Social Security

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We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• What you can do
• Analyses
• News Reports
• Commentary
• Organizations Opposed to Bush's Plan
• Astroturf Support for Bush's Plan
• External site: There Is No Crisis — Coalition of bloggers opposed to dismantling Social Security

What You Can Do

• Use the resources linked on this page refute the lies whenever you hear them.
• Tell your members of Congress that you know there is no "Social Security crisis" and that you expect them to oppose privatization.
• Support the organizations that are opposing Bush's plan, with your volunteer efforts or your dollars.
• Participate in as many of the DailyKos Action Alerts as you can.

Analyses

• 2004 Report of the Social Security Administration Trustees
  Annual report mandated by law, including current financial status and long-term projections
• Putting Social Security Reform Into Context
  Series of reports by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, analyzing the so-called "crisis" and the Republican plans for "reform"
• Fact Sheet on Social Security
  Alliance for Retired Americans
• Bush's Plan Cuts Benefits for Middle Class
  Paul Krugman, New York Times (in Truthout), 2 May 2005
• Personal Savings Plans Likely to Offer Workers More Risk than Reward, Says S&P Report
  Standard & Poor's (in Truthout), 29 March 2005
• Why Privatizing Social Security Is a Terrible Idea
  Max Skidmore, History News Network, 28 February 2005
• Poorest Face Most Risk from Privatizing Social Security
  Jim VandeHei, Washington Post, 19 February 2005
• Democratic radio address responding to Bush's plan for Social Security
  Transcript of address by Senator Charles Schumer, Houston Chronicle, 12 February 2005
• Avoiding the Tough Questions
  Dan Froomkin, Washington Post, 4 February 2005
• Under Bush plan, government would confiscate part of profits from privatized accounts
  Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post, 3 February 2005
• A New Campaign of Lies
  Dave Lindorff, Counterpunch, 3 February 2005
• Little Black Lies
  Paul Krugman, New York Times, 28 January 2005
• Social Security Privatization and Disability
  Marta Russell, Counterpunch, 19 January 2005
• How Long Will You Live?
  Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly, 17 January 2005
• Social Security Projections
  Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly, 16 January 2005
• The Conservative New Deal
  Roger Lowenstein, New York Times, 16 January 2005
• Social Security Crisis? What Crisis?
  Laura D'Andrea Tyson, Business Week, 17 January 2005
• Social Security: Crisis? What crisis?
  Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money, 12 January 2005
• Bush’s Numbers Racket
  Dean Baker, American Prospect, February 2005
• British Pension System a Bad Model for U.S.
  Paul Krugman, New York Times (in Truthout), 14 January 2005
• The Fake Crisis
  interview of Paul Krugman, Rolling Stone (in Truthout), 13 January 2005
• Proposal by the president's Social Security commission whittles away at income support
  Economic Policy Institute, 12 January 2005
• Social Security 'Crisis' Founded on Misleading Information
  OMB Watch, 10 January 2005

News Reports

• The Burden of Social Security Taxes and the Burden of Wage Inequality
  Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research (in Truthout), 14 March 2005
• 42 Senators call for Bush to renounce privatization
  letter reprinted in Truthout, 4 March 2005
• Moynihan's daughter says Bush lying about her father's position on Social Security
  Maura Moynihan, New York Daily News, 27 February 2005
• The White House lies about Latinos and Social Security
  William Saletan, Slate, 24 February 2005
• Manager of biggest bond fund criticizes Social Security plan
  CNN/Money, 4 January 2005
• Rightwingers have been playing for 20 years to 'radically reform' Social Security
  Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly, 30 January 2005
• AARP Poll Finds Appeal of Social Security Private Accounts Drops When Consequences Are Known
  AARP, 24 January 2005
• Failure of Chile's Pension Privatization
  Nathan Newman, nathannewman.org, 27 January 2005
• Think Again: 'Fool Me Thrice? The Media and the 'Crisis' in Social Security'
  Eric Alterman with Paul McLeary, Center for American Progress, 19 January 2005
• Bush official predicts 50% jump in Social Security tax
  Alan Fram, Associated Press (in Truthout), 15 January 2005
• Investment Pros See Bonanza in Bush Social Security Plan
  Ameet Sachdev and Lorene Yue, Chicago Tribune (in Truthout), 9 January 2005
• Bush Paints His Goals as 'Crises'
  Jim VandeHei, Washington Post (in Truthout), 8 January 2005
• Leaked White House Memo favors Social Security cuts
  David Morgan, Reuters (in Truthout), 6 January 2005
• G.O.P. Divided as Bush Views Social Security
  Richard W. Stevenson, New York Times (in Truthout), 6 January 2005
Reuters (in Truthout), 27 February 2004
• How Bush is plundering Social Security to close the deficit
  Daniel Gross, Slate, 9 January 2004
• Bid to Privatize Social Security Is Back
  Mike Allen, Washington Post, 21 November 2003
• Bush Uses Fuzzy Math to Promote Privatizing Social Security
  Edward Wyatt, New York Times, 2 March 2002
• Bush Renews Push to Partially Privatize Social Security
  Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 1 March 2002
• Four Lies About Social Security
  Chris Hartman, Impact Press, 19 February 2002
• Bush Panel Outlines 3 Plans for Social Security 'Reform'
  Richard W. Stevenson, New York Times, 30 November 2001
• Republicans play the race card to try to sell Social Security privatization
  Joe Conason, Salon, 28 August 2001

Commentary

• Why We Need Social Security
  Paul Starr, American Prospect, February 2005
• We Didn't Have A Nickel: Why the Social Security Program Was Created
  DailyKos, 16 January 2005
• A Flat-Out Whopper
  Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate (in Truthout), 13 January 2005
• The Iceberg Cometh
  Paul Krugman, New York Times (in Truthout), 11 January 2005
• Can’t afford Social Security? On the contrary, we can’t afford to lose it
  Henry Bayer, AFSCME, 4 January 2005
• Stopping the Bum's Rush to Dismantle Social Security
  Paul Krugman, New York Times (in Truthout), 3 January 2005
• Not Just Your Mom's Retirement
  Nancy Duff Campbell and Joan Entmacher, Civilrights.org, 16 December 2004
• The Social Security Crisis, Another White House Lie?
  Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research, 30 November 2004
• Social Security: Connect the Dots
  Paul Krugman, New York Times, 2 April 2002
• Breaking the Contract
  Paul Krugman, New York Times, 5 March 2002
• Nothing for Something
  Paul Krugman, New York Times, 8 August 2001

Organizations Opposed to Bush's Plan

• AARP
• AFL-CIO
• Alliance for Retired Americans
• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
• Campaign for America's Future
• Center for American Progress
• Civilrights.org — coalition of 180 national organizations
• Fair Taxes For All — coalition of 325 organizations
• National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
• National Organization for Women

Astroturf Support for Bush's Plan

• Alliance for Retirement Prosperity — The web domain is owned by Donald Luskin, contributing editor of the rightwing National Review Online.
• Alliance for Worker Retirement Security — The web domain is owned by the National Association of Manufacturers.

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