NOW Opposes White House Attempt to Privatize Social Security
Statement of National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy
| Social Security is an essential social insurance program that keeps half of women over 65 out of poverty.Women depend more on Social Security than men do for three reasons:
1) Women are less likely to have private pensions from their employers � and even when they do, women’s average pensions are half as large. 2) Pay inequity � women still make only 76 to every man’s dollar. 3) Time out of the workforce for care giving reduces women’s employment years, and this, combined with lower wages, makes it more difficult to save an adequate amount of money for retirement. An investment expert said yesterday about privatizing social security: “On Wall Street, the biggest mistake you can make is to risk what you can’t afford to lose. The President wants millions of Americans to take risks with their minimum retirement security.” It’s a foolish gamble � and women aren’t buying it! |
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Tuesday, April 26, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on Social Security, weighted with witnesses presenting misleading testimony about the merits of private retirement investment accounts.
To counter this biased presentation and George W. Bush’s well-financed propaganda campaign, a broad coalition of progressive organizations, including NOW, joined Americans United to Protect Social Security on the same date for a “National Day of Unity to Protect Social Security and Stop Privatization.” Activists in 38 cities across the country united to demonstrate their opposition of the GOP’s plan to privatize Social Security.
NOW President Kim Gandy spoke at the rally in Washington, D.C., near the Capitol, along with other progressive leaders and members of the House and Senate voicing our joint opposition to privatization.