If Bush is allowed to mess with Social Security, some retirees will receive $14,600 per year, instead of the $26,400 they would otherwise get:
From yesterday's New York Times ("Most G.O.P. Plans to Remake Social Security Involve Deep Cuts to Tomorrow's Retirees" by Edmund L. Andrews, December 14, 2004):
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/14/politics/14social.html?oref=login&pagewanted=all&position=Most of the Republican proposals would also reduce the role of Social Security as a source of guaranteed retirement income, slowly but surely...
Many analysts contend that the change could also leave future workers with a huge drop in income as soon as they retire and would erode a basic premise of the current old-age system.
Under today's law, a middle-income worker who retires in 2065 would be entitled to an annual Social Security benefit of $26,400, or about 40 percent of the worker's wages.
Under the proposed change, that same worker's benefit in 2065 would decrease by 40 percent to $14,600, about 22 percent of the wages. That prospect troubles many experts, including some conservatives.
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Please contact your Senators and Congressman against changing Social Security. You can do this by dialing
1-800-839-5276
and saying, "Hello, can you connect me to Senator ____'s office?" or "Hello, can you connect me to Representative ____'s office?"
Then leave a message for the Senator or Congressman: don't change Social Security; it's good the way it is.
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For more information, visit MoveLeft Media:
http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2004_12_15_bush_administration_wants_to_cut_social_security.asp