Accomplishments
Results per page: 50 | 100
Results by year: 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
-
Testimony of Kathy A. Ruffing Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Before the Subcommittee on Social Security Committee on Ways and Means U.S. House of Representatives
March 20, 2013
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Becerra, and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the invitation to appear before you today.[1] The Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program provides modest but vital benefits to workers who become unable to perform substantial work on account of a serious medical impairment. Although some … -
Deficit Reduction Should Not Increase Poverty and Hardship
March 11, 2013
Executive Summary With President Obama and lawmakers of both parties vowing to achieve further deficit reduction, the stakes are high for low- and moderate-income Americans. If policymakers heavily target programs that serve vulnerable Americans, they will run the risk of increasing poverty and hardship and reducing opportunity for … -
Testimony of Robert Greenstein, President, Before Senate Budget Committee
February 13, 2013
I appreciate the invitation to testify today on the impact of federal budget decisions on families and communities. This is an important matter. As you know, the nation will have to make tough decisions to put the budget on a more sustainable fiscal course. The issue is not only whether policymakers act to secure adequate … -
Policy Basics: Top Ten Facts about Social Security
Updated November 6, 2012
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935. Almost eight decades later, Social Security remains one of the nation’s most successful, effective, and popular programs. It provides a foundation of income on which workers can build to plan for their retirement. It also provides valuable social … -
Social Security Keeps 21 Million Americans Out of Poverty: A State-by-State Analysis
October 16, 2012
Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty. Without Social Security, 21.4 million more Americans would be poor, according to the latest available Census data (for 2011). Although most of those whom Social Security keeps out of poverty are elderly, nearly a third are under age 65, including 1.1 million children.… -
Social Security Disability Insurance is Vital to Workers With Severe Impairments
August 9, 2012
The Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program provides modest but vital benefits to workers who become unable to perform substantial work on account of a serious medical impairment. Although some critics charge that spending for the program is “out of control,” the bulk of the rise in federal disability rolls … -
Introduction to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program
January 10, 2011
What Is Supplemental Security Income? The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides monthly cash assistance to people who are disabled, blind, or elderly and have little income and few assets. In December 2009, 7.7 million people collected SSI benefits (see Figure 1). For three-fifths of recipients, SSI represents their only source of income. [1] … -
Despite Deep Recession and High Unemployment, Government Efforts — Including the Recovery Act — Prevented Poverty from Rising in 2009, New Census Data Show
January 5, 2011
Despite a deep recession, very high unemployment, and widespread hardship, a combination of existing safety net programs and temporary expansions in them enacted in 2009 all but prevented a rise in the poverty rate that year, according to a Center analysis of new poverty data the U.S. Census Bureau released this week that … -
Podcast: Social Security Reduces Poverty
August 17, 2010
Senior Fellow Paul Van de Water discusses how Social Security helps to reduce poverty.
Duration: 2:26
-
What the 2010 Trustees’ Report Shows about Social Security
August 13, 2010
On August 5, the Social Security Board of Trustees issued the 70th annual report on the program’s financial and actuarial status. [1] The trustees’ report shows some mild deterioration in the program’s short-term outlook — a finding that was widely expected — and a mild improvement in its long-run … -
Social Security Keeps 20 Million Americans Out of Poverty:
August 11, 2010
Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty. Without Social Security, according to the latest available Census data (for 2008), 19.8 million more Americans would be poor. Although most of those kept out of poverty by Social Security are elderly, nearly a third are under age 65, including 1.1 million children. (See Table 1.) … -
What the New CBO Report Finds About Social Security “Grow Accounts”
September 21, 2005
On July 14, Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA) and various other Republican members of the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 3304. This legislation, similar to a plan proposed by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), would establish Social Security private accounts, called “GROW accounts.” These accounts would receive … -
Public Benefits: Easing Poverty and Ensuring Medical Coverage
Revised August 17, 2005
When individuals and families experience crises such as job loss, illness, disability, or divorce, they may face the prospect of falling into poverty (or becoming poorer) and losing health insurance coverage. Various government assistance programs are designed to lessen these hardships. These programs also provide support when families work but have low earnings and when … -
Policy Basics: Top Ten Facts on Social Security's 70th Anniversary
August 11, 2005
View more recent report with more up-to-date data: Policy Basics: Top Ten Facts about Social Security on the Program's 75th Anniversary August 13, 2010 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, which established a basic compact between generations: younger workers would contribute payroll taxes, and … -
Private Accounts Would Substantially Increase Federal Debt and Interest Payments
Revised August 2, 2005
All of the major proposals to replace a portion of Social Security with private accounts would require large increases in federal borrowing for many decades. This increased borrowing is not necessary to restore Social Security solvency. Instead, the increased borrowing would be needed to finance the creation of … -
The DeMint and McCrery Social Security Plans
Revised July 20, 2005
On July 15, Rep. Jim McCrery and a number of other Republican House members introduced legislation to establish private accounts in Social Security. The legislation embodies the plan that Rep. McCrery, Rep. Clay Shaw, and other members unveiled several weeks ago and is very similar to the plan that Senator Jim DeMint … -
Press Release: What Does the Safety Net Accomplish?
July 19, 2005
Public benefit programs cut the number of poor Americans nearly in half (from 58 million to 31 million) and dramatically reduce the severity of poverty for those who remain poor, while providing health coverage to tens of millions of people who otherwise would be uninsured, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy … -
Would the DeMint Social Security Plan Promote Fiscal Responsibility?
June 24, 2005
Supporters of the DeMint proposal argue that the Social Security surplus is currently being “raided” by the rest of the budget because the surplus is being used to help cover the deficit. The claim that Social Security is being raided and that its finances are being weakened as a result … -
Statement Of Robert Greenstein On The DeMint Social Security Proposal
June 23, 2005
Under this DeMint plan, Social Security’s current annual surpluses would be shifted to private accounts rather than used to purchase Treasury bonds for the Social Security Trust Fund. This shifting of funds would end when the Social Security surpluses disappeared. This shifting … -
President Misleads On Social Security Rate Of Return
June 6, 2005
In Kentucky on June 2, the President stepped up his efforts to promote his Social Security plan with a claim that private accounts provide a substantially higher return than traditional Social Security without any added risk. The President said: “Right now, when we collect your money, if you’re a youngster out … -
Boosting Income and Contribution Limits For Pension Savings Would Swell Deficits, Do Little For Middle-Class Families
May 18, 2005
Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas has suggested that new tax cuts to promote retirement savings should be considered as part of the effort to reform Social Security. Chairman Thomas has expressed interest in a range of proposals.[1] A number of retirement-related tax proposals have strong proponents on Capitol Hill, in … -
White House Distortions Mask Social Security Benefit Reductions
Revised May 10, 2005
The President recently endorsed “sliding-scale” benefit reductions in Social Security, as proposed by investment executive Robert Pozen.[1] The Pozen proposal entails reducing benefits for most workers below the benefit levels that would be paid under the current benefit structure. (The benefits under the … -
Did the President Mislead on Social Security in His April 29 Press Conference?
Revised May 4, 2005
A series of statements by President Bush in his press conference on April 29 is likely to have left millions of viewers with misimpressions about his private-accounts proposal and about the Social Security system. Many of these statements had a common element — they created misleading impressions about how the private … -
Why the President's Social Security Proposals Could Ultimately Lead to the Unraveling of Social Security
May 2, 2005
President Bush has now endorsed a combination of “progressive price indexing,” a change in the Social Security benefit structure proposed by investment executive Robert Pozen, and private accounts carved out of Social Security. This combination spells danger for the future of the Social Security system. … -
An Analysis of Using "Progressive Price Indexing" To Set Social Security Benefits
Revised May 2, 2005
In his news conference on April 28, President Bush embraced a Social Security benefit reduction plan that is consistent with a proposal advanced by Robert Pozen, a former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments and a member of President Bush’s Social Security Commission. Pozenhas developed a change in the Social Security … -
Press Release: Social Security Lifts 13 Million Seniors Out of Poverty
February 24, 2005
View more recent report with more up-to-date data: Social Security Keeps 20 Million Americans Out of Poverty: A State-By-State Analysis August 11, 2010 Social Security benefits raise nearly 13 million seniors age 65 and older above the poverty line, a new Center report finds. The report provides data on the … -
Social Security Lifts 13 Million Seniors Above the Poverty Line
February 24, 2005
View more recent report with more up-to-date data: Social Security Keeps 20 Million Americans Out of Poverty: A State-By-State Analysis August 11, 2010 Social Security benefits have a powerful poverty-preventing effect among the elderly. An analysis of Census data shows that nationwide, Social Security benefits lift nearly 13 million … -
President Tries to Have It Both Ways
February 3, 2005
In his State of the Union Address, President Bush used misleading statistics to create a false sense of crisis about Social Security. At the same time, in a White House briefing several hours before the President’s address, a senior Administration official acknowledged that the private accounts the Administration is …
