Elizabeth Warren: Social Security Is Under Attack

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/21093-social-security-is-under-attack

Among working families on the verge of retirement, about a third have no retirement savings of any kind,
and another third have total savings that are less than their annual income. Many seniors have seen
their housing wealth shrink, as well. According to AARP, in 2012, one out of every seven older
homeowners was paying down a mortgage that was higher than the value of their house.

And just as they need to rely more than ever on employer support, employers are withdrawing from their
traditional role in helping provide a secure retirement. Two decades ago, more than a third of all
private-sector workers - 35 percent - had traditional, defined benefit pensions - pensions that
guaranteed a certain monthly payment that retirees knew they could depend on. Today, only 18 percent of
private-sector workers have defined benefit pensions. Employers have replaced guaranteed retirement
income with savings plans, like 401(k) plans, that leave the retiree at the mercy of the market, and,
sometimes, at the mercy of dubious investment products. These plans often fall short of what retirees
need, and nearly half of all American workers don't even have access to those limited plans. This leaves
more than 44 million workers without access to a workplace retirement savings plan.

Add all of this up - the dramatic decline in individual savings and the dramatic decline of guaranteed
retirement benefits and employer support in return for a lifetime of work - and we're left with a
retirement crisis - a crisis that is as real and as frightening as any policy problem facing the United States today.

With less savings and weaker private retirement protection, retirees depend more than ever on the safety
and reliability of Social Security. Social Security works - no one runs out of benefits, and thguaranteed payments don't rise and fall with the stock market. Two-thirds of seniors rely on it for the majority of their income in retirement, and for 14 million seniors, this is the safety net that keeps them out of poverty. Social Security also protects retirees' spouses and children, disabled workers and family members who survive the death of the family's earner. Here in Essex County alone, 139,280 people receive Social Security benefits.

[daleanime]

1. K&R....

[G_j]

2. K&R

[defacto7]

3. K & R

[Phlem]

4. K&R.

...

-p

[dchill]

5. K & R.

[pansypoo53219]

6. why is the so called 'greenspan' fix adressed? he left a bug. a big bug. like a time bomb.

[ReRe]

7. K&R

The American Dream has become the American Nightmare. Thank God for Elizabeth Warren. Does anyone else up there on the Hill ever voice this disparity? If so, I haven't heard it.

[newfie11]

8. K&R

[Enthusiast]

9. K&R

[Scuba]

10. Yes, but advocating for preserving (or strengthening) SS makes one part of the "radical fringe".

[MisterP]

12. well, how else are you going to ignore 70-90% of the country?

you can't *admit* that you're a prancing, gelded corporate poodle without pretending "Millions Stand Behind Me"? why else did Ronnie Christ and the Baggers always get themselves photographed leading roaring crowds?

[Scuba]

14. Bingo.

[spanone]

11. k&r...

[bvar22]

13. Well Geez, Louise. If you wanted to strengthen and protect Social Security,

...you should have voted for THIS guy:

What ever happened to the guy who was going to Raise-the-Cap on Social Security?
He would have made a good President.

[Uncle Joe]

15. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, eridani.