have a net loss through Social Security.
What a fraud Rock the Vote is pushing on all of us.
I guess those of us in the lower and middle classes will just have to sit here and continue to "hope" that the government can somehow pay us what it promises, instead of being able to join the investment class and grow our money like rich people do.
Once again, Rock the Vote and liberal interests taking away financial opportunity for those of us who need it.
Also of note- if you read any media source this past week, you probably found an article about how the budget deficit is slated to shrink by nearly $100 billion this year. Of course, when you read the article, you find out that this deficit can shrink and shrink, but it'll go right back up again after 2008, no matter what Congress or the President does.
Why? Two words: Social Security.
And get used to it, too. Social Security's demands on government money will skyrocket through 2042, when it'll be demanding an additional $300 billion ON TOP of the payroll taxes it takes in. That would be enough to double the budget deficit.
And this is what Rock the Vote supports. Sheer idiocy.
Hans, why won't you invite someone from Students for Saving social Security to write a few blog entries on RTV? If you truly believe in your mission statement that RTV is a non-partisan organization then why not let another youth leader in this social security debate who is on the other side of your position write a few op-ed pieces, or perhaps debate your position at RTV?
If RTV is about empowering the youth while educating them on the issues then lets accomplish that goal together and perhaps bring some credibility back to RTV.
you all said everything i wanted to already...RTV is a joke
I agree with the others here. I do not enjoy having my money be taken from to pay for others, nor do I want to be supported by other people's money when I grow old and retire. With private accounts I put MY money in and I can watch MY money grow, and then I can use MY money when it comes time to retire. To me, that is much better then watching the money disappear into the bureaucratic mess of government and then hope that I will get the money I need in fourty or fifty years from future workers who deserve the money they earn themselves.
Off topic: Bipartisan is a fraud.
Regardless of what agenda either party works to fulfill, its truly the wealthy corporations and business person, who will be treated the best. Social Security could be salvaged and could be reduced to a lesser burden on the backs of the tax paying American.
Every political party promotes freedom, but only freedom that perpetuates ultimate high end costs for Americans, who might one day need social security because their occupation was not high paying or monetarily rewarding in any way. The issues that are of greater concern are the rising price of living and lack of government incentives to reduce foreign dependence (i.e., incentives to create a larger biofuel market for US autos, in an effort to wean Americans off of foreign oil. Something that would keep money in house and simultaneously, benefit the environment).
It will be the lot of the middle and lower class to bear out the brunt of all tax paying and effectively, lose all value of SS because of rising cost and a high population of retirees, which will be improperly supported.
Even if SS survives, it will pale in comparison to the role it played after its inception.
It never ceases to amaze me how a person can support any organization that is afraid to let people control their own money.
For the real story on Social Security check out www.socialslavery.com
i've been following this issue on SS, but it really does seem like there are some more important issues right now like our presence in Iraq and the middle East as well as selecting a new judge for the supreme court. Not that SS isn't important, I just think its on the back burner for a while.
Key Democrats Supported Social Security Accounts in 2001
The Hyde Park Declaration set goal for creation by 2010.
DLC | Key Document | August 1, 2000
The Hyde Park Declaration: A Statement of Principles and a Policy Agenda for the 21st Century
Full Document : http://www.ndol.org/print.cfm?contentid=1926
We believe in shifting the focus of America's anti-poverty and social insurance programs from transferring wealth to creating wealth.
5. Balance America's Commitments to the Young and the Old
An ever-growing share of the federal budget today consists of automatic transfers from working Americans to retirees. Moreover, the costs of the big entitlements for the elderly -- Social Security and Medicare -- are growing at rates that will eventually bankrupt them and that could leave little to pay for everything else government does. We can't just spend our way out of the problem; we must find a way to contain future costs. The federal government already spends seven times as much on the elderly as it does on children. To allow that ratio to grow even more imbalanced would be grossly unfair to today's workers and future generations.
In addition, Social Security and Medicare need to be modernized to reflect conditions not envisioned when they were created in the 1930s and the 1960s. Social Security, for example, needs a stronger basic benefit to bolster its critical role in reducing poverty in old age. Medicare needs to offer retirees more choices and a modern benefit package that includes prescription drugs. Such changes, however, will only add to the cost of the programs unless they are accompanied by structural reforms that restrain their growth and limit their claim on the working families whose taxes support the programs.
Goals for 2010
• Honor our commitment to seniors by ensuring the future solvency of Social Security and Medicare.
• Make structural reforms in Social Security and Medicare that slow their future cost growth, modernize benefits (including a prescription drug benefit for Medicare), and give beneficiaries more choice and control over their retirement and health security.
• Create Retirement Savings Accounts to enable low-income Americans to save for their own retirement.
Signatories include:
Evan Bayh, United States Senator, Indiana
John Breaux, United States Senator, Louisiana
Lee Brown, Mayor, Houston, Texas
Bob Buckhorn, City Councilman, Tampa, Fla.
Tom Burroughs, State Representative, Kansas
Kevin Cahill, State Assemblyman, New York
Ken Cheuvront, State Representative, Arizona
Michael Coleman, Mayor, Columbus, Ohio
Pat Colwell, State Representative, Maine
Kathleen Connell, State Controller, California
Marti Crow, State Representative, Kansas
Donald T. Cunningham Jr., Mayor, Bethlehem, Pa.
Wayne Curry, County Executive, Prince George's County, Md.
Jim Davis, United States Representative, Florida
Dan DeMarco, Commissioner of Ross Township, Pennsylvania
Dana Lee Dembrow, State Delegate, Maryland
Calvin Dooley, United States Representative, California
Douglas M. Duncan, County Executive, Montgomery County, Md.
John A. Fritchey, State Representative, Illinois
Jeff Gombosky, State Representative, Washington
Ron Gonzales, Mayor, San Jose, California
James S. Gregory, City Councilman, Bethlehem, Pa.
Daniel Grossman, State Representative, Colorado
Lars A. Hafner, State House Democratic Caucus Chairman, Florida
Bob Hagedorn, State Representative, Colorado
Karen Hale, State Senator, Utah
Robert Henriquez, State Representative, Florida
Scott N. Howell, State Senate Democratic Leader, Utah
Sam Hoyt, State Assemblyman, New York
Calvin Johnson, State Representative, Arkansas
Paula F. Julander, State Senate Minority Whip, Utah
Ember Reichgott Junge, State Senate Assistant Majority Leader, Minnesota
Delores G. Kelley, State Senator, Maryland
John F. Kerry, United States Senator, Massachusetts
Kwame Kilpatrick, State Representative, Michigan
Mary Landrieu, United States Senator, Louisiana
Thomas Lazieh, City Councilman, Central Falls, R.I.
Joseph Lieberman, United States Senator, Connecticut
Blanche Lambert Lincoln, United States Senator, Arkansas
Duane E. Little, Assessor, Shoshone County, Idaho
Dannel P. Malloy, Mayor, Stamford, Conn.
Jennifer Mann, State Representative, Pennsylvania
Jack Markell, State Treasurer, Delaware
Stan Matsunaka, State Senator, Colorado
Jonathan Miller, State Treasurer, Kentucky
Tom Miller, State Attorney General, Iowa
Bobby Moak, State Representative, Mississippi
James P. Moran Jr., United States Representative, Virginia
Eva Moskowitz, City Council Member, New York
Ed Murray, State Representative, Washington
Janet Napolitano, Attorney General, Arizona
Martin O'Malley, Mayor, Baltimore, Md.
Marc R. Pacheco, State Senator, Massachusetts
John D. Porcari, State Secretary of Transportation, Maryland
David Quall, State Representative, Washington
Joe Rice, Mayor, Glendale, Colo.
John Riggs IV, State Senator, Arkansas
Antonio R. Riley, State Representative, Wisconsin
Stacy Ritter, State Representative, Florida
Charles Robb, United States Senator, Virginia
Carroll G. Robinson, City Councilman, Houston, Texas
Tim Roemer, United States Representative, Indiana
Linda J. Scheid, State Senator, Minnesota
Allyson Schwartz, State Senator, Pennsylvania
Kathleen Sebelius, State Insurance Commissioner, Kansas
Eleanor Sobel, State Representative, Florida
Ellen O. Tauscher, United States Representative, California
Michael L. Thurmond, State Labor Commissioner, Georgia
Tom Vilsack, Governor, Iowa
Kirk Watson, Mayor, Austin, Texas
J.D. Williams, State Controller, Idaho
Philip Wise, State Representative, Iowa
Jane Wood, State Representative, New Hampshire
I really couldn't care less if the majority of the youth or a minority of the youth support social security. I don't have to support it. I wish I could opt out of it. I don't give a damn if I don't get a check later on.
By the way, Bush's actions are hardly privatizing social security. Privatization would end the thing all together...but I can't expect that to happen with all this socialists and fascists in office.
I always wondered what sort of jobs these suburban socialist types had. Are you those factory workers that Marx was talking about or are you working at the local mall, some office, a restaurant?
Yeah. Any history of hard labor in your past?
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