Retirees Homepage
Our SS benefits in danger now
A Social Security analysis done by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) indicates real cause for concern about cuts to Social Security benefits for those of us older than age 55.
According to EPI, the cuts could come as early as 2009.
A lot has been said about no money in the SS trust fund and “worthless IOUs,” but the real issue is taxes.
The so-called worthless IOUs are, in reality, U.S. Treasury bonds which must, by law, be redeemed when due. That is, the U.S. Treasury has to repay that money to the Social Security Fund. And that would require a tax increase (which President Bush opposes) or more federal borrowing, or printing more dollars.
If the bonds are not fully redeemed, the Social Security Trust Fund will not have enough money to pay us our promised levels of pension benefits.
Pushing the national debt still higher also would force taxes up.
Printing more money would fuel inflation, interest rates would go through the roof and our pension dollars would buy less.
Outright default on the Treasury bonds would effectively kill Social Security and could cause foreign governments, which also hold huge quantities of these bonds, to doubt their safety and dump them.
Since any of those actions could lead to an economic meltdown, Bush is much more likely to reduce our Social Security benefits.
Those cuts could be very deep because Bush also wants to reduce even further the money going into Social Security, by diverting new contributions into private accounts.
No one knows if we can prevent this train-wreck-in-progress, but we have to try. To learn how you can help, call your PEF Retirees chapter president or our PEF Retirees office at 1-800-342-4306, ext. 289.
The
Communicator May 2005
Inside This Issue
Features
Union scores
big in state budget
Corporate tax loophole widens
Middletown OMH saved
Departments
President's
Message
Nurses Station
Member's Mailbag
Retirees In Action
PEF
Membership Benefits &Travel
Union Matters:
PEF backs two in May Elections
Student health insurance reminder
Nurses
Conference offers insight
Unions plan nurses' rally to end OT
Weak security bugs near WTC
PEF fights to
keep DOL in NYC
Vet returns mementos
to Japan
Privatization Nomination Form
Member
stresses summer safety
E. Board vacancies filled, open
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