Get Behind the NOW National Initiative to Contact Your Congresspersons!

The newly created National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (The Debt Commission) has the authority to affect devastating cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare to finance the national debt.

Commission of Lies

Commission chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson say, "Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs annually consume all federal revenue.  All discretionary spending funds for year-to-year budgeting and expenses are used up on these three programs, forcing the government to borrow money to cover the rest of the government's expenses." 

This is a bold lie: Social Security is funded by a payroll tax and is completely detached from the federal operating budget.  Cutting SS would not make a dent in the federal deficit, which was created by unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bail-outs and tax cuts for the wealthy and an unregulated financial system that caused the current recession.

94% of Older Alabamians LIVE on Social Security

In 2006 nearly one million Alabamians received some sort of Social Security Benefit. That's 13% of Alabama residents overage 65! The number of Alabama residents over age 65 is expected to grow to 16% by 2015 and 21% by 2030.

Of the 20% (one in five) of Alabama residents receiving SS benefits in 2006:

616,000 received  Retirement benefits               

178,375 received Disability benefits 

98,905 received Widow or Widower benefits

98,905 received Children's benefits

45,299 received Spouses benefits

Increasing Poverty Among Older Alabamians

Social Security alone lifts half of Alabama retirees out of poverty.Women are the majority of Social Security recipients, representing almost 60 percent of all recipients age 65 and older. Without Social Security, 65 percent of African American women, 61 percent of Hispanic women and 52 percent of white women over age 65 would live in poverty.

The "Debt Commission" currently seated in Washington sees our safety net for retirement and disability as fair game to balance a mismanaged budget.  They need to hear our voice:  Don't Balance the Budget on the Backs of our Senior Citizens!  94% of Alabama Seniors rely on Social Security.  That is our Grandparents, our Parents, our Aunts and Uncles. Not to mention folks with Disabilities, Widows and  Orphaned Children .

Tell your congressional representatives now that you know the difference between the Social Security System and the federal deficit and that you demand they prevent cuts to Social Security.