Grijalva: Social Security changes will help Wall Street, not retirees

[madfloridian]

Good for him for speaking out on this.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2005/01/17/daily9.html

SNIP.."Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva is criticizing the Bush administration over its efforts to privatize portions of the Social Security retirement system.

SNIP:...."Grijalva, a Democrat representing Southwestern Arizona including rural areas of Maricopa County, worries that allowing private accounts will bite into Social Security financial reserves and benefit Wall Street brokers more than retirees. That echoes privatization worries by the Arizona and national AARP and other Democrats.

"Only the big corporate interests on Wall Street, who stand to gain millions in new fees under this proposal, will benefit," said Grijalva, a frequent critic of the Bush administration and one of the most liberal members of Congress...."

I am most concerned that the USA (Universal Savings Accounts) proposed by Clinton will likewise destroy the system...even though the DLC emphasizes the "in addition to" aspect. Money will be diverted from those on the traditional program...and that would be inexcusable.


DLC | New Dem Daily | April 23, 1999
Idea of the Week: Retirement Savings for Low Income Americans
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=695&kaid=131&subid=207

"President Clinton did not embrace the carve-out approach in announcing his proposal for extending the solvency of the Social Security system early this year. Rather, the President's proposal for private savings, Universal Savings Account (USA), would be an add-on to Social Security. It would give all lower- and most middle-income families an annual $600 federal tax credit to seed a tax-free personal retirement savings account. Most importantly, the federal government (through a refundable tax credit) would match private savings up to $700 per year per couple for low-to-moderate income families. That means an eligible household where the husband and wife each saved $350 per year would wind up with $2,000 a year placed in their USA account. "

Convince me this does not just profit Wall Street, and eventually close the program down. I am open-minded...convince me.

[rodeodance]

1. it is meant to help the banking industry, just as "Med. Reform" helped

the pharmaceutical industry!! plain and simple!!

[madfloridian]

2. If you agree, be sure to get your message out...link here.

www.ourfuture.org

See the link on the left.