Today a group from DuPage, Democracy for Illinois (part of Democracy for America), Illinois and DuPage National Organization for Women (NOW) and DuPage Democrats gathered at U.S. House member Judy Biggert’s Clarendon Hills office to tell her that we are against privatizing Social Security. This was part of a statewide and nationwide event inspired by Democracy for America - and we are one of a number of Illinois congressional districts participating.
Our group, including residents of Aurora, Downers Grove, Hinsdale and Naperville, packed the congresswoman’s meeting room (they brought in a few extra chairs). After I gave a brief introduction, I yielded the floor to members of our group, most of whom I had never met before. They spoke eloquently from their own personal experience and knowledge about why we should not privatize Social Security. Some examples:
- We heard from a college professor living in Hinsdale who pointed out that the students graduating from his college, however well prepared otherwise, were not prepared to take on the complicated task of investing their Social Security funds - meaning that most people would have to pay for financial advisors - an extra financial cost that some can ill afford to pay.
- A retired couple, one a Banker and the other a former Lucent employee, spoke of their fear of the financial risks of privatizing (and investing) Social Security funds - funds that help make up the difference for the depleted investments of the spouse who worked for Lucent.
- We heard from a retired early childhood special educator from Naperville, who has lived in her home since the early 1960s, and emphasized the need to keep Social Security secure - something that she believes privatization won’t accomplish.
- A Hinsdale resident brought a letter from her house of four voters asking, “Why is there no interest in creating a secure, old fashioned retirement…[instead of] a drastic, costly and dangerously unwise overhaul that will only worsen the national deficit and cut benefits for our vulnerable seniors.” In addition to their letter, she brought another letter against privatization from a constituent in Burr Ridge.
- President of Illinois NOW and Aurora resident Bonnie Grabenhofer pointed out that privatization puts woman at greater risk from the accompanying reduction in benefits that will follow it - because woman have smaller Social Security benefits now, and are less likely to have pensions or other supplements for their retirement. “Women do not need reckless assertions about how Wall Street will do a better job than a system that has provided security to millions over the last 70 years…. Illinois NOW and Illinois United to Protect Social Security are determined to stop [president Bush’s Social Security privatization plans].”
- One former lawyer turned investor from Naperville pointed out the danger of president George Bush’s claim that the U.S. Treasury securities that Social Security money is invested in are “worthless IOU’s” - and suggested that this irresponsible rhetoric mirrored the irresponsibility of privatizing Social Security, where the stock market (or even relatively secure index funds) can in any period go down and hurt or eliminate earnings.
A number of others in the group spoke as well. In addition, because many of Judy Biggert’s constituents could not attend due to other commitments, some have sent, and many more are sending, letters to her office describing why they believe privatizing Social Security is a mistake. Some letters I’m aware of that will be sent include one from a Westmont retail buyer, another from Naperville real estate developer, one from a federal worker in Aurora, yet another from a Bolingbrook professional writer and the list goes on.
The message we are all sending to Congresswoman Biggert is that it doesn’t matter what we do for a living (or what we retired from doing), and it doesn’t matter where we live in her district - what matters is that we all value the security of Social Security, and fear the risk and benefit reductions that president George W. Bush’s privatization plan will mean for it. We hope the congresswoman takes our views into account, and we hope that we can say with pride in the future that Judy Biggert stood with us in fighting to keep Social Security and its benefit levels secure for all of her constituents, and for all Americans.
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