Retirees In Action

Abraham Lincoln said: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

PEF and the PEF Retirees have continually maintained that given “real facts” the citizenry would understand and support our issues. This is the basis of our Go Public campaign and our work to preserve and advance security, respect, and dignity for seniors and working people in our country.

Dennis Beagle, a former Executive Board member and a PEF Retiree activist, states, “I think the most important activity any of the employee organizations or retiree groups can do is to battle against the media campaign being waged by the NYS Business Council and its research arm, the Public Policy Institute.”

We constantly deal with commercial media “shock-jock attack dogs,” and a political system that is rewarded with campaign contributions for responding to the policy goals of the moneyed interests.

Those interests insidiously seek to identify their narrow, self-serving agenda with the general welfare of the public.

But who is more important to America, the thousands of lobbyists who walk the corridors of Congress seeking unfair advantages for the financial, pharmaceutical, energy and business interests, or the workers and seniors of our country?

The PEF Retirees believes our government should be responsive to the interests of the many, not the big money of the few.

We cannot allow working people and seniors to have a puny, ineffective voice in matters of our country. We must not choose apathy, for it is truly the path of submission and acquiescence. Instead, support individuals and policies that advance and defend our rights and benefits.

2008 is a critical year. The political ideology of our country is at stake. In addition, we may face mounting economic challenges.

Work with PEF and the PEF Retirees to elect our endorsed candidates. Support our pension COLA initiative. Continue to defend our health benefits. And attend PEF union and retiree meetings.

Journalist and political philosopher Walter Lippmann stated in 1940, “For every good that you wish to preserve, you will have to sacrifice your comfort and ease. There is nothing for nothing any longer.”

Take Dennis Beagle’s challenge to dispute opinions disguised as facts, selective information, half truths, and downright lies trumpeted by the shameless apologists of the well-heeled special interests. Voice your concerns. Call radio talk shows to challenge misinformation, and write letters to the editor to set the record straight.

Yesterday’s generation fought for and established the rights of workers and seniors in America. Today, it falls on us to step out of our comfort zones and up to the plate to bear the same responsibility, if we want to continue to enjoy those benefits.