Bush/McCain Social Security Plans Would Hurt Maryland Seniors

Privatizing Social Security would drive over 100,000 MD Seniors into Poverty

Annapolis, MD – A new study by the Institute for America’s Future details how much damage Sen. John McCain’s plans for Social Security would do to the wallets and pocketbooks of Maryland’s senior citizens and Maryland’s economy. In response to a recent question asked by a supporter, McCain called Social Security a “disgrace” while refusing to waiver from his full support of George Bush’s privatization proposals as recently as 2005.

“We should not gamble with the guaranteed income of our seniors; especially now with gas at four dollars a gallon, rollercoaster stock markets and the shaky Bush economy hurting people of all ages,” said Michael Cryor, Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party. “John McCain’s plans for Social Security will hurt our seniors and damage Maryland’s economy. Barack Obama will protect our retirees and disabled, keeping Social Security solvent for the next fifty years.”

From the Report:  The Perils of Privatization – The Impact in Maryland

“In Maryland, 786,407 count on their earned Social Security benefit every month…Thousands of businesses, and the state government, also depend on the Social Security guarantee. Fully $9.6 billion in individual income flows into Maryland’s economy from Social Security each year – roughly $802.4 million every month.

Privatization would cast many seniors below the poverty line. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people from Maryland living in poverty in 2006 was 428,345.18 In 2005, 259,000 Maryland seniors relied on Social Security checks for at least half of their total income. 140,000 of these individuals depend on these benefits for almost all – 90 percent or more – of their total income. Today, the average Social Security check for individual retirees in Maryland is $1,097 per month. But $867 per month is needed just to stay above the federal poverty line. These individuals are close to the edge, and vulnerable to swings in the cost of food, housing or energy.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculated in 2005 that if a Bush-style privatization plan were enacted, children born around the time the plan started would have their annual guaranteed benefits cut by 50 percent when they retire. If that were to happen to current-day senior citizens in Maryland, people with incomes up to 190% of the current poverty line would no longer have a guarantee that they would avoid poverty. Social Security would have failed in its promise of security. 104,000 senior citizens in Maryland would be left behind.”

“For Maryland’s retirees living on fixed incomes and depending on Social Security to put food on the table and a roof over their heads the choice is clear,” adds Cryor. “John McCain is a risk we can’t afford. Barack Obama will institute reforms that will protect hundreds of thousands of Marylanders and their families from poverty.”

To get the report: The Perils of Privatization – The Impact in Maryland:  http://assets.ourfuture.org/documents/perils-of-privatization/maryland.pdf