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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 19th, 2010) - Throughout the month
of August, BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New
York, 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 75th
Anniversary of Social Security with events across New York State.
On Thursday, August 19th, 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 14th, 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."
Andy Pallotta, Executive Vice President of the New York
State United Teachers (NYSUT), spoke about the critical task of protecting Social
Security in these tough times, "First off let me say that the
611,000 members of NYSUT support Social Security with all their hearts
and brains and with their mouths and votes too. Our goal is to
have our members, and indeed everyone, live with decency, respect, and
security. We need to make sure people know, and the next
generation knows, what had to be fought for to get where we are today.
The union movement and the Social Security movement came out of tough
times....We know these are tough times today and there will be tough
times in the future, but we are not going to step back and let anyone
take it away from us."
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 discussed 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)
  
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