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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2016)
PAGE 2 | August 19, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS This 81-year-old star has never been hotter By Shaun O’Brien AFL-CIO NOW Okay, so you don’t quite know what to expect with that head- line. I’m not talking about Betty White (age 94) or Tony Bennett (age 90). And this isn’t an AARP The Magazine cover story about Harry Potter’s Pro- fessor McGonagall ... I mean Maggie Smith (yes, she is 81). Don’t have my number yet? Odds are you have your own number, though. Yes, I am talking about Social Security, and it is still the star of financial security for American families, even as it turned 81 on Aug. 12. More than 60 million Americans count on Social Se- curity for its guaranteed monthly income. It’s not just retirees. Close to 9 million workers with disabili- ties get it. So do 4.3 million chil- dren. Social Security keeps more than 21 million people out of poverty. Without it, nearly half of elderly women in the United States would be poor, compared with 1 in 8 today. Through all of its success, So- cial Security has remained mod- est. Too modest. The average monthly benefit for a retired worker is just $1,348. For work- ers with disabilities, it’s $1,166. Social Security’s position atop the marquee has not always gone unchallenged. In the retire- ment world’s version of All About Eve, 401(k) individual savings accounts, once a bit player, first knocked guaranteed pensions out of their leading role among workplace retire- ment plans in the private sector. Then 401(k)s’ Wall Street and Washington publicists pushed to have Social Security cut from its starring role and replaced by pri- vatized individual accounts. What was supposed to be indi- vidual accounts’ breakout per- formance in the 2005 privatiza- tion campaign directed by President George W. Bush, however, was a flop, and the campaign closed early. Social Security has long been working people’s choice. In 2012, the AFL-CIO called for Social Security to be expanded in the face of the growing retire- ment security crisis, with across- the-board benefit increases and an improved annual cost-of-liv- ing adjustment. Now Social Security is get- ting critical acclaim once again. Last month, delegates to the Democratic National Conven- tion nominated Social Security for an even bigger starring role, committing in their platform to “expand Social Security so that every American can retire with dignity and respect, including women who are widowed or Turn to Page 28 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $14 a year for union members, $22 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of $10.08 a year per person are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150
