AJR32: Joint Resolution Text

2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE

2005 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 32

April 27, 2005 - Introduced by Representatives Nelson, Richards, Turner, Vruwink, Sherman, Pope-Roberts, Seidel, Kessler, Benedict, Black, Lehman, Berceau, Molepske, Kreuser, Krusick, Gronemus, Colon, Hebl, Wasserman, Pocan, Fields, Zepnick, Parisi, Shilling, Sheridan, Steinbrink, Young, Cullen, Hubler, Boyle, Staskunas, Van Akkeren, Schneider, Travis, A. Williams, Grigsby and Toles. Referred to Committee on State Affairs.

AJR32,1,5 Relating to: calling on the governors of the United States to reject plans to privatize Social Security by cutting Social Security's guaranteed benefits and diverting money out of Social Security into private investment accounts and further calling on the governors to favor repaying to the Social Security trust fund the moneys taken and spent for other purposes.

AJR32,1,10 Whereas, Social Security's income protections — guaranteed, lifelong benefits, cost-of-living adjustments to guard against inflation, increased benefits for families, greater income replacement for low-income workers, and disability and survivor benefits — are the backbone of retirement security and family protection in the United States; and

AJR32,1,13 Whereas, Social Security provides crucial, often indispensable income protection for the 47 million individuals — one of every 6 Americans — receiving benefits; and

AJR32,2,3 Whereas, Social Security is the nation's most successful and most important family income protection program, but it has long-term funding needs that should be addressed; and

AJR32,2,7 Whereas, some policymakers propose to address these needs by cutting guaranteed benefits and privatizing Social Security, that is, diverting one-third or more of workers' payroll tax contributions out of the Social Security trust fund and into private investment accounts; and

AJR32,2,11 Whereas, privatization will worsen Social Security's funding needs by draining resources from the Social Security trust fund into private accounts, increasing the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the first decade alone and more in the future and putting the citizens of this country in deeper debt to foreign creditors; and

AJR32,2,15 Whereas, some officials have suggested the federal government will not pay back the money it has taken from the Social Security trust fund over the past 20 years and used for other things, thereby denying working families the money they paid into Social Security and leading to further benefit cuts; and

AJR32,2,19 Whereas, privatizing Social Security will cut guaranteed benefits by 30 percent for young workers, even for those who do not participate in private accounts, costing them $152,000 over their retirements, denying them benefits they have earned, and imperiling their economic security; and

AJR32,2,23 Whereas, cutting guaranteed benefits will hurt the elderly because Social Security is the only secure source of retirement income for most Americans, providing at least one-half of the income of nearly two-thirds of older American households and lifting more than 11 million seniors out of poverty; and

AJR32,3,3 Whereas, cutting guaranteed benefits will hurt women and people of color, as they are more likely than Caucasian men to rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income, they earn less than Caucasian men and are thus less able to save for retirement, and they are less likely than Caucasian men to receive job-based pensions in retirement; and

AJR32,3,8 Whereas, diverting resources from Social Security to fund private accounts will threaten guaranteed survivor and disability benefits, thus harming working families — particularly African-Americans — as roughly one in 5 workers dies before retiring and nearly 3 in 10 become too disabled to work before reaching retirement age; and

AJR32,3,12 Whereas, privatizing Social Security will burden state and local governments, as cuts in guaranteed benefits will increase demands for public assistance at the very moment growth in the federal deficit, due to privatization, induces the federal government to shift greater responsibilities on to states and localities; and

AJR32,3,17 Whereas, such drastic and damaging changes in Social Security that undermine its family income protections should not be rushed but, instead, should have the time needed to develop careful and thoughtful reforms that address Social Security's funding needs without slashing benefits or exploding the deficit; now, therefore, be it

AJR32,3,18 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That:

AJR32,3,20 (1) The first step in saving Social Security is paying back to the Social Security trust fund all of the money borrowed and spent on other things;

AJR32,3,23 (2) A variety of potential changes that will address Social Security's problems while ensuring the program will continue to meet its purpose of providing income protection and economic security for America's families should be carefully studied;

AJR32,3,25 (3) Any changes must strengthen Social Security's family income protections without slashing guaranteed benefits or exploding the deficit;

AJR32,4,2 (4) All proposals to divert money out of Social Security to fund private accounts should be rejected; and, be if further

AJR32,4,6 Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall transmit copies of this joint resolution to each governor of a state in the United States, each president and chief clerk of each state senate in the United States, and each speaker and chief clerk of each house of a state legislature in the United States.

AJR32,4,7 (End)