MATZ BLANCATO ASSOCIATES
PUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
321 Broadway, 6th floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone 212.385.3800
Fax 212.385.3804
1275 K Street N.W., Suite 602
Washington, DC 20005
Phone 202.789.0470
Fax 202.682.3984
WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SECURITY
STATEMENT
More than three years ago at the 1995 White House Conference on
Aging, the resolution receiving the most votes from the delegates
was entitled "Keeping Social Security sound, now and for the future."
This resolution, one of 50 adopted by the 2,259 bipartisan
delegates previewed many of the issues that are now front and
center in the debate on Social Security and its future. It called
for the reaffirmation of Social Security as a social insurance
program, it called for an ongoing national education program to
provide the public especially the younger generations with accurate
information on Social Security and its future. Above all, the
resolution called for exactly what the President has embarked on,
a campaign to put all options for Social Security's future on the
table for a thorough discussion and not in a panic environment.
President Clinton, in calling the 1995 White House Conference on
Aging, stressed that aging needed to be viewed in the context of
a process that affects all generations and that aging policy
decisions must be intergenerational. Decisions made about the future
of Social Security have to take into account their impact on future
generations. Now, three years later, a White House Conference on
Social Security is convened to do just that.
Within the past year, a new organization was established called
the Boomer Agenda. It is the first bi-partisan political action
and issue advocacy group created by boomers for boomers and their
families. The Boomer Agenda is currently conducting a national
survey of boomers to determine what their top concerns are. The
future of Social Security has consistently ranked as the top concern
from the preliminary results received to date. It is important that
this White House conference and all subsequent activities undertaken
by the Administration and the Congress take into account the concerns
and views of boomers. The reality is that all boomers will reach
age 65 by the time that Social Security faces the most severe crisis
- its inability to pay full benefits. As various approaches are
presented, their impact on boomers must be evaluated or we will
not achieve the critical generational equity so important for real
Social Security reform.
In addition to the need for generational fairness, Social Security
reform must also be far more gender sensitive. Women, especially
older women, have encountered years of discrimination at the hands
of Social Security. That must end. Further, any Social Security
reform for today or tomorrow must have a strong safety net of
guaranteed benefits for the very poor, for a foundation before
anything else. The reality of today and tomorrow is for millions
of Americans, Social Security is their only source of income. They
will not be indulging in the speculative world of privatization
but they must be protected from its risks.
As the President has stated, each year real Social Security reform
is delayed, the more expensive it gets for the individual and the
nation. We need to approach this challenge neither from a state of
panic nor a state of complacency. The final Congress of the 20th
Century working with the last President of the 20th Century should
commit to the preservation and strengthening of Social Security,
the greatest social program of the 20th century so it can continue.
Submitted by:
Robert B. Blancato
Executive Director, 1995 White House Conference on Aging
Founder, Boomer Agenda
December 3, 1998
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