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Al Franken on Social Security
DFL Jr Senator (MN)
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I’ll scream if Republicans ever try to privatize again
I’ll work to guarantee the retirement benefits our workers have earned.- Companies with defined benefit pension plans should be required to fund those plans fully. And if they go bankrupt, they should be forced to meet their obligations.
- My wife’s family survived after her father’s death thanks to Social Security survivor benefits. If the Republicans in Washington ever try to privatize Social Security again, the only person who’ll scream louder than me will be Franni.
Source: 2008 Senate campaign website, www.AlFranken.com, “Issues”
, Mar 9, 2008
Raise the cap on income subject to the payroll tax
Let's say you want to play it safe. You still have plenty of options for ways to achieve solvency. The most popular one is to raise the cap on income subject to the payroll tax, known as FICA, after the Federal Insurance Contribution Act.
Right now, the cap is at $90,000, meaning that if you make $180,000, you pay FICA on only « your income. Everyone earning UNDER $90,000 pays payroll taxes on every dollar they make.
Polls consistently find that more than 2/3 of Americans favor getting rid of the cap entirely. Another strategy is to raise the cap to $120,000, or $150,000. Or the Social Security Administration could invest part of the Trust Fund in stocks, rather than
treasury bonds, which would introduce a little bit of risk, but that risk would be shared by everyone.
Reasonable senators could sit down & solve the solvency problem in 5 minutes. Private accounts would do NOTHING to solve the solvency issue. Nothing.
Source: The Truth (with jokes), by Al Franken, p.190-191
, Oct 25, 2005
Social Security was the greatest achievement of the New Deal
Social Security survived WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, the sexual revolution, oil shocks, stagflation. No matter what America and the world could throw at it, Social Security just kept on ticking, sending out checks to delighted seniors, people with
disabilities, and widows and orphans. Today, Social Security provides more than half the income for most of America's senior citizens. If it disappeared tomorrow, the poverty rate among senior citizens would jump from 8.7% to 46.8%.
By almost all accounts, Social Security was the greatest achievement of the New Deal, and perhaps the greatest achievement of any kind in human history.But why did it need saving? Because there was a crisis looming. In 2042, a mere 37 years hence,
Social Security would be "bankrupt," "flat broke."
The solution to this crisis? Driving a stake through the heart of the program by transforming it from a system of shared protection into a glorified IRA. Plus cutting benefits.
Source: The Truth (with jokes), by Al Franken, p.184
, Oct 25, 2005
Sponsored keeping CPI for benefits instead of lower "Chained CPI".
Franken co-sponsored Resolution on CPI
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) should not be used to adjust Social Security benefits.
- WHEREAS the Social Security program continues to provide modest benefits--averaging approximately $14,000 per year--to more than 53,000,000 individuals
- WHEREAS the Trust Fund can pay full benefits through 2032;
- WHEREAS the Social Security program is designed to ensure that benefits keep pace with inflation through cost-of-living adjustments based on the CPI which measures prices of goods and services;
- WHEREAS the Chained CPI adjusts for projected changes in consumer behavior resulting from price fluctuations known as the 'substitution effect', which occurs when consumers buy alternative goods and services whose prices are rising more slowly than average;
- Now, therefore, be it RESOLVED that the Chained CPI should not be used to calculate cost of living adjustments for
Social Security benefits.
Opponent's argument against bill:(Congressional Testimony by Jeffrey Kling, Congressional Budget Office Associate Director for Economic Analysis, April 18, 2013):
The chained CPI grows more slowly than the trad
Source: H.CON.RES.34 & S.Con.Res.15 13-SCR15 on Apr 18, 2013
Rated 98% by ARA, indicating a pro-Trust Fund stance.
Franken scores 98% Alliance for Retired Americans
Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports privatization and other market-based reforms) to 100% (supports keeping federal control over Trust Fund and Social Security system).
About ARA (from their website, www.RetiredAmericans.org):
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization, founded in May 2001, with now over 4.2 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics, and institutions that shape our lives. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.
- Alliance members visit the polls in record numbers. We use the power of our membership and our Congressional Voting Record to educate and mobilize seniors to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans.
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We are effectively warding off cuts to our most important social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Our Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in the summer of 2013 took place in more than 50 cities and mobilized support for stopping this cut to earned Social Security benefits.
- We blocked the privatization of Social Security with our Social Security "Truth Truck" delivering 2.1 million petitions to Members of Congress and other tactics.
- The Alliance makes its voice heard on the issues that matter not just to current retirees, but to all Americans who hope to retire one day. We were a leading voice in recent debates considering changes to Medicare, like replacing guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and remain so in 2014.
Source: ARA lifetime rating on incumbents of 113th Congress 14_ARA on Jan 1, 2013
Page last updated: Jun 03, 2018