Skip to content

Retirement

Trump’s ‘Jobs Czar’ Defeats Workers After 105 Day Strike

February 26, 2017 Dominic Rushe and Tom Pietrasik, www.theguardian.com , , ,
By Dominic Rushe and Tom Pietrasik for the Guardian. Momentive’s workers are not alone in their grievances. In 2016 dollars, the average hourly wage of a high school educated worker was $18.29 in 1973, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Last year it was $17.25. Ignoring minor bumps and dips, it’s fair to say that a quarter of the US workforce (those with no more than high school education) have seen their wages barely keep up with inflation for more than 40 years – a period that enjoyed decades of spectacular economic growth, particularly for the top 1%. Chatting over a beer after a day on the lines, Benny Patrignani, Dominick’s brother, says he has hope that Trump will bring change. “Both parties are so busy hitting each other, they haven’t been interested in us,” he says. The choice, he said, was: “Do you want to die by drowning or die by fire?”

Retirement Divide: 100 CEOs V. The Rest Of Us

December 19, 2016 Sarah Anderson, www.ips-dc.org , , , ,
By Sarah Anderson for IPS - If President-elect Donald Trump succeeds in cutting the top marginal tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, Fortune 500 CEOs would save $196 million on the income taxes they would owe if they withdrew their tax-deferred funds. Unlike ordinary 401(k) holders, most top CEOs have no limits on annual contributions to their tax-deferred accounts. In 2015 alone, Fortune 500 CEOs saved $92 million on their taxes by putting $238 million more in these accounts than they could have if they were subject to the same rules as other workers.

Retirees Win Round One

June 2, 2016 Alexandra Bradbury, www.labornotes.org ,
By Alexandra Bradbury for Labor Notes - Who could have predicted a year ago, as Congress-sanctioned pension cutsgathered momentum, that thousands of retired truckers self-organizing in diners and union halls across Middle America would manage to apply the brakes? “We’ve taken just normal, everyday grandmothers and grandfathers, and we’ve made citizen lobbyists out of them,” said Wes Epperson, a retired member of Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City, “and it’s been because of necessity.”

Sharing Economy Will Screw, Real Problem Retirement

May 19, 2016 Steven Hill, www.alternet.org , ,
By Steven Hill for Beacon Press - Meet Howard and Jean, an older couple I know, who like so many Americans of the “greatest generation” plugged into the New Deal world that promised a secure lunch pail for the middle class. Howard is a World War II veteran who became a mechanic; when he was younger he worked on automobiles for a local Chevy dealership, and then on commercial airliners for United Airlines out at the airport. Jean was a housewife and part-time sales clerk.

The Reality Of Retirement Inequality In The United States

May 7, 2016 Ben Steverman, www.bloomberg.com , ,
By Ben Steverman for Bloomberg - Since voluntary savings plans led by 401(k)s have largely replaced traditional pensions, it’s probably no surprise that this is the best of times for many highly paid workers. Equally unsurprising is that this is the worst of times for almost everyone else, especially the 42 percent (PDF) of workers who don’t have access to a work-sponsored plan. The stunner is just how much the luckiest among us will outpace the unluckiest on retirement day: eleven times as much.

Retirement Co-op Ensures Seniors Aren’t Treated As Commodities

March 27, 2016 Sophie Chapelle, www.truthout.org , ,
By Sophie Chapelle (translated by Leslie Thatcher) for Truthout. Lyon, France - They didn't want to end up in a traditional retirement home. They wanted to remain the actors in their own lives. Seven years after their first discussions about how to age well, a group of retired people is starting to build the first co-op for the aging. Non-speculation, democracy and environmental concern are the foundations of the "Chamarel-Les Barges" project, located in a neighborhood of Vaulx-en-Velin, east of Lyon, France. The project is so inspiring that the bank has even conferred a 50-year loan to the founders, who are in their 60s. The rendezvous was set for the 15th floor in a Vaulx-en-Velin apartment building in the suburbs of Lyon. That's the location for the headquarters of the Chamarel Association (also known as the Residents' Cooperative Housing Residence of East Lyonnais) created in 2010, prompted by the first French co-op for older people.

CEOs Have As Much In Retirement Assets As 41% Of American Families

November 4, 2015 Sarah Anderson and Scott Klinger, www.ips-dc.org , ,
By Sarah Anderson and Scott Klinger for IPS - (Washington, D.C.) A just-released report by the Center for Effective Government and the Institute for Policy Studies, A Tale of Two Retirements, is the first to provide detailed statistics on the staggering gap between the retirement assets of Fortune 500 CEOs and the rest of America. The report’s major finding: just 100 CEOs have as much in their company retirement assets as the entire retirement savings of 41 percent of American families (50 million families total). The report comes on the heels of a Social Security Administration announcement that beneficiaries will not receive a cost of living increase in 2016.

A Tale Of Two Retirements

October 31, 2015 Scott Klinger and Sarah Anderson, www.ips-dc.org , , ,
By Scott Klinger and Sarah Anderson for IPS - This report, co-published by the Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government, is the first to provide detailed statistics on the staggering gap between the retirement assets of Fortune 500 CEOs and the rest of America. Key findings: The company-sponsored retirement assets of just 100 CEOs add up to as much as the entire retirement account savings of 41% of American families (50 million families in total). The 100 largest CEO retirement accounts are worth an average of more than $49.3 million—enough to generate a $277,686 monthly retirement check for each executive for the rest of their lives.

Landslide Votes: Detroit Workers/Retirees Approve Pension Cuts

July 22, 2014 Ed White, www.AP.org , , ,
Pension cuts were approved in a landslide, according to results filed shortly before midnight Monday. The tally from 60 days of voting gives the city a boost as Judge Steven Rhodes determines whether Detroit's overall strategy to eliminate or reduce $18 billion in long-term debt is fair and feasible to all creditors. General retirees would get a 4.5 percent pension cut and lose annual inflation adjustments. They accepted the changes with 73 percent of ballots in favor. Retired police officers and firefighters would lose only a portion of their annual cost-of-living raise. Eighty-two percent in that class voted "yes."

Another Privatization Plan For Social Security

June 24, 2014 Richard Eskow, www.ourfuture.org , ,
For months there have been rumors that the Social Security Administration has a “secret plan” to close all of its field offices. Is it true? A little-known report commissioned by the SSA the request of Congress seems to hold the answer. The summary document outlining the plan, which is labeled “for internal use only,” is unavailable from the SSA but can be found here. Does the document, entitled “Long Term Strategic Vision and Vision Elements,” really propose shuttering all field offices? The answer, buried beneath a barrage of obfuscatory consultantese, clearly seems to be “yes.” Worse, the report also suggests that many of the SSA’s critical functions could soon be outsourced to private-sector partners and contractors. Here are five insights from this austerity-minded outline.

The Battle For Social Security Is Not Over

March 23, 2014 Steven Rosenfeld, www.alternet.org , ,
Progressive organizersand blue-leaning media have been declaring victory because the Obama White House has dropped its push for using a new cost-of-living formula that would cut into future increases in monthly Social Security benefits. Articles such this detailed retelling from In These Times proclaim that Social Security was "saved,” when in fact, the formula for future Social Security benefits is unchanged, and is still insufficient for the retiring baby boom generation. Meanwhile, glee over the White House’s reversal eclipses the harsh truth that Obama’s proposed 2015 budget would raise out-of-pocket costs for 50 million seniors—saving the government $60 billion—starting in 2018 by increasing Medicare deductibles, co-pays and premiums, and adding a surcharge if people buy supplemental insurance coverage.

900 Weathiest Finished Paying Social Security Tax On Jan 2

January 5, 2014 Staff, www.rt.com , , ,
A small, elite group of US citizens has already met their 2014 financial obligation for Social Security two days into the New Year, and will no longer be required to contribute any of their income to the federal program. Nearly all working Americans will continue to pay the social security tax through the duration of 2014. The 900 wealthiest, however, have fulfilled their responsibility for the whole year on Thursday by earning $117,000 – the maximum total social security is allowed to take from an individual income each year - on the first and second days of the month. Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor at the New School for Social Research, wrote that if everyone eligible paid all year long, “the Social security system would be solvent indefinitely and they still would be the richest and prettiest in all the land.”

#PensionTheft: Public Workers Under Attack in Illinois

December 5, 2013 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org ,
A critical vote for past, current, and future public workers is set to take place in the Illinois General Assembly today and if Governor Pat Quinn gets his way and deep cuts are made to the pension and retirement rules, critics worry that similar efforts to strip workers of their earned retirement benefits will be replicated nationwide. As in other states, Illinois pension shortfall comes not from over-compensating public employees but because the state perennially refused to contribute its share of revenue to the fund decade after decade. Now, according to Quinn and his supporters, the workers must be forced to endure cuts to their cost-of-living increases and other so-called "fixes" in the name of the "common good." Quinn, a Democrat, is poised to anger his labor base in the name of compromising on the pension deal—which they call "pension theft"—and it is Republicans in the state who might ditch the deal, but only because they say the cuts to workers don't go far enough. Not all Democrats, however, see the deal as a responsible fix with U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowksy calling on her state-level colleagues to reject the proposal.

Detroit Bankruptcy Approved By Court, Puts Retiree Pensions & Healthcare At Risk

December 4, 2013 Joseph Lichterman and Bernie Woodall, www.www.reuters.com , ,
A federal judge on Tuesday formally declared Detroit bankrupt, a landmark ruling that clears the way for potentially sweeping cuts to city worker pensions and retirement benefits and for steep and possibly precedent-setting losses to the cash-strapped city's bond holders. The ruling by U.S. Judge Steven Rhodes, who cited the city's dismal finances and $18 billion owed to a multitude of creditors in support of his decision, marks a watershed in the history of Detroit. Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, in a news conference after the court hearing, said the city will seek to file a plan of readjustment - the city's roadmap toward financial solvency - by early January. He said negotiations are continuing with unions "even now." Rhodes also said the city could cut pensions as part of the restructuring, ruling against an argument that Michigan's constitution protects them from being slashed. However, Rhodes warned he will not rubber-stamp any pension cuts.

Photos: Anti-Protest Bill & Austerity Cause Mass Protests In Spain

November 23, 2013 Alex Dunham, www.thelocal.es , , , ,
Draft bill calls for $800,000 fines for protests in Spain's Mass Protests Erupt in Response to Bill, Austerity and Bank Bailouts Unauthorized protesters outside the Spanish Parliament could soon be hit with fines of up to €600,000 ($810,000) while those selling drugs or offering sexual services in front of minors could face a penalty of up to €30,000.The move is part of a new Citizen Security bill drafted by Spain’s ruling Popular Party (PP) which is likely to be approved in Parliament in the near future. Social uproar in the form of harassment or insults will result in hefty fines of up to €600,000 if the PP’s parliamentary majority gives the law the green light. Aside from protesting outside government buildings, other “very serious offences” include publishing images/personal data of policemen online, interrupting public events and carrying out so-called escraches (demonstrations outside the homes and workplaces of political figures). Offences deemed as “serious” on the new bill include insulting or threatening policemen . . . .
«123»

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here
Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.