We’ve wasted years of political discourse led by a billion dollar Wall Street campaign to convince America we can’t afford a strong Social Security system.  While those like Alan Simpson, Pete Peterson and Paul Ryan, believe middle class families should foot the bill for trillions in tax breaks for huge corporations and the wealthiest among us, step outside Washington and Wall Street and it’s clear the average American disagrees. 

Our nation’s middle class continues to struggle and for older workers, the prospect of retirement remains elusive.  A new CBS poll describes the economic realities facing most Americans.

 “Seven of 10 Americans who haven’t retired yet find it hard to save for retirement while also paying the bills and meeting their basic living expenses, a new CBS News poll shows. Not surprisingly, those earning less are having more difficulty setting money aside. More than 80 percent of people making less than $50,000 a year say it is hard to keep up with bills and save for retirement at the same time, and half say it is very hard.

“There is a segment of the population who cannot afford food and rent and to save for retirement, and they rationally choose rent and food over retirement savings,” said Anthony Webb, senior research economist with Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.”

According to the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a sizable percentage of workers report they have virtually no savings and investments. More than a third (36 percent) of retired civilian workers say they have less than $1,000 (up from 28 percent in 2013). A quarter of workers and 17 percent of retirees indicate that their current level of debt is higher than it was five years ago.  The CBS poll received similar responses:

“But the country’s troubling shortfall in retirement savings isn’t confined to lower-income earners. More than 60 percent of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year say it is hard to save for retirement, according to the telephone poll of more than 1,000 adults around the U.S.”

Social Security remains the only stable source of income for many families who are still rebuilding after our nation’s recent brush with economic collapse.  This is exactly why it’s time to shift the debate to where it should have been all along…boosting benefits. 

Building upon the growing public support for expanding Social Security, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) has launched the Boost Social Security Now education campaign to inform and mobilize our membership, grassroots networks and on-line communities to convince Congress that now is the time to boost benefits, not cut them.  

Please take a moment and join our growing movement.  Call Congress, Write a Letter and Sign our Petition telling Washington Now’s the time to Boost Social Security!