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Social Security celebrates 73rd Birthday, Alliance for Retired Americans fights for 73 more

From Oregon to Florida, the Alliance for Retired Americans celebrated Social Security’s 73rd birthday with 25 grassroots events lauding the program that has kept millions of Americans out of poverty and by promising to continue fighting privatization efforts. 

On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law as a “measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.” 

Yet, on July 7, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today.  And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed.” 

Alliance members protested these comments outside Republican headquarters and McCain offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon and Phoenix, Arizona, and asked Senators John Sununu (R-NH) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) to denounce their colleague’s comments in Manchester, New Hampshire and Salem, Oregon, respectively. 

The Senator was also shadowed by the Alliance on his visits to York, Pennsylvania and Aspen, Colorado this week. 

Additionally, birthday cakes and cards were presented with thanks to Social Security Administration offices in Green Bay, Madison, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Morgantown, West Virginia; Raleigh and Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Tallahassee, Port St. Lucie, Lake Mary, and Valrico, Florida; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Reading, Pennsylvania; Tyler, Texas; and Montpelier, Vermont.  More events are planned through next week.

“We are reminding retirees that Senator McCain continues to support President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security.  This would create Social Security accounts tied to the roller coaster of Wall Street. 

“With all the turbulence in the stock market, this is a gamble few retirees can afford to take,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance, in a press conference organized by Americans United for Change. 

Also speaking in support of Social Security during the press conference were U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, and James Roosevelt Jr., grandson of FDR. 

Mr. Coyle additionally lauded “one of our nation’s greatest success stories” on “The Race,” live Wednesday night on XM satellite radio’s Presidential Politics Channel and on “Special Report with Brit Hume” on Fox News yesterday.