MONEY AND POLITICS
While liberals and progressives bemoan the influence of money in politics and campaigns, we seem to be ignoring the issue of money and politics in our personal lives. With corporations freezing pensions plans, wage rates stagnating or declining, and the rich getting all the tax breaks where is the outrage? Are we shopping when we should be shouting...?
MONEY AND POLITICS
While liberals and progressives bemoan the influence of money in politics and campaigns, we seem to be ignoring the issue of money and politics in our personal lives. With corporations freezing pensions plans, wage rates stagnating or declining, and the rich getting all the tax breaks where is the outrage? Are we shopping when we should be shouting?
In the 1980s the U.S.
While freezing pension plans, corporations are urging workers to sign up for 401(k)s for retirement savings. Yet half of 401(k) savers on have less than $20,000 in their account and forty-five percent cash their 401(k) out when they leave a company. Almost a third don’t take 40l(k)s when they are offered.
The national savings and insurance plan that has proven effective is Social Security. For the last half century it has saved millions from poverty in retirement and on the death of the worker. The failure of President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security indicates the broad public support for the program. It is a family centered plan covering both workers and their dependents. When one changes employers the program follows. Yet many young progressives have bought the decades old right wing rhetoric that Social Security won’t be there when they retire. They should think again.
Today Social Security enjoys a healthy surplus, calculated to increase to nearly four trillion dollars by 2014. There is concern that about 40 years from now it can’t pay the promised full benefits. But forty years is a long time. There are numerous ways to fix this excellent program. A mere one percent increase in the payroll tax on both employers and employees would keep Social Security solvent for the lifetime of every worker and most children alive today. Raising the current cap on wages beyond which no social security tax is paid--$94,200 in 2006—would also help. Why not a campaign to make that happen?
Why let corporations just decide to freeze their pension plans and leave employees in the lurch? Why not start a campaign to require corporations that do not offer pension plans or freeze their current plans to pay an extra percentage of their payroll into Social Security on behalf of their employees. Why not disallow 40l(k) cash outs and institute some form of automatic rollover when workers leave an employer. Few workers stay with one company during their work life. They need portability in their retirement accounts. Why not allow workers to buy into the Thrift Savings Plan offered to federal employees.
Hurricane Katrina should have taught us that preparation for disaster is far cheaper and less chaotic than trying to help people after disaster strikes. Liberals and progressives should be demanding that Congress take the financial plight of citizens seriously and begin by fixing Social Security. Next on the agenda should be increasing the minimum wage and rolling back the tax cuts on the rich instituted at federal and state levels in recent years. It’s time we demanded Congress get serious about financial security for all citizens.
Arvonne Fraser
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