THE SOCIAL SECURITY "CRISIS": ROLLING BACK THE NEW DEAL
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 7:30pm
Place: Brecht Forum, 451 West St. (between Bank and Bethune) ***NEW ADDRESS*** See website for directions 212-242-4201 <http://www.brechtforum.org>
Speakers: Doug Henwood, Paddy Quick, Mike Whitty
George Bush claims that Social Security is in danger of bankruptcy and has proposed profound changes in the system, including the incorporation of private accounts. Social Security is well-positioned to pay benefits at current levels for as far as they eye can see, and if there's any problem (which we seriously doubt), the fixes would be exceedingly minor. The word "bankruptcy" is used to scare younger workers into thinking they would get nothing at all in Social Security benefits. But that is a totally incorrect reading of the Social Security Act, and of the projections of the Social Security Administration as well as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. The word "bankruptcy" is pure spin. Our panelists will debunk the myth of "crisis" and explain how the proposed changes would contribute to the right wing effort to preserve a neoliberal slow-growth, low-wage economy. They will talk about who is behind the attack on Social Security, who would benefit from its demise, how private accounts would affect the stock market, and why Wall Street has mixed feelings about them. Our panelists will emphasize the ideological value to the Right of discrediting our most successful government program. They will warn us of the strategic danger of accepting any cutbacks at all. Political organizations of many types have joined to protect Social Security -- our panelists will explore their strategies, focusing on the labor movement, and energize us with the success we have had in keeping the attacks at bay.
Doug Henwood is the author of Wall Street and After the New Economy (After the New Economy is coming out in paperback in June); writer/publisher of Left Business Observer; and host of an economics radio show on WBAI.
Paddy Quick is a long-time member of the Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE) and a founding member of the URPE Women's Caucus. She teaches economics at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, including courses on U.S. economic history, the European Union, and gender.
Mike Whitty is a Labor Relations Professor in the College of Business Administration at the University of Detroit Mercy and co-host of the union radio show Working Detroit (AFL-CIO). He is also the Director of the University of Detroit Institute for Building Sustainable Communities, and National Chancellor of the International Educators for World Peace for which he is currently hosting the World Peace Conference at the University of San Francisco.
PLUS: A new song on Social Security by Ray Korona