January, 05 2011, 10:59am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Alan Barber, (571) 306-2526
Senators Will Receive Social Security Benefits for Years to Come, Just like Everyone Else
WASHINGTON
As the 112th Congress convenes today, Social Security is likely to be
a hotly discussed issue over the course of this session. Recently,
Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said that he would not get Social
Security benefits when he retires if the program is not fixed
immediately. But a new issue brief
from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) demonstrates
that Social Security will be able to pay full benefits for all Senators
through 2037 and almost 80 percent of their benefits thereafter, even
with no changes to the program at all.
The CEPR issue brief
uses projections from the Social Security Trustees Report to show the
payable Social Security benefit for every Senator in the 112th Congress.
In all cases, the Senators will receive a substantial benefit after
they retire as long as they live. In Senator Bennet's case, he would
receive a benefit of $37,329 a year if he retires at age 67 in 2031.
The issue brief and table of benefits for U.S. Senators can be found at https://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/senators-ss-2011-01.pdf.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.
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Aiming to confront "a root cause of many of America's fundamental economic problems," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday unveiled a bill to require corporations to balance growth with fair treatment of their employees and consumers.
The Massachusetts Democrat introduced the Accountable Capitalism Act, explaining that for much of U.S. history, corporations reinvested more than half of their profits back into their companies, working in the interest of employees, customers, business partners, and shareholders.
In the 1980s, said Warren corporations began placing the latter group above all, adopting "the belief that their only legitimate and legal purpose was 'maximizing shareholder value.'"
That view was further cemented in 1997 when the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents chief executives across the country, declared that the "principal objective of a business enterprise is to generate economic returns to its owners."
Now, Warren said in a policy document, "around 93% of American-held corporate shares are owned by just 10% of our nation's richest households, while more than 40% of American households hold no shares at all."
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