Title
Calling upon Congress to oppose any and all efforts to privatize Social Security.
Body
WHEREAS, In 1935 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, noting that "The civilization of the past 100 years, with its startling industrial changes, has tended more and more to make life insecure," and stating that "we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age"; and
WHEREAS, Thirty years later, at the signing of amendments that expanded Social Security coverage, President Lyndon Baines Johnson extolled the legacy of Social Security by remarking "There are those fearing the terrible darkness of despair and poverty - despite long years of labor and expectation-who will now look up to see the light of hope and realization;" and
WHEREAS, Government has an obligation not to turn away from its duty to protect the poor, the elderly and the infirm, especially in the face of promises made and expectations held; and
WHEREAS, Economic changes over the past twenty-five years have made the job market and pension structure increasingly uncertain, yet in contrast, Social Security remains robust and dependable, as found by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which concluded that Social Security remains fiscally sound and able to pay full benefits as promised through 2052 even if no changes were made whatsoever; and
WHEREAS, Social Security is the most significant source of income for the majority of retirees over age 65, and disburses $471 billion annually to over 47 million people, providing guaranteed benefits to retirees and their families, to the disabled, and to survivors; and
WHEREAS, Social Security pays the most to those who need it the most through its progressive structure, whereby workers with low lifetime earning receive relatively higher benefits in relat...
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