The Democratic National Committee this week will sponsor ads on black radio stations across the country to explain how President George W. Bush’s plan to restructure Social Security would have negative long-term implications for many black Americans.
“Social Security is an important part of many African-American families' lives,” the radio ad says. “It is the sole source of retirement income for 40 percent of African-American seniors. But Social Security's benefits reach beyond seniors. Without it, 65 percent of African-American women would live in poverty, and surviving children and spouses depend on Social Security when their loved ones are gone.
“But now,” the ad continues, “President Bush and Washington Republicans have a plan to privatize Social Security -- a plan that will cut your benefits by 40 percent, force us to borrow $4.5 trillion from foreign nations and divert your money to their rich friends on Wall Street ... Call your member of Congress and tell him/her to reject President Bush's plan to cut our guaranteed Social Security benefits.”
The 60-second spots, called “Community,” are airing a week after the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, traveled to several of the nation’s largest black communities to talk about the Republican Party and ask blacks directly if they feel Democrats are taking them – and their votes – for granted.
Bush’s Social Security proposal has become a flashpoint issue for Democrats who are hoping to mobilize blacks around topics like health care, education and employment.
“President Bush and Washington Republicans are trying to dismantle a program that keeps millions of African-American seniors out of poverty and provides survivor benefits to millions of African-American children,” said Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement Tuesday.
“The DNC is committed to informing the African-American community about this risky Social Security plan that cuts guaranteed benefits and puts our children and grandchildren permanently in debt,” he said.
In response to the radio ads, Tara Wall, director of outreach communications
for the RNC, told BlackAmericaWeb.com the DNC ads “are a complete, false misrepresentation of President Bush's Social Security plan.”
“While President Bush is traveling the country informing Americans about the challenges Social Security faces, Democrats are relying on a national attack ad campaign,” Wall said Tuesday.
“If it isn't enough that they aren't offering solutions to the problem," she said, "now they are opting for national party ads rather than a discussion with their own constituents.”
For the past few months, Bush has taken his plan for Social Security on the road, trying to generate public support for his idea. Under his plan, Bush says Americans would eventually be able to allocate four percent of their income, after payroll taxes, to private accounts that could be invested in stocks and bonds.
During a speech at Auburn University last week, Bush said fewer Americans are now paying into the Social Security system and today, he says, the system needs to be modernized. By 2018, Bush said, the system won’t have enough money to support retired Americans.
“It's a problem we've got to address,” Bush said in his speech, “because the closer we come to 2018, when it starts in the red, the harder it is to solve the problem.”
“It’s going to be an important part of this campaign around the country to make it clear to those who are receiving their Social Security check, nothing changes,” Bush said. “Nothing changes.
“And when I convince people of the truth," the president continued, “then the American people, particularly younger folks, are going to start saying to those of us who have been elected, ‘You said we got a problem and we believe you.’”
Black congressional Democrats, however, say Bush is creating a false sense of urgency because there’s no immediate threat to Social Security.
Just this week, at least one national poll suggested that public support for Bush’s Social Security plan is waning. A majority of Americans now say they are skeptical of the president’s proposal and do not approve of his approach to overhaul the system, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
“These radio ads are part of an on-going campaign to talk to the African-American community about the devastating impact of President Bush's Social Security plan,” Daniella Gibbs Leger, deputy communications director for Democratic National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“A few weeks ago,” Leger said, “we placed Social Security ads in African-American newspapers across the country, and we plan to continue to fight the President's plan to cut Social Security benefits and deepen our national debt. Social Security is too important to our community to stand by and let President Bush and the Washington Republicans dismantle it.”
