City of Pittsburgh - File #: 2005-1291

• File #: 2005-1291
• Version: 1
• Type: Proclamation
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 4/19/2005
• In control: City Council
• Enactment date: 4/19/2005
• Enactment #: 228
• Title: NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh requests that Congress should first commit to paying the Social Security Trust Fund back all of the money it borrowed; carefully study 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; any changes adopted by Congress must strengthen Social Security's family income protections without slashing guaranteed benefits or exploding the deficit and finally, it should reject proposals to divert money out of Social Security to fund private accounts.
• Sponsors: Gene Ricciardi, All Members
• Indexes: PROCLAMATION - MR. RICCIARDI

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/19/2005	1	City Council	Adopted	Pass

Presenter
Presented by Mr. Ricciardi

Body
WHEREAS, right now, Social Security's income protections include 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. These are the backbone of retirement security and family protection in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Social Security provides crucial, often indispensable income protection for the 47 million individuals—one of every six Americans—receiving benefits. Social Security is the nation's most successful and most important family income protection program, but has long-term funding needs; and

WHEREAS, some policymakers propose to address these needs by cutting guaranteed benefits and privatizing Social Security, meaning a third or more of workers' payroll tax contributions will be diverted out of the Social Security Trust Fund and into private investment accounts; and

WHEREAS, privatization will worsen social Security's funding needs by draining resources from the Trust Fund into private accounts, increasing the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the first decade alone and putting us in deeper hock to foreign creditors; and

WHEREAS, some officials and members of Congress 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, thereby denying working families the money they paid into Social Security and leading to further benefit cuts; and

WHEREAS, privatizing Social Security will cut guaranteed benefits by 30 percent for young workers, costing them $152,000 over their retirements, denying them benefits they have earned and imperiling their economic security; and

WHEREAS, cutting guaranteed benefits will hurt women and people of color, as they are more likely than white men to rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income. They earn less ...