Social Security Resources
URPE members have been active in the fight to protect Social Security. They have spoken at conferences, in classrooms, on the radio, at demonstrations, and at government hearings. They have created websites, written articles and books, and composed songs. On this page we link you to some of what URPE members have produced. We also have links to useful websites and written material created by other organizations and individuals. As we continue to hear of more articles and sites we will add them to this page.
Most articles are recent; dates of most older articles are noted.
Note: If you have trouble reading pdfs, make sure you have the current version of Acrobat Reader.
Speakers
If you need a speaker on Social Security for your educational or activist event, call Economy Connection at (201) 792-7459 or send an email to Economy Connection.
Read about some talks URPE speakers have given on Social Security.
Books
Dean Baker & Mark Weisbrot
Social Security: The Phony Crisis
Barbara R. Bergmann & Jim Bush
Is Social Security Broke?: A Cartoon Guide to the Issues 2000
Robert B. Carson, Wade L. Thomas & Jason Hecht
Economic Issues Today: Alternative Approaches
See chapter with conservative, liberal and radical views on Social Security
Max Skidmore
Social Security and Its Enemies
Christian Weller & Edward N. Wolff
Retirement Income: The Crucial Role of Social Security
Testimony
Michael Meeropol testified in favor of a Springfield, MA City Council resolution to protect Social Security. The resolution was passed. See articles below for Michael's views.
Doug Henwood, Paddy Quick and June Zaccone testified before a subcommittee of the NYC City Council on May 12, 2005, on a similar resolution. Read their testimony.
Conferences & Panels
Brecht Forum, May 25, 2005
Doug Henwood, Paddy Quick, Mike Whitty
2005 Left Forum, April 7, 2005
Trudy Goldberg, Doug Henwood, Chris Rude
UMKC Conference, Nov. 12, 2004
Randall Wray, Max Skidmore, Christopher Niggle, Barbara Bergmann, Michael Hudson, Thomas Palley, Stephanie Kelton
Articles & Interviews
Some URPE members/friends have written numerous articles on Social Security; rather than listing their articles separately, we have listed their websites.
Gar Alperovitz
What A Rich Nation Should Really Be Doing About Social Security
Katie Baird
Trust Fund Critics Detract f rom Real Social Security Debate
Heather Boushey
Social Security: The Most Important Anti-Poverty Program for Children
Carroll L. Estes
Social Security Privatization and Older Women: A Feminist Political Economy Perspective
Ellen Frank
The Raw Deal, 2004, pp 93-101, updated version of articles below
Social Security Q&A 2001
The Myth of the Social Security Trust Fund 1999
Teresa Ghilarducci
The Political Economy of Social Security Reform in the U.S.
in URPE's Political Economy & Contemporary Capitalism
plus many articles on pensions and retirement economics;
see Dollars & Sense, May-June 2005
Doug Henwood
Social Security, revisited
Michael Hudson
The $4.7 Trillion Pyramid: Why Social Security Won't Be Enough to Save Wall Street
Stephanie Kelton
Entitled to Nothing: Why Americans Should Just Say "No" to Personal Accounts
Michael Meeropol
Bush Social Security Proposal a Huge Scam
Thomas R. Michl
Saving Social Security the Right Way
Social Security: The Manufactured Crisis
Bush Plan Threatens to Divide Americans
John Miller
The Social Security Administration’s Cracked Crystal Ball
Monthly Review Editors, October 2000
Social Security, the Stock Market, and the Elections
Monthly Review Editors, April, 2005
The Great Fear Stagnation and the War on Social Security
Warren Mosler & Mathew Forstater
Social Security: Another Case of Innocent Fraud?
Doug Orr
Social Security Isn’t Broken – So Why Does Greenspan Want to Fix It?
Social Security Q&A: Separating Fact from Fiction
Arthur Perlo
Aging Population No Cause for Crisis
Social Security and the New York Times
Scrap the Cap
The Maestro of Fraud (Greenspan and Social Security)
African Americans and Social Security
Lies and Theft — the Attack on Social Security
Nomi Prins
Around the Kitchen Table: The Real Crisis
Privatizing Social Security: Who Wins When We Lose?
Give Retirees More Financial Security
Marta Russell
Targeting Disability
William E. Spriggs
African Americans and Social Security:
Why the Privatization Advocates Are Wrong
Christian Weller
See EPI's Social Security Issue Guide for many recent articles;
also Center for American Progress
L. Randall Wray
Search for Wray under publications at Levy Economics Institute and UMKC's Center for Full Employment and Price Stability for additional articles
The Emperor Has No Clothes: President Clinton's Proposed Social Security Reform.
Killing Social Security Softly with Faux Kindness: The Draft Report by the President's Commission on Social Security Reform
Manufacturing a Crisis: the neo-con attack on Social Security
The Ownership Society: Social Security is only the beginning....
Does Social Security Need Saving? (with Dimitri B. Papadimitriou)
How Can We Provide for the Baby Boomers in Their Old Age?
More Pain, No Gain: The Breaux Plan Slashes Social Security Benefits Unnecessarily
Social Security's 70th Anniversary: Surviving 20 Years of Reform
Useful Flyers and other
Organizing Tools
AFL-CIO several 1-page flyers about how SS changes would affect different populations, many in Spanish
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Benefit Calculator
Basic Facts 14 pages
Basic Facts 1 page
Sample Letters to the Editor
MoveOn Animation:
If it ain't broke, don't privatize it!
National Jobs for All Coalition
Social Security: What's in It for Younger People?
Interactive quiz
Private Accounts Flyer One page flyer
No Crisis Flyer One page flyer
Facts About Social Security 2005 Two-sided flyer by June Zaccone
2-Part Midwest Academy Slide Show:
Social Security is not Going Broke
The Bush Plan Weakens Social Security
Articles by Helen Ginsburg, Trudy Goldberg, June Zaccone and others.
Some material is translated into Spanish.
Music
Ray Korona
SOCIAL SECURITY Fight-Back Song!
Brent Kramer
No Return
Web Pages of Organizations that work closely with URPE and have Social Security Info
Center for American Progress
Includes many articles by Christian Weller
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Includes many articles by Dean Baker, Mark Weisbrot, Heather Boushey and other URPE members
Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, UMKC
See articles above by Forstater and Kelton
Center for Popular Economics: Several "Econ-Atrocities" on Social Security by Gerald Friedman
Dollars and Sense:
Social Security Page with articles by Doug Orr, John Miller, William E. Spriggs, Ellen Frank, Christian Weller, Paul Precht and Mark Weisbrot
Economic Policy Institute
Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)
Women and Social Security
Left Business Observer
Search site for Social Security
National Jobs for All Coalition
United for a Fair Economy
Other Websites with
Social Security Info
AARP
AARP has a lot of information on its site, and is probably the largest organization fighting to preserve Social Security, so we are listing it here. But beware of their positions – they say they want to increase SS's solvency, and some of the options they consider aren't so great. Most URPE people don't feel there is any solvency problem, and especially not a problem that must be addressed now. In fact, many feel that it should not be addressed now, because many solutions would weaken Social Security and make people less likely to fight to preserve it.
AFL-CIO general Social Security page and Links
Americans United to Protect Social Security
The Black Commentator
Search site for Social Security articles
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Committees of Correspondence Education Fund
The Fight to Save Social Security:
A Critical Moment in Defense of Working Class Interests
Didn't find a link for this booklet; contact through website or 212-868-3733
Communist Party USA
Dissident Voice
Paul Krugman has written many articles on Social Security for the New York Times.
Search Truthout site to find these articles
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
NOW
People's Weekly World
The Social Security Network, Century Foundation
Students for Social Security
Working Families Party
Young Democratic Socialists
Resources for Youth Activists
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