Privatizing Social Security
The Claim
John Gard claims he is against privatization, but his voting record and his own words show John Gard supported privatization.
The Facts
In April 2005, President Bush and his allies were pushing Social Security privatization and holding town hall meetings across the country in an attempt to sell the public on their scheme.
On April 27, 2005, John Gard, Speaker of the Assembly, voted against putting the legislature on the record against privatization.
Background
The full text of the resolution appears below.
Link to roll call vote on the resolution [PDF] (Gard’s NAY vote is listed as “Speaker.”)
Just days later, on May 6, 2005, John Gard gave an interview to “Boots and Sabers,” a Wisconsin blog.
Asked “What do you think should be done about Social Security?” Gard talks about using town hall meetings “to bring people along” and specifically, to the town meetings U.S. Rep Paul Ryan was holding to sell privatization. Rep. Ryan was on the front lines of the privatization push and introduced his own legislation in the House for privatizing Social Security and diverting Social Security revenues into stock market accounts.
Gard says he (Gard) tells retirees “Don’t you deserve more return on your money? Don’t you work hard? Look at what you’re paying in Social Security taxes. Don’t you deserve a better return?” And you know the government is taking that money right now.”
Gard’s voting record and his own words about putting Social Security revenues somewhere “where they can get a better return,” and his support for using Ryan’s town hall meetings to sell privatization and “bring people along” is clear evidence of Gard’s pro-privatization position.
Excerpt from Gard interview (emphasis added).
(Full interview at http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/speaker_john_gard/)
May 6, 2005
O: Speaking of getting things done, at the national level, what do you think should be done about Social Security?
JG: I think we’ve got to save it, whatever it takes. It’s just like welfare reform, to a degree. You’ve got to bring the public with you at the same time. You can’t go too far out in front, you’ve got to continue to make a case. Congressman Ryan, who I talk to all the time, he’s done dozens and dozens of town hall meetings because he wants people to believe in what he believes in. I think the feedback I’ve gotten is that when you sit down and work with people, they’ll listen. What I say to folks, I met with a retiree in Peshtigo last week and he was about it. And I said, “Don’t you deserve more return on your money? Don’t you work hard? Look at what you’re paying in Social Security taxes. Don’t you deserve a better return?” And you know the government is taking that money right now. It’s only going to work if we can demonstrate and if the president can demonstrate to people that the fund will remain secure. If you do that, it’s just going to take a little time. I think you can bring people along.
Link to roll call vote on the resolution [PDF]
2005 － 2006 LEGISLATURE
2005 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 32
April 27, 2005 － Introduced by Representatives NELSON, RICHARDS, TURNER, VRUWINK, SHERMAN, POPE－ROBERTS, SEIDEL, KESSLER, BENEDICT, BLACK, LEHMAN, BERCEAU, MOLEPSKE, KREUSER, KRUSICK, GRONEMUS, COLON, HEBL, WASSERMAN, POCAN, FIELDS, ZEPNICK, PARISI, SHILLING, SHERIDAN, STEINBRINK, YOUNG, CULLEN, HUBLER, BOYLE, STASKUNAS, VAN AKKEREN, SCHNEIDER, TRAVIS, A. WILLIAMS, GRIGSBY and TOLES.
Referred to Committee on State Affairs.
Relating to: calling on the governors of the United States to reject plans to privatize Social Security by cutting Social Security’s guaranteed benefits and diverting money out of Social Security into private investment accounts and further calling on the governors to favor repaying to the Social Security trust fund the moneys taken and spent for other purposes.
Whereas, Social Security’s income protections ― 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 ― 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 6 Americans ― receiving benefits; and
Whereas, Social Security is the nation’s most successful and most important family income protection program, but it has long－term funding needs that should be addressed; and
Whereas, some policymakers propose to address these needs by cutting guaranteed benefits and privatizing Social Security, that is, diverting one－third or more of workers’ payroll tax contributions 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 Social Security trust fund into private accounts, increasing the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the first decade alone and more in the future and putting the citizens of this country in deeper debt to foreign creditors; and
Whereas, some officials 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 and used for other things, 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, even for those who do not participate in private accounts, 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 the elderly because Social Security is the only secure source of retirement income for most Americans, providing at least one－half of the income of nearly two－thirds of older American households and lifting more than 11 million seniors out of poverty; and
Whereas, cutting guaranteed benefits will hurt women and people of color, as they are more likely than Caucasian men to rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income, they earn less than Caucasian men and are thus less able to save for retirement, and they are less likely than Caucasian men to receive job－based pensions in retirement; and
Whereas, diverting resources from Social Security to fund private accounts will threaten guaranteed survivor and disability benefits, thus harming working families ― particularly African－Americans ― as roughly one in 5 workers dies before retiring and nearly 3 in 10 become too disabled to work before reaching retirement age; and
Whereas, privatizing Social Security will burden state and local governments, as cuts in guaranteed benefits will increase demands for public assistance at the very moment growth in the federal deficit, due to privatization, induces the federal government to shift greater responsibilities on to states and localities; and
Whereas, such drastic and damaging changes in Social Security that undermine its family income protections should not be rushed but, instead, should have the time needed to develop careful and thoughtful reforms that address Social Security’s funding needs without slashing benefits or exploding the deficit; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That:
(1) The first step in saving Social Security is paying back to the Social Security trust fund all of the money borrowed and spent on other things;
(2) 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 should be carefully studied;
(3) Any changes must strengthen Social Security’s family income protections without slashing guaranteed benefits or exploding the deficit;
(4) All proposals to divert money out of Social Security to fund private accounts should be rejected; and, be if further
Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall transmit copies of this joint resolution to each governor of a state in the United States, each president and chief clerk of each state senate in the United States, and each speaker and chief clerk of each house of a state legislature in the United States.
(END)
