President Bush’s Council on Social Security convened for the first time today to begin discussions on the future of the system. The 14-member council has only four women, and all of its members are in favor of privatization. “Privatizing Social Security could have a disastrous impact on elderly women, the majority of women would be in poverty without it,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. “Most elderly women only have Social Security to rely on. Women continue to make just two-thirds of what men make on Social Security. Privatizing the program will only put women at further risk.”
The Feminist Majority, along with the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), is opposed to privatizing Social Security, a plank that was included in President Bush’s campaign. NCWO, through the Women and Social Security Project, seeks to strengthen Social Security and educate the public about the program’s importance to women, who have average lower lifetime earnings than men because of the persistent wage gap in the United States and in most cases do not have private pension plans. Please visit the Women and Social Security Project for more detailed information.
Read these additional Feminist Daily News Stories on Social Security for more information on Bush’s proposal:
