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WHEREAS Social Security is an essential part of senior's retirement and the foundation of their economic security, it keeps millions of Americans from living in poverty, including over 72,000 residents in the Pittsburgh area; and
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WHEREAS Social Security provides a vital safety net for disabled workers, surviving spouses of primary breadwinners, and children of deceased, disabled or retired parents including over 20,000 disabled workers and almost 10,000 children in the Pittsburgh area; and
WHEREAS Social Security is one of the most successful, efficient public programs ever created and has not contributed one dime to the deficit; and
WHEREAS Social Security contributes over $1.5 Billion to the economy of the Pittsburgh are by paying benefits to over 17% of the residents therein; and
WHEREAS Social Security is not going broke, and in fact, is financially solvent until 2037; and
WHEREAS Social Security has been used by the federal government to mask the overall budget deficit created by other programs for decades, and at present, the federal government owes the Social Security Trust Fund more than $2.6 trillion; and
WHEREAS a commission has been convened by the President of the United States called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, the purpose of which is to make recommendations to improve the nation's fiscal position both short-term and long-term; and
WHEREAS the recommendations of this commission will be given to the President and Congress by December 1, 2010; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that it is the will of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh to strongly urge the federal government not to make any recommendations to change Social Security benefits, while maintaining the integrity of the Social Security program for future American workers who will depend on it for their retirement security.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the will of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh to remind the federal government that if Social Security benefits are cut, including raising the eligibility age for retirement benefits, irreparable harm will be done to the beneficiaries of the program. Hard working Americans have contributed from their wages and rightfully expect that they will receive their guaranteed benefits and fair cost-of-living adjustments from the Social Security program. Deficit reduction should not be accomplished on the backs of American workers.