MICHIGAN ALLIANCE TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

Meetings of the Michigan Alliance

to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare

The Alliance meets at 10 am the first Thursday of each month

at the UAW Miller Building, 8731 E. Jefferson Ave.,

Detroit at Crane St., corner of McDonalds.

Secured parking in lot in rear.

Open to the public and to representative of organizations.

After coffee and donuts, a short business and planning

meeting is held, followed by speakers, distribution

of current materials and open discussion.

The Michigan Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare is a non-partisan coalition of individuals and groups, including seniors, youth, women, labor, faith-based, business, handicapped, civil rights and civil liberties representing thousands of members in the state of Michigan.

In the 2007-2008 session Congress faced another attempt by the Bush Administration to privatize Social Security, despite being overwhelmingly rejected for the past six years. The Michigan Alliance played a key role in halting this raid on Social Security by Wall Street. However, the fight goes on.

The Social Security fund is not in danger now or in the future. Simply removing the cap on earnings of the wealthy will provide addditional funds into the program. And, America's work force is increasing, bettering the ratio of workers to retirees.

The Michigan Alliance is a strong supporter of strengthening Medicare, not weakening it. Further, the Alliance supports a national health care program that provides adequate coverage for everyone, best exemplified in H.R.676, Medicare for all.

The Alliance also supports an end to the "doughnut hole" in the prescription drug program and for the government to be allowed to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies as well as allow for the legal importation of prescription drugs.
The Johnson Administration began Medicare with the intent to expand the coverage to every resident. The Alliance supports Medicare for all from birth to death with full coverage for any necessary medical condition including prescriptions, eyecare, dental, substance abuse and mental health coverage.

The 2010 Health Care legislation established a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. One of its tasks is to examine entitlement programs and make recommendations. Its true goal: cut Social Security and Medicare. The commission is already at work, meeting privately with its report due just after the November elections. The commission will seek to offer its report to Congress on a “fast track”, providing for an up or down vote only with no amendments allowed. (Who will dare vote against fiscal responsibility?)

USA Today has reported that Social Security tops the list of the panel’s targets, and right wing media is falsely claiming that if the retirement age is not increased and significant cuts made to Social Security, this country will end up like Greece.

It is clear that the commission is not interested in making the few adjustments that will make Social Security even more secure financially, such as eliminating the cap on income which only benefits those with incomes above $100,000. The commission wants far more drastic cuts, even though they would have no reduction effect on the Federal budget.

The following article reports what the commission is doing and the danger to the 1,699,384 men, women and children of all ages in Michigan for whom these benefits are a lifeline. Unfortunately, some legislators have stated that all of Social Security should be on the table. In other words, nothing is safe from the commission’s scapel.

The Michigan Alliance demands that all Michigan legislators pledge that Social Security remain untouched--- that benefits not be reduced nor retirement lengthened.

It is up to us again to defeat this threat, just as we did when President George W. Bush attempted to privatize Social Security by giving it to the Wall Street brokers, a danger which could re-emerge in the commission report. Read the following article for details.

Contact your representatives and senators in Congress. Urge them to inform the commission that they oppose any reduction in Social Security benefits or any extension of the retirement age. All can be reached at 866 338-1015.

This commission is a Trojan Horse, holding its sessions in secrecy, that was created to pacify Republicans and is the brainchild of Wall Street bigwig Pete Peterson who has poured millions of dollars into a campaign to cripple America’s greatest social program.

The 18-member commission is co-chaired by former GOP Senator Alan Simpson, a long-time foe of Social Security and Erskine Bowles, who with Bruce Reid when both were in the Clinton White House sought partial privatization of Social Security in a deal with Newt Gingrich.

Observers feel that President Obama has at best five supporters on the commission: Becerra, Schakowsky, Baucus, Durbin and Stern. Fourteen votes are needed for a recommendation to be made.

Executive Director, Bruce Reid, former Domestic Policy Director, Clinton Administration

Alice Rivlin, Former Director of Congressional Office of Management and Budget