Yearly Archives: 2010

Fair elections bill makes historic progress

Posted on by

The Committee on House Administration announced that they will hold a vote on the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 6116/1826) at a hearing on Thursday, Sept. 23. This is big news.

“Americans want a return to elections of, by, and for the people, not funded by corporate and special interests,” said David Donnelly, campaign manager for the Campaign for Fair Elections. “We urge the Committee to vote out this historic bill, and encourage the House leadership to bring it to the floor where we have the votes to win a landmark victory for all voters.”

Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.), the lead sponsor of the Fair Elections Now Act, also released a statement on the hearing. “I didn’t come to Washington to spend my time raising money,” said Congressman Larson. “I came here to work on behalf of my friends and neighbors back home and solve the issues facing this nation. The Fair Elections Now Act would allow candidates like me to get back to the real business our constituents sent us to Washington for and it would help us make sure the voices of everyday Americans are heard more loudly in elections.”

The legislation’s continued momentum is a clear sign that members of Congress realize that the American people are fed up with the status quo in Washington, D.C. Voters want a Congress that is accountable to them, not corporate and special interests. And with Fair Elections advancing, they may finally get it.

To grandparents everywhere: thank you!

Posted on by

By Becci Robbins
SC Alliance for Retired Americans field organizer

When I left home, I was the last of three girls to fly the coop. But my mother needn’t have worried about suffering an empty nest. Before long, my sister was back home — without her husband, but with a baby. My mother helped co-parent until my sister remarried several years later.

The family arrangement was nothing unique. In fact, these days, with so many parents underemployed or jobless, it’s becoming increasingly common.

Fortunately for my family, my sister and mother had good jobs to provide the baby with a safe, stable home. Others, of course, are not so lucky. Without help, their circumstance would risk going from tenuous to tragic.

In South Carolina, Social Security is the most important source of income for the 112,000 children living in homes headed by a grandparent or other relative. Nationwide, 3.4 million children live in households in which at least one relative receives benefits.

When I hear politicians talk about raising the retirement age or cutting Social Security, I think of these families — families just like mine but without access to good jobs. I think about children just like my niece, only more vulnerable. And I worry about political leaders with so little regard for them.

Today is Grandparents Day. While we celebrate our family elders, let’s remember to honor those who are filling the gaps left by absent, abusive or deceased parents. Their sacrifices are heroic, and we all benefit from the stabilizing influence they bring to families and communities.

The myth of the founding fathers

Posted on by

With Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and the Tea Partiers
By Tom Turnipseed

Led by Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, Tea Party worshipers of the Founding Fathers want to return to the “good ol’ days” of 1787, when most African-Americans were slaves, many poor whites were indentured servants, and women couldn’t vote. At the time the Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, Native Americans were being slaughtered for their land, and Mexicans who were indigenous to the Southwest and the West coast of what became the United States were included in the genocide.

None of the ancestors of the African American, Native American, or Latino speakers addressing the mostly white Tea Partiers at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech would have been among the Founding Fathers. No women, Jews, Muslims, poor people or non-land owners were numbered amongst the Founders who were rich white men.

Conservatives have trouble seeking sensible solutions to our present-day problems of poverty, violence, and perpetual war that make rich folks richer while poor people suffer and weapons makers and war profiteers make big bucks while killing and injuring innumerable innocent people. The problems are caused by big moneyed interests with the help of simple minded sycophants like Beck, Sarah Palin and the Tea Partiers. Their answer is to look backward to the wealthy Founding Fathers for guidance. The Tea Partiers believe the mythologized Founding Fathers are more intelligent and moral than anyone today except maybe radical right-wingers like Beck and Palin.

While hosting the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show and the Glenn Beck Show on Fox News Channel, Beck has been promoting conspiracy theories and delivering incoherent diatribes against socialists and environmentalists. Beck has called President Obama a Marxist, communist, and socialist who is taking America down the road to fascism. He has accused Obama of being a racist with a “hatred for whites”, and alleged that the Obama Presidency is like evil gorillas, endangering humankind and compared Obama’s America to “the Planet of the Apes”. He said that Al Gore wants to create a new “Hitler youth” because he promotes environmental awareness among young people. Beck doesn’t believe in global warming, but loves guns and militarism.

In Washington Beck did not mention Obama or Gore, but rather, assumed the role of an evangelist, presenting a religious theme of “Faith, Hope and Charity” which was a lame attempt to mask his worship of Mammon, the God of big business. Beck’s big show “just happened” to be at the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King II made his iconic speech 47 years ago to the day. Beck said he was totally unaware it was the anniversary of King’s address when he scheduled his event and he believes the Lord led him to schedule the event at that time and place. He also boasted that the right wing rally had “reclaimed the civil rights movement.” Beck said he heard the voice of God while addressing his flock, a symptom characteristic of schizophrenia. He and his far right friend and probable Republican Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin repeatedly mentioned King’s legacy, as giant screens carried King’s image and brief excerpts of his 1963 address. Earlier this year Beck denounced King as a “radical socialist” and questioned why a national holiday had been named in his honor. Beck was born in a Roman Catholic family, but converted to Mormonism. He says he “found the Lord” who saved him from his alcohol and drug addiction and his channeling the voice of God sounds like the faith required in a 12 steps effort to stay on the wagon.

In his rambling speech Beck gave several quotes from the Declaration of Independence, recited the Gettysburg Address, invoked trite clichés of Americana and read bible verses. Palin said she was the mother of a “combat vet” and led a chant of “USA, USA, USA.”
In the past other extremist populist movements in America also wrapped themselves in the cross and the flag, but espoused some social and economic policies that appealed to the common man. Father Charles Coughlin and Rev. Gerald L.K. Smith were demagogic leaders in the depression days of the 1930s, who at least talked about the dangers of capitalism, with Coughlin advocating a guaranteed annual wage and nationalization of some industries and Smith calling for income limits for the wealthy and old age pensions for everyone.

When he announced the rally, Beck promised to present a plan which would provide “specific policies and action steps” to found “a new national movement to restore our great country.” Instead, in his speech on Saturday, he said he decided to not reveal the plan, because of a conversation he had with God. Rather than explaining his plan “to restore our great country”, Beck said that people should turn to the Lord by praying on their knees and leaving their doors open so their children could see them doing so. Could it be that the billionaires and corporate entities who fund the tea party movement nixed the plan that might help poor and working class people at their expense?

Beck, Palin and their fellow Tea Partiers worship the rich white men and moneyed interests who fund their movement and their politics. Their gods are 21st century manifestations of the rich white men who were the Founding Fathers.

Tom Turnipseed is an attorney, writer and peace activist in Columbia, SC. His blog is at tomandjudyonablog.

South Carolina veteran rips US Sen. Alan Simpson

Posted on by

SC Alliance for Retired Americans member Sheila Jackson, of Greenville, SC, is not amused by US Sen. Alan Simpson, chair of the President’s Deficit Commission, who recently called Social Security a “milk cow with 310 million tits.”

Vile, vulgar and sexist

Posted on by

“We’ve reached a point now where it’s like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Call when you get honest work!”

This quote:
1. comes from an appointee of President Obama
2. was written by a former Republican senator
3. is actually referring to seniors “milking” Social Security
4. is from a sexist, vulgar and insulting letter to a women’s rights leader
5. suggests that advocating for women and seniors is not “honest work”
6. all of the above

Yep, all of the above!

Outrageously, this vulgar former senator holds an important position, and I hope you will join me in urging President Obama to act immediately to remove former Senator Alan K. Simpson as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (aka the “deficit commission”) before his cynical attitudes influence policy that could be harmful to women, seniors, and social security.

Tell President Obama: “Send Simpson Back to Wyoming”

I’ll admit that I was worried when he was first appointed. I was concerned that he would put Social Security recipients at risk, instead of the real causes of the deficit. I also knew he could be condescending to women. Personally, I’ll never forget a confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice when Simpson, then a member of the Senate Judiciary committee, lectured a panel of women’s rights leaders, including myself, as though we were children.

You can hear some of that tone in Simpson’s email message to Ashley Carson, Executive Director of OWL, the Voice of Mid-Life and Older Women. The fact that Ashley has testified on behalf of OWL before the Commission in June did not deter him from disparaging her, the organization, their commitment and hard work. His so-called “smart cracks” reveal his own limited knowledge of women’s organizations. But most importantly, a man with this lack of respect for women and women’s organizations should not be in a powerful position to influence cuts to Social Security – the lifeline for millions of older women who are living below the poverty line even with their social security check – under the guise of deficit reduction.

Yesterday Simpson apologized for insulting Ashley personally – but not for his attack on advocates for women and his underlying conviction that seniors who need social security are milking the system.

Please join me in sending a message to President Obama – ask him to protect the social security safety net, and send the sexist senator back to Wyoming.

For Equality,
Ellie Smeal
NOW President

Nikki Haley’s 10 Dirty Words

Posted on by

By Phil Noble
President, SC New Democrats
Charleston, SC

SC Rep. Nikki Haley just released her jobs plan. These 10 words do not appear in it:

1.    Agriculture – our largest industry.
2.    Tourism – our second largest industry.
3.    Technology – the largest driver of economic growth in the past 20 years.
4.    Computer (or Internet) – nifty little thing that is used for most every phase of economic activity.
5.    Capital – as in venture capital that’s needed for start-ups, the creator of small business jobs.
6.    Global – everything and everyone else in the world.
7.    Exports – the stuff we sell in the global marketplace to make money.
8.    International – as in international business, the way we make the money from the world.
9.    Green – as in green jobs, 21st century jobs that save money and can’t be shipped overseas.
10.    Rural – as in rural development, what 1 million of us (23.4 percent of South Carolinians) desperately need.

It’s a great 19th century jobs plan.

Keeping the promise between generations

Posted on by

By Becci Robbins
SC Alliance for Retired Americnas

Seventy-five years ago this week, FDR signed the Social Security Act into law. As senior and retiree groups threw parties across the country to mark the occasion, opponents of Social Security continued their multimillion dollar campaign to fool the public into believing that benefits for seniors must be cut to reduce the deficit.

It is a cruel message that puts the burden of fixing the country’s financial problems on the backs of seniors and people with disabilities. It is also dishonest.

They don’t blame our economic problems on Wall Street bailouts, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans or funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And they won’t tell you that Social Security’s solvency can be resolved with small adjustments, such as raising the payroll tax cap on Social Security taxes for the wealthy or by freezing the estate tax and applying that money to the program.

Those who depend on Social Security — or love someone who does — would do well to pay attention to what’s going on. The next couple of months are critical.

In December, President Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will offer to Congress its recommendations on how to reduce the deficit. Given the make-up of the body, it’s likely that Social Security and Medicare will be targets.

The Commission’s co-chair, for one, famously described older Americans as “greedy geezers” and supported efforts to privatize Social Security. If he’d had his way, those investment accounts by now would have lost 20 percent of their value.

While the Commission has several other known foes of entitlement programs, it also includes US Rep. John Spratt, who promises to continue to work to keep Social Security strong for future generations. South Carolina voters have a unique opportunity to engage their family, their neighbors and the congressman on this matter to make sure he stays true to his commitment.

Social Security, funded with taxes paid by workers and their employers, is a promise between generations that belongs to the people who have worked hard their whole lives to provide for their families.

The program is critical to many of South Carolina’s retirees and their spouses. Don Thacker, 80, says Social Security and Medicare allow him to live at home and get medical care as an outpatient. “Many people live on very limited incomes in South Carolina and have to make choices between food and medicine,” he said. “These programs make a difference.”

Columbia resident Ruby James says, “I worked for many years and then became disabled. I’m able to live now off of my Social Security.” Her daughter’s husband died at a young age, leaving her with three children, one with a disability. Social Security benefits helped two of those children finish college.

Without Social Security, 19.8 million more Americans would be poor, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Without Social Security, 45.2 percent of elderly Americans would live below the poverty line.

But Social Security doesn’t just benefit seniors; children and people with disabilities also depend on the program. The program lifts more than 1 million children out of poverty. And it is is the most important source of income for the 112,000 children living in South Carolina’s grandfamilies, households headed by a grandparent or other relative.

Sue Berkowitz says that her husband and a former roommate would not have been able to attend college if not for Social Security benefits. “So even though we were prior to retirement age, I know two people who are dear to me who it helped.”

While the debate rages about how to manage our national deficit, the loudest voices are spreading fear and misinformation. The rest of us need to make our own voices heard at the polls in November.

Becci Robbins is an organizer with the SC Alliance for Retired Americans. For details about the organization, email scalliance@mindspring.com.

SC AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt and SC Progressive Network Director Brett Bursey honor US Congressman John Spratt with a plaque at a SC Allilance for Retired Americans party celebrating Social Security’s birthday in Rock Hill on Aug. 13. See more photos here.

On Social Security’s 75th birthday, let’s party with US Congressman John Spratt

Posted on by

To celebrate Social Security’s 75th birthday and honor US Congressman John Spratt for his long service to the Palmetto State, the SC Alliance for Retired Americans invites the public to a party on Friday, Aug. 13, in Rock Hill.

Spratt serves on the President’s Fiscal Reform Commission, which will offer its recommendations to Congress in December that likely will affect programs critical to seniors. Given the make-up of the Commission, the Alliance fears it may vote to cut Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age to reduce the deficit.

Spratt and other guests will talk about the history and current threats to Social Security, and will remind us that the program did not create the deficit and should not be cut to solve it. Social Security has enough money to cover full benefits for nearly 30 years, and has not added a penny to the nation’s budget crisis. In fact, the program is one of America’s greatest success stories, but misinformation has twisted the public debate.

With a $2.6 trillion dollar surplus, Social Security is not bankrupt. The federal government has borrowed most of that to pay for bailouts, two wars, and tax cuts for the wealthy. The government must pay back the loan, as that money belongs to American workers.

Part of Friday’s program will be the release of a new study detailing how much Social Security benefits residents of South Carolina.

The party kicks off at 5:30pm with music by the TransGenerational Jazz Band and free refreshments. Congressman Spratt will speak shortly after 6pm. He will receive a giant card signed by constituents asking him to protect and preserve Social Security and a plaque from the Alliance thanking him for his service.

Someone will get whacking rights to a large “Fat Cat” piñata.

The SC Alliance for Retired Americans thanks our event cosponsors: SC AFL-CIO, SC New Democrats, SC Progressive Network, Rock Hill NAACP, Catawba Central Labor Council, Greater Columbia Central Labor Council.

For details about the event or the SC Alliance for Retired Americans, email scalliance@mindspring.com or call 803-808-3384. Or join us on Facebook.

On 75th anniversary of Social Security, where does Wilson stand?

Posted on by

This weekend on Meet the Press, Republican Leader John Boehner reiterated his support for making deep cuts in Social Security.  South Carolina Democrats met the assertions with criticism, calling on Second District Congressman Joe Wilson to denounce Boehner’s plan to take away the benefits seniors have earned.  Wilson’s silence on this issue and refusal to protest the GOP plan to raise the retirement age to 70 shows just how out of touch with South Carolina he is.

“It’s time for Joe Wilson to show that he’s willing to fight for South Carolina’s seniors,” said South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler.  “He’s made a career out of voting the way his party leadership tells him to, but cutting the benefits that people have worked a lifetime to earn is taking partisanship too far.  It’s time for Joe to stand up for his constituents, not Wall Street Banks and the GOP’s privatization schemes.”

BACKGROUND

Wilson votes with GOP 96.7% of the time. [Washington Post Votes Database, Accessed 8/9/10]

Meet the Press exchange between host David Gregory and Republican Leader John Boehner:

GREGORY: All right. One of the ways you talk about getting your arms around spending was something you suggested back in June. That is that social security, the retirement age, ought to be raised to the age of 70. Is that something that the GOP will campaign on in the fall?

BOEHNER: David, I think it’s time for the American people to have an adult conversation about the problems that we face. These entitlement programs serve tens of millions of Americans and are critically important. We know that these programs are unsustainable in their current form, and I really do think it’s time we sit down and talk to the American people together about how we solve this. I think we need to bring Democrats and Republicans together in order to solve this problem.

GREGORY: You favor raising the retirement age?

BOEHNER: David, there are a lot of options about how you solve these, but I don’t want to get the cart before the horse. I think it’s important to have this conversation. It’s going to be a difficult conversation, but it’s time to have it and come up with solutions done in a bipartisan way to address the problems. [Meet the Press, 8/8/10]

Boehner Said he’d favor raising the Social Security retirement age to 70. Earlier this summer, Boehner outlined his support for raising the Social Security retirement age to 70, tying cost-of-living increases to the consumer price index rather than wage inflation, and limiting payments to those who need them. [Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 6/29/10]

Described support for existing Social Security system as “nostalgia.” Boehner said, “We need the courage to strengthen Social Security for our children and grandchildren. We can’t be blinded by nostalgia for a broken system or casual about the problems it’ll cause our families down the road…” [US Fed News, Boehner Answers Community’s Questions, 4/29/05]

Boehner promised agenda of privatizing Social Security if he took Ccarge. In 2006, Boehner said he’d push to privatize Social Security if he was in charge. “If I’m around in a leadership role come January, we’re going to get serious about it.” [Washington Times, 7/31/06]