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Friday, June 29, 2001
Bush Plan Takes a Whack at Social Security That pie-in-the-sky Social Security plan dreamed up by President Bush doesn’t look quite so appetizing when the numbers are crunched. Bush wants to divert a percentage of Social Security funds into private retirement accounts. That means the program will begin running a deficit in 2007, nine years earlier than if left alone. By 2015, the deficit reaches 16 percent of projected benefits and 20 years later, it hits the 40 percent mark, according to the Social Security trustees annual report. That shortfall means benefits would have to be cut by
40 percent, or the program would go broke. “People need to be told there’s
no free lunch,” explains Allan Sloan, Newsweek magazine’s Wall Street editor,
in a recent article in the Washington Post. If you choose a private account,
“you get a lower (Social Security) benefit,” Sloan said. “The only way
to have an honest debate about Social Security—America’s biggest and most
important social program—is to tell people the hard truths. Which Bush
shows no signs of doing.” ‘Fast Track’ Bill Ignores Workers A new, job-stealing trade measure that surfaced in the House quickly drew fire from the trade union movement and its allies. “It’s a giant leap backwards,” noted IP Tom Buffenbarger. “It’s even worse that the ‘fast track’ legislation that we defeated in 1997 and again a year later. Democrats, with one glaring exception, derided the House GOP’s bill that would extend ‘fast track’ negotiating authority to the Bush administration, while shunning any mention of worker rights and environmental standards. To date, only one Democrat, Rep. Norm Dicks of Washington, has signed onto the anti-worker proposal. His sell-out on trade will be remembered, noted Rich Michalski, MNPL director. Busy Summer for Transportation Organizing The National Mediation Board will conduct elections among employees at three airlines seeking to win IAM representation this summer. Ballots will be counted in Washington, D.C. on July 13 for approximately 110 US Airways engineers. One hundred forty Stores Clerks at American Trans Air and 100 Mechanic and Related employees at Midway Airlines will have their votes counted on August 10 and 24, respectively. Related Link: IAM Transportation
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