Generations Together Newsletter

In the News

March 18th

CoMPASS Poll Generates National News Coverage

FOX News, Your World With Neil Cavuto
Karl Rove: "...There's a new poll today showing those age 55 or older, if told that the accounts are voluntary, and will not affect their benefits, would they support it by a margin of 57 to 39, and that AARP members are more likely to support personal retirement accounts than non-AARP members. This is a powerful idea. People understand the power of markets. Our country has gone in a very short period of time from a nation in which those that invested in the markets represented a small minority of all households to today where over half are invested in the market and nearly two-thirds of all voters are invested in the market."

FOX News, Special Report with Brit Hume
Brit Hume: "A new poll out today suggests a lot of people, opposed to the president's idea of personal investment accounts in Social Security, don't understand what he's proposing. Fewer than half, for example, are aware that workers could choose to stay with the current program. And fewer than half of those 55 and older are aware that their benefits will not be affected. When told that, overall support for personal account goes up significantly.

Meanwhile, another poll shows that nearly 60 percent of seniors who know the fact support personal accounts. And what's more, members of AARP, despite that group's opposition, are slightly more likely to approve of personal accounts than non-AARP members."

For Social Security, 2 Crucial Weeks Near

New York Times
"A business coalition supporting the president's proposal, the Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security, or Compass, is taking aim at AARP this week with a new poll and advertising campaign.

Compass says its polling of older Americans shows that a majority of those who are AARP members support private investment accounts for younger workers, so long as their own benefits remain unchanged. The coalition will begin running newspaper advertisements in Washington this week pointing to the poll results, and it sent a letter to AARP on Tuesday asking the organization to "reassess its hostility to Social Security reform and to craft a policy position that better reflects the views of its membership."

'It's a little bit about shaming them,' Derrick Max, executive director of Compass, who wrote the letter, said of AARP's leaders. 'If you point out to people that when seniors understand the issue, they support reform, that's important.'"
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Social Security Poll Heartens Bush

Washington Times
"Three-fifths of people 55 and older think Social Security private accounts for younger workers are a good idea, as long as their own benefits remain untouched, according to a poll being released today by key supporters of President Bush's effort.

The poll -- commissioned by the leading grass-roots lobbying coalition that supports private accounts -- is meant to counter polls that have found support low for Mr. Bush's idea. Its findings also could encourage House Republicans as they head home next week to sell the idea in their districts.

'The message is that when seniors are educated, they're supportive,' said Derrick Max, executive director of Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security, the lobbying group that commissioned the poll. 'I hope it encourages members of Congress to talk to seniors.'"
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Poll: Older Americans Back Private Accounts For Younger

Dow Jones
"A majority of older Americans support offering private accounts within Social Security to younger workers so long as seniors' benefits aren't touched, according to a new poll released Tuesday..."

"CoMPASS said 60% of Americans ages 55 or older in tits survey say that offering personal retirement accounts to younger workers is a good idea, so long as nothing changes in their own Social Security benefits. "

"Derrick Max, executive director of CoMPASS, cited the poll in a letter to AARP CEO Bill Novelli, and urged AARP to reconsider its opposition to Bush's plan.

'The more seniors learn about Social Security reform, the more they like it,' Max wrote."

Social Security Drives Davis Town Meeting; Wide-Ranging Constituent Concerns Aired at Local Session.

Mount Vernon Gazette
"Even before entering the school on Gunston Road, constituents of U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-11), who had come to participate in his Town Meeting, were greeted by young demonstrators carrying placards reading 'Fix Social Security Now.'"
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From The Field

Pay into Social Security -- or let it pay you

The News Journal - Letter to the Editor
"As a Democrat, it troubles me that my party is fixated in the past. This is 2005, not 1935, and Social Security has to change. Why not make it better? On a nonpartisan basis, seize this opportunity to save Social Security and build savings and wealth for all Americans."
Click here to read the full letter to the editor

Don't back down on Social Security reform

Des Moine Register - Letter to the Editor
"Generations Together...believes the right solution could be: 1. Guaranteeing that no changes are made for today's seniors and those nearing retirement 2. Giving younger workers new options for building retirement nest eggs. Personal retirement accounts could also be passed on to children and grandchildren, ensuring that Social Security shortchanges no family."
Click here to read the full letter to the editor

Louisiana


Tara DeHabermann/The Shreveport Times

Supporters show their support by holding signs outside of a town hall meeting Centenary, Louisiana.


Supporters display their support for Social Security reform with Generations Together buttons.


Generations Together Supporters Greet President Bush in Montgomery, Alabama.

Colorado


Student volunteers help spread the word about the need to fix Social Security reform at Mesa College.