From Left to Right (Nancy True, Director, IBT-Local 30 Retirement Division, David B. Roosevelt, Congressman Charles Rangel; Birthday Cake for Social Security; Charles B. Roosevelt, Speaker of the NY City Council, Christine Quinn; Lou Gordon, Director, BALCONY, Bruce Ventimiglia, Co-Chair, BALCONY, Alan Lubin, Co-Chair, BALCONY)

New York City (August 19^th, 2010) – Throughout the month of August, BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (www.balconynewyork.com), has worked with the New York State Office for the Aging, AARP, the New York State United Teachers, Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, and many others to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of Social Security with events across New York State. 

On Thursday, August 19^th, the Social Security Diamond Anniversary Committee, whose members include the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY), AARP, the NYS Alliance for Retired Americans (NYSARA), Local 237/IBT/Retiree Division, Services Now for Adult Persons (SNAP), the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), and the Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly, Inc. (IPR/HE), convened a series of Social Security birthday celebration events in New York City. The programs included brief speeches by beneficiaries, experts, relatives of the Roosevelt family, and elected officials, as well as entertainment, refreshments, and testimonials – as well as an evening panel moderated by journalist Jane Pauley.

The message of the day was clear:  Social Security works for the nation and for the residents of every state and America cannot afford to cut it.  Citing Social Security’s $2.6 trillion dollar surplus (projected to grow to $4.3 trillion by 2023) as well as the drastic consequences for beneficiaries were the program to be slashed or benefits reduced (without Social Security nearly half of seniors over 65 would sink below the poverty line) speakers argued that efforts in Washington to cut or privatize Social Security as a means to reduce the nation’s growing federal debt are essentially political posturing and unwarranted. The idea of raising the retirement age from 67 to 70 was universally rejected.

 On August 14^th, 1935 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security program into law, asserting his belief that every American has a right to freedom from want and to certain critical protections from the unforeseeable and the inevitable. 

75 years later the promise of Social Security continues to deliver – providing a critical social safety net for all Americans and ensuring that no American suffer unduly just because they are old, or sick, or the victim of catastrophic circumstance. 

Bruce Ventimiglia , Co-Chair of BALCONY and President/CEO of Saratoga Capital Management - “BALCONY, like Social Security, was created with the intention of leveling the playing field; of protecting all Americans, whether old or young, sick or healthy, fortunate or not.  We applaud the spirit of Social Security and will continue to work to ensure that it is available for future generations of Americans.”

Lou Gordon, Director of BALCONY, said, “We are thrilled to be a part of the celebration of 75 years of Social Security.  BALCONY believes in maintaining and promoting the integrity and the promise of Social Security now and for future generations of Americans.”

Additionally, two groups, Social Security Works and Strengthen Social Security, released a new joint report, “Social Security Works for New York.” The data presented in this impressive report speaks volumes about the importance of Social Security to families, communities and state and local economies as well as the future viability of the program. Nancy True, Director of the Retiree Division of Local 237, IBT, and Suleika Cabrera-Drinane, President and CEO of the Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly, Inc. (IPR/HE) (pictured above) introduced the findings of the report and discuss their significance at both events. 

At a final evening event the eminent journalist Jane Pauley moderated a panel Thursday night at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute that featured academics, historians, and policy analysts who discussed the history and future of America’s Social Security program. 

The panel (from left to right) Eric Kingson, Professor of Social Work, Syracuse University School of Social Work as well as Co-Director of Social Security Works and Co-Chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign; Jane Pauley, panel moderator; Kirstin Downey, author of “The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and his Moral Conscience” ; and John Rother, Executive Vice President of Policy and Strategy, AARP; Barbara Kennelly, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Hunter College President Jennifer Raab gave the opening remarks.

The goal of the panel was to gain a better understanding of the origin and early years of Social Security and to use that understanding as a pretext to engage in a broader conversation dealing with the future of the program, questions over its solvency, and the veracity of charges that Social Security must be cut or privatized in order to deal with the nation’s rising deficit. 

Alan Lubin, Co-Chair, BALCONY and moderator Jane Pauley

Giving the closing remarks Alan Lubin, Co-Chair of BALCONY and former Executive Vice President of the New York State United Teachers, said, “Social Security is a hugely important program, not only for seniors and the retired, but for younger Americans who are the victim of job related injury, disability, or death of a parent or spouse.  An estimated 3 out of 10 working men and 1 out of 4 working women will become severely disabled before reaching retirement age.  For these folks Social Security is more than a convenience, it is a vital safety net.  Additionally, Social Security is the major life and disability insurance protection for more than 95% of New York’s children.  Social Security is a cornerstone of the American promise and we must remain vigilant in our support of it, especially in these tough political times when special interests and partisan politics threaten the integrity of this critical program – we cannot allow it to become watered down.”

Pictures from Left to Right (Bill Henning, VP, CWA Local 1180; Congressman Anthony Wiener; Michael Burgess, Director, New York State Office for the Aging; Lois Aronstein, New York State Director, AARP;Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; Dennis Hughes, President, NYS AFL-CIO; Andy Pallotta, Executive Vice President, NYSUT; Social Security Beneficiaries; Beneficiary Speaks; Mel Aronson, Treasurer, UFT; Bruce Ventimiglia, Co-Chair, BALCONY, Jane Pauley, Lois Aronstein, Director, New York State AARP; Evening Panel at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College)

Report by Nicholas Kapustinsky, Research and Communications Director, BALCONY

BALCONY * 481 8th Ave. * Suite 1202 * New York, NY * 10001 * 212-219-7777

loug@balconynewyork.com * balconynewyork.com *