Raising Social Security benefits is essential to the well-being of American workers.
More from Dick Meister
Good News For Our Neediest Workers
(04:03)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: More than 850,000 minimum wage workers in 10 states will be getting raises in the new year.
Home Care Workers Need Presidential Help
(02:21)
From: Dick Meister
It's time for President Obama to help the country's home care workers.
Many Profit From Bowl Games. But Not The Players
(04:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Student athletes get very little of the millions generated by college football's bowl games.
A Free Choice For US Workers
(04:13)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: It's time to enact a proposed law that would give workers the absolute right to unionization.
We All Need A Higher Minimum Wage
(04:33)
From: Dick Meister
Raising the minimum wage should be a key post-election priority.
Labor's Major Election Challenge
(02:41)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Labor faces its greatest election challenge in California.
Missing A Vital Election Message
(03:13)
From: Dick Meister
Repealing the union-crippling Taft-Hartley Act should have been a prime issue throughout the election campaign.
A Farm Worker Champion
(02:56)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: John Steinbeck was a great champion of farm labor.
We're Providing The Wrong Kind Of New Jobs
(03:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Although we're recovering from the Great Recession, most of the new jobs are low-paying, non-union jobs.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Raising Social Security benefits is essential to the well-being of American workers.
Broadcast History
none
Transcript
Guaranteeing American workers a decent retirement has become increasingly difficult with the decline of traditional pension plans and the glaring inadequacy of the 401 (k) savings accounts that have replaced them.
So what should we do about it? The answer to that is obvious to the AFL-CIO. And should be obvious to everyone else. That is, increase Social Security benefits.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has high praise for the Social Security program. But he says it has a serious problem, in that Social Security benefits are too low.
Trumka certainly has that right. The average Social Security payout for men is only about $16,000 a year, barely above the minimum wage. Payouts for women average only about $12,000 a year, barely above the poverty line.
It's for very good reason that the AFL-CIO has taken an official position calling for "an across the board increase in Social Securi...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Commentator Dick Meister says there's an obvious solution o our Social Security problems.
OUTRO:Dick Meister is a veteran labor and political journalist.
