Dean Baker wrote an instructive article for the Huffington Post asking why older persons must endure possible cuts to Social Security while the Wall Street bankers who brought on the Wall Street collapse in 2008 smile easily as they rake in more money.
Baker says, "Since Social Security benefits account for more than 70 percent of the income of a typical retiree, President Obama's proposed Social Security adjustment would reduce benefits by an average of 3%."
According to Baker's research, "a wealthy couple earning $500,000 a year would see a hit to their after-tax income of just 0.6 percent from the tax increase that President Obama put in place last year." Small change for them! While the rich have little pain, most US seniors will feel the hurt as their Social Security check drops 3%.
Do you think that US seniors should pay for the current economic crisis? If you say "no", then support Senator Tom Harkin's proposed legislation that would put a .03% tax on stock trades and other financial assets. Such as measure, Dean says, could raise $40 billion per year or over $400 billion over a decade once it went into effect.
If you think these are good ideas, share them with your colleagues, friends and family. Ask them to write their Congressional Representatives and urge them to enact legislation that Harkin proposes.
We older persons must stand up to support ideas and policies that assure fair, just and adequate incomes for all of us. We are many. We can do it!
Have a good week!
Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging
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