Hoffa Says Teamsters Want Dialogue On Social Security

Congress Daily
"'Social Security is a major problem in this country,' Hoffa told the Detroit News. 'We have to make sure that it's preserved for those that come after us. I think President Bush should be given credit for the fact that he has initiated a debate regarding what we should do.'

Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security Executive Director Derrick Max today heralded Hoffa's comments as a 'welcome sign' for a national debate over Social Security. 'The leadership by President Hoffa and the Teamsters stands in marked contrast to the intensive efforts by other labor leaders to block Social Security reform,' Max said..."
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Democrat, Republican Join Forces to Help Revamp Social Security

Erie Times-News
"Sam Beard was in the room when the President of the United States made the pitch for Social Security reform. 'He looked everyone in the eye and said the program is going to die,' Beard said. 'He said to save Social Security, we are going to have to take major new steps.' That exchange took place in November 1998, and the President was Bill Clinton, not George W. Bush. Given the time and opportunity, Beard believes Clinton would have sought changes similar to those the president proposed earlier this year.

That's a point that Beard, a lifelong Democrat and former aide to U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, works hard to make as he travels the country, making the case for Social Security reform."
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From The Field

Wisconsin

Generations Together supporters braved rain and gusty winds to attend a Social Security reform rally in Milwaukee. Across the street at the Milwaukee Art Museum, President Bush spoke about the need to fix Social Security.

New Mexico

With the aid of Generations Together educational brochures, New Mexico State Representative Larry Larranaga spoke to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce about voluntary personal retirement accounts.

CoMPASS Executive Director Derrick Max Praises Teamsters Leader Hoffa for Supporting Action to Strengthen Social Security

"President Hoffa and the Teamsters have demonstrated much-needed leadership in seeking bipartisan action to strengthen Social Security. This is a welcome sign of the growing understanding of the critical importance for both sides to bring forward their ideas and engage in a national debate over the best way to save Social Security for future generations while protecting benefits for today's retirees."

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Column by CoMPASS President John J. Castellani Asks Union Leaders Why They Are Shortchanging Their Members By Opposing Voluntary Personal Retirement Accounts

"It's not surprising that six out of ten union members showed interest in creating a personal retirement account of their own, if given the choice. The option to invest a portion of one's payroll taxes in personal accounts will enable working people to meet their own retirement needs and build the kind of extra wealth that can be passed on to their loved ones."

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CoMPASS Executive Director Derrick Max Makes the Case for Social Security Reform in the Muscatine Journal

"Perhaps the best aspect of personal retirement accounts is that we know they will be there for today's younger workers when they retire—unlike the current benefits promised under Social Security. And sound, long-term investing of a part of their payroll taxes, coupled with a modest guaranteed Social Security benefit, can result in a higher rate of return than the current system could ever afford to pay."

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Did You Know?

For one-third of Americans over 65, Social Security benefits constitute 90% of their total income.
(Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury)

They Said It

"George Bush has been willing to address a long-term, politically thorny problem. He's pursued it doggedly while most members of his party wish he would just drop it. But his Democratic counterparts are behaving like alienated junior professors. No productive ideas. No sense of leadership. Just half-truths from the peanut gallery."

David Brooks
New York Times Columnist
May 9