Gray Panthers Fight for Social Security!

On Aug. 13, 2010, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and her wonderful staff held a great event to celebrate Social Security's 75th anniversary, to plan how to save the system from the everpresent vultures, and to eat birthday cake.

Gray Panthers Bill Powers and Margie Metzler provided information and inspiration for the 100 or so attendees, including several Sacramento Gray Panthers members.

Click here for pictures.

Congresswoman Matsui's Website

Bill's Remarks

I am here on behalf of the California Alliance for Retired Americans to help celebrate the 75th birthday of the most important social program in the history of our county. I also want to thank Congresswoman Matsui for bringing us together for this celebration. Social Security was created during the worst depression this nation has ever suffered. For 75 years it has provided a safety net to millions of elderly and disabled people. It literally has kept folks from going hungry and living on the streets. For two thirds of the recipients it is their only source of income. It has never missed a payment in 75 years. Social Security can pay full benefits until 2037 with no changes at all, and afterwards pay out 78%. It is funded separately from the federal budget. In fact, Social Security funds have been tapped to help budget problems. So why are we here today? First, we are here to celebrate, and just as important, to prepare to do battle to protect Social Security from the marauders who have targeted our Social Security benefits with cuts to solve the budget mess. The President recently established a Commission to look at how to solve the current huge budget deficit. The co-chairs of the commission both have indicated that Social Security as well as Medicare and Medicaid are the primary targets being considered as sources to deal with the budget deficit. Social Security didn’t cause this mess and we shouldn’t have to pay the bill! The mess was caused by: 1. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy 2. Two wars being paid for by deficit spending 3. The recession Our task then is to convince the policy makers that they shouldn’t MESS WITH SOCIAL SECURITY!!! Let’s get rid of the huge tax cuts and loopholes for the wealthy and for corporations. So are we ready to deliver that message?

Margie's Remarks

I am here representing both Gray Panthers and the Older Women’s League, or OWL. These truly grassroots organizations have been working for over 40 years and 30 years respectively to keep Social Security the lifesaving jewel it is for all seniors.. You know, I used to think that once we had passed really terrific legislation you could just sit back and eat bonbons and watch soap operas. Boy was I wrong! Since Social Security’s passage 75 years ago, some are always trying to destroy it. But recently those voices have been getting louder, their data are more wrong, seniors are being seriously misinformed and they’re voting against their own interests. Fox, CNN and the Wall Street Journal have beaten the drums incessantly urging us to reduce deficits on the backs of seniors. They are lying to us. And it is up to us to turn this around. So here is where you come in. You are the foot soldiers in this fight. You are the ones who talk regularly to seniors among your families and friends, in church, standing in line at Safeway. You can help defuse the lies. And we are here to give you the ammunition. This morning I went to a new website, created by OWL in conjunction with a bunch of other organizations. It’s called www.socialsecuritymatters.org, and it has wonderful tools to use in this fight. I specifically loved the documents 10 Things You Should Know, Social Security Messaging, and Responses to Opposition, which state the facts clearly and succinctly. I brought copies for you to take with you. Please make copies and carry them with you. Then when you hear someone one the bus saying Social Security is destroying this country, you can leap up and say ”You must be watching Fox, and they’re lying to you!” No, I’m kidding, I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe you could say, “No, that’s not correct. Here is a paper which will give you the facts.” And of course we all need to continue trying to influence the President, our legislators, and the Commission to keep Social Security there for us all. Congresswoman Matsui has been a fearless leader in this fight and continues the work of your husband, Robert Matsui. But some of you have Lungren or McClintock as your representatives, and they need to hear from you too. Last week I heard a segment on Fresh Air on NPR which was an interview with an author of a new book about a great heat wave in New York at the turn of the last century. There was NO safety net in those days, no help if you were the victim on forces beyond your control. People just died. I remember hearing about seniors scrounging for food in garbage cans and eating cat food. Is that the kind of country we want to live in? I don’t think so!

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Gray Panthers Participates in 19 America Speaks Events

3,500 Americans gathered together at 57 sites, 19 major groups, across the country to deliberate about our nation’s fiscal future on Saturday, June 26, 2010. This event was largely sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, whose founder has long been a foe of Social Security. Many of us in Gray Panthers, OWL, CARA, MoveOn and other organizations therefore felt it was important to attend and ensure that the voices of seniors would be heard. This was doubly important to us as we were assured that members of the Deficit Commission, which appears to be will to throw Social Security under the bus in the mistaken belief that doing so would help reduce the deficit, would be paying attention. Luckily we did, because we had a real impact on the result. One of the ideas for reducing the deficit we were urged to consider was "fixing" Social Security in several ways; we rejected these ideas completely. Here are some of the results, as reported on their website.

• Among spending options, reductions in defense spending received the greatest support.
• 85% of participants expressed support for reducing defense spending by at least 5%, which included 51% of participants who expressed support for a 15% cut.
• 68% of participants expressed support for reducing All Other Non-Defense spending by at least 5%.
• 62% of participants expressed support for reducing health care spending by at least 5%.
• No options for reducing Social Security benefits received a majority of support. Rather, 60% of participants expressed support for raising the cap on payroll taxes to 90%.
• Among revenue options, 54% of participants expressed support for raising income taxes on those earning more than $1 million by five percent and 52% of participants expressed support for raising personal tax rates for the top two income brackets by at least 10%.
• 54% of participants expressed support for establishing a carbon tax and 50% of participants supported the establishment of a securities-transaction tax. No options for reducing deductions and credits received majority support.
• Participants were evenly divided about options presented to reform the tax code.

From the full report, go to http://usabudgetdiscussion.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/FindingCommonGround072710.pdf

Other documents from this event:

• Graqy Panther Margie Metzler's report on the session, which also includes reports by Michael Lyon of Gray Panthers and Jodi Reid of CARA (Word)
• Press release by OWL national office (PDF)
• Power Point from OWL national
• Worksheet from the session (PDF)
• Talking Points prepared in advances (PDF)