Our Worse Fears Confirmed: Reports by Social Security Actuary, Others, Show Republican Congress Would Mean Social Security Benefits Slashed in Half
www.americansunitedforchange.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lauren Weiner, 202-470-5870
October 21, 2010
Our Worse Fears Confirmed: Reports by Social Security Actuary, Others, Show Republican Congress Would Mean Social Security Benefits Slashed in Half
· Social Security Actuary: Republican Proposals Claiming to “Save” Social Security Result in Deep Cuts in Retirement Income for Middle Class Seniors
· CBPP: Ryan Plan Makes Deep Cuts in Social Security
· Joint Economic Committee: Perils of Privatizing Social Security
Washington, DC – A trio of reports detailing the actual cuts Social Security would incur with Republicans in power should put all Americans on edge. Americans United for Change, the group formerly known as Americans United to Protect Social Security and led the national campaign to defeat President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security in 2005, blasted plans from Republicans to try this risky scheme again, which these reports show would lead to a 50% percent cut in benefits, eliminating retirement security for future generations.
Tom McMahon, Executive Director, Americans United for Change: “These studies confirm our worse fears about what Republicans, with Paul Ryan at the helm of the budget committee, would do to our guaranteed retirement benefits – slash and burn. For the millions of seniors that have been lifted out of poverty by Social Security, putting Republicans in power would mean that future generations no longer have that protection. Subjecting our retirement to the whims of Wall Street was an awful idea years ago, and we now have more evidence about just how bad it would be this time around. This is not how we treat our seniors in this country and for Republicans to even think of proposing privatizing show just how out of touch they are with middle-class Americans.”
What If Bush Had Succeeded in Privatizing Social Security?
DPC: “Someone who invested in a recommended 401(k) account indexed to the S&P 500 the day before President Bush was sworn into office in 2001 would have lost money if they withdrew those funds when President Bush left office in 2009: When adjusted for inflation, the S&P 500 had actually declined by 47.73 percent between January 19, 2001 and January 16, 2009. A $1000 investment would have been worth only $522.72.” [CPI Inflation Calculator,S&P 500 Historical Prices]
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Lauren Weiner
Deputy Communications Director
Americans United for Change