• Take Action: Stop the Privatization of Social Security
• AFT Backs Bipartisan Bill on Rx Drug Importation
• Grass-roots Seniors Speak Out Against Privatization
• Brokerage Firm, Pfizer Abandon Social Security Privatization
• What Are Friends For?
• Lots of Time Left To Achieve Your 2005 Goals
• Save on Your Favorite Magazines
• Quote of Note: Massive Borrowing to Pay Near-Term
• Social Security Benefits
• Web site of the Week: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/
  issueguide_socialsecurity
• Retiree e-news Survey

TAKE ACTION: STOP THE PRIVATIZATION OF
SOCIAL SECURITY
President Bush outlined his proposal to "reform" Social Security in his recent State of the Union address to Congress and is actively promoting it in a series of staged events. This dangerous proposal seeks to establish private accounts in Social Security that will simply cut workers’ benefits and add to the already runaway deficit. The president’s privatization plan does nothing to improve the program's long-term solvency and would result in drastic benefit cuts for all workers under age 55. In spite of White House promises that they would see no cut in guaranteed benefits, polls consistently show older Americans to be the strongest opponents of private accounts. They know what the change would mean to their children and grandchildren. Visit http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/socsec022205 to reach AFT’s Legislative Action Center to send a letter to your U.S. senators and representative. And remember, you can send this newsletter to up to 10 friends. If you want to really strengthen Social Security, pass it on. Thank you. 

AFT BACKS BIPARTISAN BILL
ON Rx DRUG IMPORTATION
The AFT has thrown its support behind a comprehensive, bipartisan prescription drug bill introduced Feb. 9 by U.S. Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and a companion House bill introduced by Reps. JoAnn Emerson (R-Mo.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). In all, 27 members of the Senate, from both parties, are co-sponsoring the bill. The Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act (S. 334/H.R.700) would allow the importation of FDA-approved drugs from countries with comparable regulation to that of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It also would require that imported drugs be tracked, examined and properly labeled by licensed pharmacists. The bill is intended to help cut costs of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, which could exceed $1 trillion.

GRASS-ROOTS SENIORS SPEAK OUT
AGAINST PRIVATIZATION
Members of Congress got an earful as they headed home last week to gauge the public's appetite for overhauling Social Security. On their first recess since President Bush announced Social Security as his top domestic priority for the year, even the GOP's 104-page confidential playbook, developed with input from pollsters, marketing experts and communication consultants, was not enough for many noncommittal Republican representatives and senators to hold town hall meetings, preferring to wait until the president unveils more details before endorsing his plan. For those Republicans who did campaign on behalf of the president's plan, the strategy is twofold: first, neutralize seniors by assuring them they will not be affected and second, appeal to younger workers by telling them Social Security is going bankrupt. Polls show that younger voters are more likely to approve of personal accounts while older voters are opposed to them. However, seniors, a powerful bloc that votes heavily in midterm elections, are proving to be a difficult obstacle. Despite Bush's assurances, they remain uneasy about leaving the retirement security of their children and grandchildren to the stock market. Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans, including a number from the AFT, were vocal in the Social Security debate at town hall meetings and rallies in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Nevada.

BROKERAGE FIRM, PFIZER ABANDON
SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION
Brokerage firm Edward Jones and drug giant Pfizer have dropped out of a business coalition backing President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. Edward Jones resigned from the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security (AWRS) Feb. 11 after the AFL-CIO staged protests at two of the firm's offices and attacked it on the Internet. The labor federation staged rallies on Feb. 7 near the firm's St. Louis headquarters and outside its office in downtown Lincoln, Neb. Pfizer Inc., a longtime member of the AWRS lobbying for Bush's plan, said on Feb.20 that it was withdrawing from the same group and would remain neutral on the issue.

WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?
In the midst of a fractious debate over proposed changes to Social Security, a senior official of the agency that administers the program joined Republican members of Congress at public events around the country designed to promote private retirement accounts, including one meeting sponsored by House majority leader Tom DeLay, is likely to be a key figure in pushing privatization. James B. Lockhart III, deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration, said Feb. 23 that he had appeared with four Republican members in recent days to provide information, not to endorse the diversion of some payroll taxes to personal accounts. Several Democrats are objecting to Lockhart's role in an aggressive campaign to promote administration proposals for restructuring Social Security. Lockhart's travels come at a time when the administration's efforts to advance its policies are under scrutiny. A few weeks ago, employees at Social Security objected to a publicity drive that they said had twisted facts about the solvency of the system to create an appetite for private accounts. On Feb. 22, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a watchdog agency in Washington, filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration for failing to respond to a request under the Freedom of Information Act about contracts it has with public relations firms. A new report reviewing more than 4,000 pages of agency documents reveals the Social Security Administration has systematically altered agency communications to undermine public confidence in Social Security and echo President Bush’s dire warnings about the current system.

LOTS OF TIME LEFT TO ACHIEVE YOUR 2005 GOALS
With the New Year a distant memory, many people already have abandoned resolutions to improve their personal or professional lives. The best way to make lasting changes is by taking a deliberate, step-by-step approach. Try these strategies for reaching your goals this year.

• Target areas needing change: Identify and write down all the areas that you would like to change.
• Write down the changes that you would like to see in each area: Be specific. Write down every goal that you want to achieve in the targeted areas.
• Prioritize your goals: Rank them from most important to least important. It is better to pick one or two goals that you feel reasonably confident that you can achieve rather than create an ambitious list that you can’t complete.
• Keep your goals alive: Carry your goals in your planner or put them on an index card where you can see them every day.
• Set yourself up for success: Brainstorm all the things you can do to achieve the goal you selected. Commit some time every day or week to working toward your goal. If you can handle working on more than one goal, go for it. Do not quit!
• Enjoy your success at the end of 2005! Good luck!

SAVE ON YOUR FAVORITE MAGAZINES
Are you missing out on your favorite magazine? AFT PLUS can help you get back in touch and save money, too. As an AFT retired member, you are entitled to magazine discounts through our AFT PLUS Subscription Services Program. Save up to 50 percent on your favorite magazines and on gift subscriptions for your friends and family. Choose from more than 1,000 titles, including Bon Appetit, Business Week, Golf Digest, Good Housekeeping, Newsweek, Prevention and Sports Illustrated. Call 800/877-7238 or Click here to place your order, check a rate or obtain a list of all available publications.

QUOTE OF NOTE: Massive Borrowing to Pay Near-Term Social Security Benefits
"We don't know how the [financial] markets would respond ... And if we were to go forward in a large way and we were wrong, it would be creating more difficulties than I would imagine."

—Alan Greenspan
Federal Reserve Chair

WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: 
Everything you always wanted to know about Social Security—and not just for policy wonks—from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that develops strategies for a prosperous and fair economy.

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/
issueguide_socialsecurity

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