Women and Social Security Alert (WomenSSA)
Items in This Alert
|
||
|
> Women’s Organizations Condemn Privatizers’ Attacks on Stay-At-Home Moms, Cite Gross Hypocrisy of Party Claiming Mantle of Family Values On March 30, the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) released a statement criticizing a briefing paper distributed among Republican lawmakers that urged members of Congress to argue against spousal benefits under the current Social Security program. The paper claims that working women are short-changed by Social Security’s spousal benefits because full-time caregivers are eligible for these benefits without their own work records. This claim misses an important fact that spousal benefits, along with the program’s progressive formula, protect many working women with low and moderate earnings, as well as full-time caregivers. Even with their own earnings records, most married women receive higher benefits based on their husband’s records rather than on their own, because of their lower lifetime earnings resulting from time out of the workforce for family caregiving and continued wage disparities between women and men. IWPR President Dr. Heidi Hartmann explained, “Spousal benefits are designed to compensate women for their time spent raising children and caring for other family members.” Privatizing Social Security, on the other hand, would hurt all women—working women and stay-at-home moms alike—because the program’s guaranteed benefits would be cut across the board, experts agree. > Women and Social Security Forum NCWO, YWCA USA, and Business and Professional Women/USA sponsored a forum on women and Social Security on Capitol Hill on April 1. Speakers explained the financing and solvency of Social Security, outlined the harm that Social Security privatization would bring, and showed the human faces behind Social Security. Some facts:
Diana Taylor of the YWCA of Houston shared her experience growing up in a Hispanic family. She recalled that both her grandmother and mother relied on Social Security, and she showed a video that included interviews with three older women between the ages of 75 and 80 years-old who are served by YWCA-Houston programs. Each woman discussed the importance of Social Security in their own lives. One woman stressed the word “security,” saying that although her benefit is only a small amount, it is crucial. She feared the effects of privatization on younger generations, who, because of their inexperience, may be talked into anything. Another woman noted the importance of her consistent, monthly benefit, allowing her to plan and budget her money. If Social Security benefits fluctuate with the market (as they would under privatization) individuals would not be able to rely on this core source of retirement income. Speakers included Dr. Laurie Young of the Older Women’s League, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and Cathy Hurwit of the Office of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). Dr. Young’s remarks at the event can be accessed at http://www.owl-national.org/. IN THE NEWS > Cancellation of Older Women’s League Event by National Archives OWL recently kicked off its "Social Security Matters" Campaign which includes an educational tour around the country. The first event was scheduled to take place on April 9th at the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY. However, the National Archives, citing the Hatch Act (a federal law barring partisan activities on federal property) cancelled the event at the last minute (“FDR Library Blocks Social Security Forum”). The event is sponsored by OWL, American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the League of Women Voters (LWV), all non-profit and non-partisan groups. This public forum on Social Security reform was cancelled because Cynthia Koch, director of the FDR library, claimed it would not be balanced without discussing “the merits of privatization proposals.” Two Republican representatives from NY—Reps. Sue E. Kelly and John W. Sweeney—were invited but declined to participate. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), scheduled to speak at the forum, called the move “an attempt to stifle opposing views.” The forum entitled “Is the Privatization of Social Security a False Promise for All Generations?” was held instead at the Friends Meeting House in Poughkeepsie, NY on April 9th. Prior to this event, OWL was invited back to the library, but due to the late notice, the event was not moved back.> Young People Increasingly Oppose President’s Privatization Plan A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows that President’s proposal to privatize Social Security is losing support even among younger people who have been most receptive of the idea. While 66% of young adults age 18-29 favored the proposal in February, that percentage declined to 49% in late March, reflecting growing uncertainty among this generation who would be most affected by the ongoing debate (see “Bush’s Social Security Plan Loses Steam among Young Adults”).> Growing Dissent Towards Privatization Among Republicans Within the Republican Party ranks, opposition is growing towards the President’s proposal to privatize Social Security. Two key GOP leaders from Iowa, Rep. Jim Leach and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, expressed a lack of constituent support and momentum for the President’s privatization plan, prior to their joint appearance with President Bush in Iowa (“Social Security Plan Meets Doubt in Iowa”). Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert (R-IL) called the President’s push for a Social Security bill this year “unrealistic.” (“Hastert Doubtful on Social Security Bill”). Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proposed his own plan that involves tax increases and benefit cuts for Social Security—raising the cap on taxable earnings and having the growth of benefits tied to price increases for people with higher earnings (“Graham Fills Social Security Void With a Plan Bound to Irk All Sides”). RESEARCH NOTES > Reliance on Social Security Income Among the Elderly A recent brief by the Economic Policy Institute (Social Security and the Income of the Elderly) shows that Social Security represents nearly two-thirds of the income for the typical (median) 65 year-old who receives a Social Security benefit. Social Security’s share of the total income is especially larger for the typical unmarried woman (84%) compared with the typical married couple (53%). State-by-state analysis indicates that unmarried elderly women in many southern states such as Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee rely on Social Security to the greatest extent (90% or more). The research uses data from the March Current Population Surveys, 2002-2004.> Social Security as an Anti-Poverty Program for Children In addition to retirement benefits, Social Security as a social insurance program provides disability and survivors benefits which can be a critical source of income for many poor and low-income families with children. New research by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (Social Security: The Most Important Anti-Poverty Program for Children) shows that among children living in low-income families (below 150% of the poverty line), 12% lived in families receiving Social Security checks, while 11% lived in families receiving TANF checks in 2003. For these low-income families receiving Social Security, nearly half of their total household income (47%) came from Social Security. This share is nearly as large as that of TANF--TANF benefits accounted for about half of the total household income among low-income families receiving these benefits. UPCOMING EVENTS > OWL "Social Security Matters" Campaign OWL is sponsoring forums around the country as part of their "Social Security Matters" Campaign. The forums will bring younger, midlife, and older women together to educate them about Social Security and the impact of privatization on women. A recent forum took place in Poughkeepsie, NY (April 9), and other forums are currently scheduled in St. Louis, MO (April 16), and Washington, DC (April 22). Other meetings are also being planned in Sacramento, CA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Connecticut; Denver, CO; Bucks County, PA; and Portland, OR. For more information, contact OWL at 800-825-3695 or info@owl-national.org. Join us for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research
If you have questions or comments, contact Jean Sinzdak at (202) 785-5100 or sinzdak@iwpr.org. Please visit http://www.iwpr.org/About/Membership.htm for information on becoming an IWPR member or to make a donation. |
||
Institute for Women's Policy Research
1707 L Street, NW, Suite 750 ~ Washington, DC 20036 © 2005 by IWPR |