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Protesters blast Social Security overhaul
Portsmouth Herald, February 17, 2005
PORTSMOUTH - President Bush claims his plan would strengthen Social Security, but Dover resident Caroline French believes the opposite is true.
"I believe this administration is trying to destroy Social Security," said French while holding a sign that read, "I am a fighting moderate."
French was part a group of protesters standing outside in the cold Wednesday morning at Pease International Tradeport to express opposition to President Bush’s proposed Social Security reforms.
Members of the AFL-CIO and the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance and others gathered along New Hampshire Avenue, where they held a news conference.
The protesters then marched to the Pan Am hangar, where the president was scheduled to speak, waving signs at people in their cars lined up waiting to pass through the security checkpoint.
Many of the local residents who came to protest said they felt Bush’s proposed plan would eventually undermine the entire Social Security system.
"Social Security is not only retirement. It’s widows with children," said Peggy Killmer of Yarmouth, Maine. "This is just another way Bush is paying back his financial friends."
"It’s not private security, it’s Social Security," said 13-year-old Megan Williams of Dover.
"Our goal is to make sure the majority is represented," said Sam Mekrut, executive director of New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, a nonpartisan organization that works for economic and social justice. The group’s position is that most New Hampshire residents don’t want changes in Social Security and would prefer that Congress take a more common-sense approach to fixing the system.
According to the Citizens Alliance, the president’s proposal would cost $2 billion up front, pushing the Social Security Trust further into insolvency. The organization also opposes the proposed private investment accounts, which they say will benefit Wall Street investors while putting American’s retirement money at risk.
Citizens to Bush: 'Hands off Social Security'
The Michigan Citizen, February 8, 2005
DETROIT – Protesters organized by the National Campaign for America's Future chanted "Privatization, no way; Social Security is here to stay" outside Cobo Hall Feb. 8. Inside, Pres. George W. Bush addressed the Detroit Economic Club about his plans to privatize the social security system by allowing workers to put their contributions into private investment schemes. "The current system is working fine, and has been for 70 years," Byron Frazier of Michigan Citizen Action said. "We're scared to death of what this man is proposing." Linda Teeter added, "One out of three people in most cities like Detroit depend on Social Security. The only people who would benefit from Bush's scheme are Wall Street and the president's large contributors."
Brokerage draws ire on Social Security
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 8, 2005
Critics of privatizing Social Security say Edward Jones is a "major backer" of the plans.
However, the Des Peres-based stock brokerage denies taking any position on Social Security. ...
"If they oppose privatization, we support their right to express that opinion," said John Boul. "But we haven't taken a position on any of the reform proposals that are currently being considered." ...
But John Hickey, director of the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition, one of the two groups demonstrating Tuesday, said the company's intentions are clear.
Edward Jones is a member of the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security, or AWRS, a group of 36 businesses and pro-business groups founded in 1998 to lobby for Social Security change. The No. 1 principle is creation of worker-controlled Social Security accounts.
"If they don't support privatization, they should quit this group," Hickey said. "It's so wacky they're denying it. I can't think of any other financial-services company that so publicly supports privatization."
Derrick Max, executive director of the alliance, said Edward Jones is a relatively small contributor, giving about $5,000 a year.
Max said it was a "reasonable assumption" that any member would endorse private investment accounts. "I can't imagine why you would join if you didn't," he said. ...
Groups in Campaign Mode Over Bush's Plan
The Tampa Tribune, February 4, 2005
As President Bush visits Tampa today to promote his plan for a partial Social Security privatization, both his backers and opponents have started public campaigns on the question.
Florida, with 3.3 million Social Security recipients, second-most among states, will be a battleground in an argument that will spill out of Congress and into the general public.
A coalition of unions and a consumer action group plan a rally downtown today to protest Bush's plan and his appearance here. Organizations as diverse as labor unions and the AARP plan campaigns to oppose it.
"There is not a crisis in Social Security. The facts show that the president's plan would create a crisis,'' said Phil Compton of Florida Consumer Action Network, one of the sponsors of the protest, in a news conference Thursday. ...
President's Social Security plan draws opposition
Associated Press, February 2, 2005
BISMARCK, N.D. - A day before President Bush was slated to arrive in North Dakota, union leaders, students and political activists attacked his plan to restructure Social Security.
"It's not broke, but his plan will surely break it," said Don Morrison, director of the North Dakota Progressive Coalition, which represents more than 30 advocacy groups. ...
Left allies regroup for battle
Coalition of progressive groups to oppose Social Security privatization
The Hill, February 1, 2005
...The anti-Bush coalition has brought together 30 core groups, including the AFL-CIO, MoveOn.org, the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the Campaign for America’s Future, USAction and the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
Organizers said the coalition plans to raise at least $30 million to be spent on TV advertising and door-to-door campaigning to defeat Bush’s expected proposal to create individual savings accounts and trim government payouts.
Organizers have yet to come up with a name for the collaborative effort or formalize its membership, but they are laying ambitious plans and meeting frequently. They are discussing hiring a campaign manager, establishing a war room and creating a joint fundraising committee, said strategists familiar with the discussions.
...One of the coalition's principle organizers is Roger Hickey, head of Campaign for America’s Future. Another is Jeff Blum of USAction, which by its own estimates mobilized 20,000 volunteers to register and turn out low-income minority voters.
Hickey said the purpose of the coalition is to "look at members of Congress that need persuading and disseminate research and information from think tanks."
Blum predicted that hundreds of groups would join the coalition.
The battle over Social Security brings into "possible sharpest relief" one of the undercurrents of the 2004 campaign, the question of whether "America cares about all of its citizens and cares about opportunity for all" or "do we believe in the role of government in the country is to get out of the way of private entrepreneurial activity and let the chips fall where they may?" he added. ...
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