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Friday Alert 8/12/05
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.org
SEEN AND HEARD
We can never insure one hundred percent of the population
against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have
tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average
citizen and to his family...
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt on signing Social Security
Act, August 14, 1935
Social Security Celebrates 70 Years
August 14 commemorates the day 70 years ago when President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. To celebrate the momentous
occasion, this week the Alliance sponsored town hall meetings across the country
to educate constituents on the importance of Social Security and how
privatization proposals would destroy this amazingly successful retirement
security plan. Alliance members also took the opportunity to pressure lawmakers
into taking a stand for or against private accounts.
"Protecting Social Security is about securing the future and continuing a
program that has proven its value because it works," said George J. Kourpias,
president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. This year, nearly 48 million
Americans will rely on Social Security's time-tested safety net. Before Social
Security, poverty rates among seniors were the highest of any age group. Today,
they are among the lowest, thanks almost entirely to Social Security. A study by
the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that without Social Security,
one out of two seniors-or half the elderly population-would be poor.
Noticeably absent from anniversary celebrations was the very agency that
administers Social Security. As reported in the Friday Alert on July 8, the
Social Security Administration (SSA) makes a marked departure from years past by
doing almost nothing to publicize the 70th anniversary. The Bush administration
has used the agency to push out a message of Social Security's purported
financial crisis through speeches, seminars, public events, radio, television
and newspapers over the objections of many of its employees. "It's not the Baby
Boomers who will undo this remarkable program, it's those who are zealously
driven to privatize it," declared Kourpias. "America's seniors will do
everything in our power to defeat private accounts."
September Will Be Critical to Protecting Retirement
Security
When Congress returns to Washington in September, the House is widely expected
to take up legislation to inject private accounts into Social Security. This is
a critical time to act and ensure that Social Security and retirement security
are protected for generations to come. Seniors are the one group capable of
derailing proposals to privatize Social Security. A recent Wall Street
Journal/NBC poll found more than 70 percent of seniors, who are far more likely
to vote in mid-term elections, opposed private accounts.
Come and join your fellow activists at the Alliance's 2005 National
Legislative Conference, September 7-9 in Washington, DC. Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-NY) and author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin are confirmed
speakers. The conference will also include a massive Social Security Rally and
Lobby Day on Capitol Hill as well as informative workshops on the upcoming
Medicare prescription drug benefit and the 2006 mid-term elections. Register
today by calling Joni Jones at 1-888-373-6497 or email
jjones@retiredamericans.org.
Medicare Premium Bait and Switch?
Out on its Medicare road show this week, the Bush administration
eagerly announced that monthly premiums for the drug benefit will be lower than
originally expected. Average monthly premiums are now estimated at $32.20, a few
dollars less than the previous estimate of $37.37. Medicare officials also
noted that the government cost for each beneficiary will be 14% less. Yet
despite the lower estimates, experts caution that these initial premiums do not
preclude future increases. The Congressional Budget Office projects that
premiums for the drug benefit will go up 65% by 2013. Medicare beneficiaries
whose incomes are low enough to qualify for extra assistance are widely
encouraged to apply for the benefit, especially since they do not have to pay
premiums or deductibles.
"This is a brand new drug benefit that has never been tried before and the
Alliance will be vigilant in tracking its progress," said Ruben Burks,
secretary-treasurer of the Alliance for Retired Americans. "Hopefully, these new
lower estimates are not a bait-and-switch that traps seniors into an
increasingly costly private plan. Unfortunately, the 2003 Medicare law does
nothing to rein in drug costs or stop private health insurers from raising their
rates."
The decrease is a modest bit of good news, particularly given the controversy
surrounding the total cost of the drug benefit. Before the contentious Medicare
bill was brought to a vote in 2003, President Bush had assured lawmakers the
cost would not exceed $400 billion over 10 years. After the bill narrowly
passed, the White House pegged the actual cost at $724 billion. The revelation
raised serious questions on whether the law would have ever passed had Congress
known of the higher price tag. It was later revealed that Thomas Scully, then
head of Medicare, threatened to fire chief Medicare actuary Richard Foster if he
told lawmakers of the higher costs.
Big Pharma to Police Its Own Drug Advertising
Under growing pressure from Congress, patients and doctors, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) last week announced
details of voluntary guidelines designed to restrict direct-to-consumer (or DTC)
ads. However, advocates argued that PhRMA's guidelines do not go far enough and
do nothing to guarantee safety for consumers.
Drug companies now spend billions on DTC advertising since the Food and Drug
Administration relaxed restrictions in 1997. Today, the public is inundated with
ambiguous and misleading drug ads that rarely mention potential side effects or
health hazards. In the aftermath of safety risks posed by drugs such as Vioxx,
the most heavily marketed drug in the U.S., PhRMA announced its guidelines,
which largely duplicate what is already required by the FDA, to head off
Congressional action on more restrictive government regulations and show the
public its concern. The drug industry has a massive lobbying machine, with more
than one lobbyist for every member of Congress. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a
proponent of stricter government oversight, was skeptical of PhRMA's voluntary
guidelines, saying "It doesn't make sense to rely on drug companies to police
themselves."
"Congress should remember who its constituents are," said Edward F. Coyle,
executive director of the Alliance. "Lawmakers need to look out for the public
interest, not special interests."
Respect and Protect Retirement Security! Come to Washington, DC
September 7-9 and Lobby Congress at the Alliance for Retired Americans
Legislative Conference - Register at
www.retiredamericans.org/legconf or call Joni Jones at
1-888-373-6497
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!.
Join the Alliance
Alliance for Retired Americans 888 16th St, NW Washington, DC 20008
Click here to sign up for Alliance for Retired Americans.
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