Economic

Blog Carnival: #StandUpforWomen! Defeat the Ryan Budget

March 18, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation and KristinRowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org

Tomorrow the House of Representatives will vote on the Ryan Budget. It is devastating to women’s advancement and to programs that women want and need. It is the budget that women overwhelming voted against in the 2012 election with a decisive gender gap. HERvotes, with its 52 women’s organizations, is urging a NO vote.

The Ryan Budget would repeal all the benefits in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) while it keeps the cost savings—a hypocritical slight of hand. And women would pay dearly.

Health insurance companies could once again treat women as a “pre-existing condition” and charge women more than men for the same insurance coverage. Plus insurance companies would no longer be required to provide maternity coverage. The well woman benefits of the ACA—cancer screenings, immunizations, contraceptives, annual doctor visits, counseling for domestic violence survivors and nursing mothers without co-pays or deductibles would be gone. Young people would no longer be able to stay on their parents’ policies until 26. Older people would see the prescription drug “donut hole” reopen.

Shockingly, after its resounding election rejection, the Ryan budget would voucherize Medicare for those under 55 years of age and shift costs to seniors. Once again, Medicaid would be converted to a block grant to the states and would be irresponsibly cut by nearly one-third over ten years. It would result in throwing thousands of elderly people, mostly women, out of nursing homes. Medicaid is the primary payer for some two-thirds of nursing home residents.

College students, who are now about 60% women, would see their Pell grants cut and their interest on college loans double from about 3.2% to 6.4%.

Moms will be set back by an 18% cut in the child care tax exemption in 2014. Some 200,000 kids could be cut out of Head Start in 2014 and 8,000 schools would lose Title I federal funding.

And even Meals on Wheels–66% of the recipients are women- could be cut by as much as 18% in 2014 under the Ryan Budget.

Yes real women’s lives and programs will be devastated while the rich would see yet another cut in taxes. We must stop the Ryan budget and sound the alarm so that the budget deal that is worked out does not shaft women, women’s programs, children, and the middle class or the poor. Enough is enough.

You can make the difference! We invite you to take a brief moment to read the blog posts below (Scroll down). And then, importantly, to help spread the word and keep up the pressure on our elected leaders by sharing the posts below on Facebook, Twitter (with the hashtag #HERVotes), and Pinterest. And be sure to follow @HERvotes on Twitter!

#HERvotes, a multi-organization campaign launched in August 2011, advocates women using our voices and votes to stop the attacks on the women’s movement’s major advances. Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

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Top 5 Things to Know About New Budget Proposals in Congress, Mattea Kramer, National Priorities Project

Time for a New Budget Tune, Kathy Crandall Robinson, Senior Public Policy Director, WAND

“Ryan Budget” Is Bad for Women, Bad for Me, Public Policy Intern Riana Goren, AAUW

Ryan budget would defund health care, undo protections, Amy Allina, Raising Women’s Voices

This Is Not a Joke, KristinRowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org

A Single Mother With a Childcare Subsidy Writes to Paul Ryan, Nan Mooney

Americans Want a Fair Budget Now! We Demand Congress Stop Giving Tax Breaks to the Richest 2%, Linda Meric, National Executive Director of 9to5

What’s Next for Title I Schools Under the Ryan Budget – Cutting Fridays? Amy Qualliotine, National Women’s Law Center

Why I like Paul Ryan, But Not His Budget, Randi Shmidt, YWCA

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Filed Under: Economic, HERvotes Blog Carnivals Tagged With: affordable care act, Head Start, Meals on Wheels, Medicaid, Medicare, Obamacare, Paul Ryan, Ryan Budget, Students, Taxes

HERvotes Blog Carnival: It’s Time to Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act!

May 31, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

By Fatima Goss Graves, Vice President for Education and Employment at the National Women’s Law Center

For this 14^th #HERvotes blog carnival, we’re blogging about equal pay and the need for the Paycheck Fairness Act – which will be on the Senate floor for a vote next week.

Why do we need the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA)? It would update the 50-year-old law by providing incentives to employers to pay women fairly. It also would ban employers from retaliating against their employees who choose to share salary information with their coworkers.

It’s time for Congress to stand up for the rights of working women and to advance fair pay! The PFA is pending in the 112^th Congress, with a vote expected in the Senate on June 5. It has twice passed the House, and it fell just two votes short of a Senate vote on its merits in the last Congress. This is a commonsense bill that would help women and their families – especially in this tough economy.

So please join us in supporting the PFA today! Start by calling you Senators today and urge them to vote for it. After you’ve called, read and share the blog posts below. We’ll be tweeting about this blog carnival all day with the hashtag #HERvotes and we encourage you to join us!

#HERvotes, a multi-organization campaign launched in August 2011, advocates women using our voices and votes to stop the attacks on the women’s movement’s major advances, many of which are at risk in the next election.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Read More:

I Didn’t Get Equal Pay. You Should- Lilly Ledbetter, via AAUW

Advancing Paycheck Fairness for Latinas means Advancing Immigrant and Reproductive Rights- Natalie D. Camastra, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Restoring Some Reality to the Paycheck Fairness Debate- Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center

Paycheck Fairness Makes the Political Personal- Alison Channon, National Women’s Law Center

Closing the Wage Gap Is About Fairness, Not Magic!- Samantha Lint, National Women’s Law Center

NASW Supports the Paycheck Fairness Act- National Association of Social Workers

If Our College Graduates Can’t Fight For Fair Pay, Who Can? (PDF) – Jamie Dolkas, Equal Rights Advocates

Salary Negotiation, Powerful Women and the Wage Gap- Katherine Birdsall, Feminist Majority Foundation

Raise the Minimum Wage and Narrow the Wage Gap- Abby Lane, National Women’s Law Center

Paycheck Fairness Does Not Have to be an Oxymoron- Malak Yusuf, Wider Opportunities for Women

America’s Women and Families Deserve a Vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act- Sarah Crawford, National Partnership for Women & Families

The Facts Behind the Call for Equal Pay- Christine Miranda, NOW

Families, the Wage Gap, and the Economy- Caitlin Highland, Feminist Majority Foundation

Stimulate the Economy: Pay Women Fairly- Linda Meric, 9to5, National Association of Working Women

HERvotes Blog Carnival: Equal Pay and the Single Woman- Elisabeth Gehl, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation

The Wage Gap: Collective Change, Not Choice- Maggie Fridinger, National Council of Women’s Organizations

The Paycheck Fairness Act: Telling the Truth About Workforce Equality – Dani Nispel, National Council of Women’s Organizations

Paycheck Equality: It’s Not a Suggestion, It’s the Law- Anny Bolgiano, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Women of Color, the Wage Gap and the Paycheck Fairness Act- Katherine Birdsall, Feminist Majority Foundation

A Jewish Call for Equal Pay- Ian Hainline & Katharine Nasielski, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Justice for Working Women- Miri Cypers, Jewish Women International

The Paycheck Fairness Act: For When Women are Old and Broke- Kate McGuinness, Fem2.0

The Relationship Between Unequal Pay and Other Forms of Gender Discrimination- Debra Miller, Feminist Majority Foundation

Filed Under: Paycheck Fairness Act Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Pay Equity, Paycheck Fairness Act

Stimulate the Economy: Pay Women Fairly

May 31, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

by Linda Meric, Executive Director, 9to5, National Association of Working Women

Misogyny has taken center stage this 2012 election cycle. This “war on women” has legislators voting to limit women’s control over their health. Political candidates have spoken out against women serving in combat. Candidates have called the federal equal pay law a “nuisance,” and some elected officials are claiming that pay discrimination against women doesn’t exist.

The simple truth is that a significant pay gap does exist for women and people of color. Women were paid 77 cents for every dollar men got paid in 2010 annual earnings. For women of color, the pay gap is even wider. African American women earned 67 cents and Latinas 58 cents for every dollar earned by white males, the highest earners.

Mary Henderson, a 9to5 Colorado member, knows about pay inequity first-hand. When she worked at a Colorado Wal-Mart store, she was paid thousands of dollars less than a man with less education and the same seniority in the same position. When she inquired about being paid less, she was punished with a transfer to a store requiring an hours-long commute.

We need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 3220) to close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and bar retaliation against workers like Mary Henderson and others who disclose their own wages to co-workers. Without this bill, employers penalize and even fire employees for talking about their salaries, leaving workers in the dark, preventing them from ever finding out about pay discrimination.

9to5 member LaTerrell Bradford, calls equal pay a “non-negotiable.” While working as part of an all-female support team, a man was hired in the same job classification. Her female supervisor discovered that he was to earn much more than any of the women and advocated for every team member to be paid at the higher rate. Human resources relented because as Bradford says, “It would not have been fair nor legal to sit next to him, do the exact same work and have him be paid more.”

The wage gap has long-term effects on the economic security of women and families. Women lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, up to over a million, over their careers. That means less money to make ends meet and achieve economic security for families. A lifetime of lower wages also means that women save less for retirement and qualify for lower social security payments.

The country is leading up to an election where women will play a major role in choosing our president. Candidates need to focus on issues that are important to women: pay equity and the economy. Pay equity reduces poverty and stimulates the economy. All women deserve to be paid fairly, and when they are, their families and the economy will win.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Background on 9to5, National Association of Working Women: 9to5 is one of the largest national membership-based organizations of working women in the U.S., creating a powerful force for change. Founded in 1973, 9to5 empowers women to organize and lead campaigns on family-friendly workplace policies, equal opportunity and economic security issues. To learn more visit 9to5.org or call the Job Survival Helpline at (800) 522-0925.

Filed Under: Paycheck Fairness Act Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Paycheck Fairness Act

Paycheck Equality: It’s Not a Suggestion, It’s the Law

May 31, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

by Anny Bolgiano, Intern, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Q: What’s better than paycheck equity legislation?

A: Effective paycheck equity legislation.

The government makes a lot of suggestions and recommendations to us Americans. The CDC recommends staying home when you have the flu and getting 2.5 hours of exercise per week, and the EPA recommends testing your home for radon and checking the UV index before outdoor activities. The government also makes laws, and we all know how laws are different from recommendations and mere suggestions. It is illegal to litter, it is illegal to trespass, it is illegal to sell certain drugs, and IT IS ILLEGAL TO PAY A WOMAN LESS THAN A MAN FOR THE SAME WORK. I put that last one in all caps because some employers seem to be a little confused about which category it falls under, and luckily Congress has picked up on this and has decided to clarify the matter.

This Tuesday, June 5^th, the Senate is expected to vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, (S. 797, H.R. 1519), taking a step towards remedying the consistent wage gap in our country. Because gender discrimination is already illegal, many people are unclear about why we need this act. It’s important that we understand how the Paycheck Fairness Act would build off of existing legislation, and why it’s necessary. Because you know what’s even better than paycheck equity legislation? Effective paycheck equity legislation.

The legislation would improve the Equal Pay Act of 1963, an act which made it illegal to pay men and women different wages for the same work. This was an important step towards gender equality, but if we evaluate the effectiveness of the bill, we see that it needs to be supplemented. Change has been overall positive, but insufficient. According to the National Women’s Law Center, between 1963 and 2010, the wage gap went from 41.1% to 22.6%, illustrating that pay inequity is still an urgent issue in this country. The bill recognizes the need for close monitoring of the problem, and would enable more comprehensive data collection by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. General awareness of pay inequality would also be promoted; the legislation would establish The National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace, and require the Department of Labor to confront the issue at a national summit on wage disparity.

Equality cannot be achieved through courts and legislation alone; it must be monitored and maintained on all levels by knowledgeable and legally empowered workers, especially women workers. The Paycheck Fairness Act would provide women with a legislative “toolbox,” taking steps to improve the enforceability of the law, and making women partners in the eradication of their discrimination. Congress has tried sending the message, “Hey employers, let’s stop discriminating” and now, the Paycheck Fairness Act also turns to women and says, “Hey women, let’s not let them get away with this anymore” The bill would prevent companies from penalizing workers for being transparent with others about their salaries or inquiring about other employee’s salaries, and establish negotiation skills training for girls and women. Additionally, it would bolster the repercussions of discriminatory paycheck practices, providing women with the legal safeguards of compensatory and punitive damages.

Let’s hope that employers begin to understand the difference between legislation and recommendations. You won’t be fined for not knowing the UV index and you won’t go to jail if you don’t exercise enough or go shopping with the flu (seriously though, it’s a bad idea). But you do have to pay women the same wage as their male counterparts, and there are legal repercussions for gender pay discrimination. Employers need to make decisions with the knowledge that unethical, discriminatory behavior has legal repercussions. More importantly, there is a human cost, which is the true and lasting repercussion of all grave injustices.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Filed Under: Paycheck Fairness Act Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Pay Equity, Paycheck Fairness Act

My Time, Intellect, Skills and Labor are Worth Less than Those of My Male Peers? Really? Yes, Really.

May 11, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

By Anny Bolgiano, Intern, Coalition of Labor Union Women

My mother, a former forest fire fighter, reiterated to me from the earliest age possible: You can go into whatever profession you want. Thanks to her, I grew up with uninhibited dreams for the future. Then I went off to college, and in a basement classroom of the sociology department, on a sleepy Monday morning my freshman year, I began my journey of disillusionment. Mom, thanks for keeping me dreaming, but you left something out:

You can go into whatever profession you want, but you are statistically unlikely to make a salary equal to your male counterparts.

This doesn’t sound like something I’m eager to say to a bright-eyed six year old girl. Through my work as an intern at the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), I’m realizing just how persistent the wage gap is, and how even now, in 2012, our economy continues to devalue the labor of women.

Pay equity advocacy relies on statistical evidence of the wage gap, evidence that demands thorough interpretation. It’s important that we use these statistics to address the points of speculation regarding the wage gap. And trust me, they’re out there. The most common response to the issue of the wage gap seems to be, “Yes, but…” For instance, in high school I once mentioned to a friend that women make less money than men. Being poorly versed on the issue at the time, I was unable to refute his claim that, “That’s because women choose lower paying jobs”

Let me make this very clear: women are paid less than men for the same work. In fact, even in jobs where women dominate in numbers, they are still paid less than their male counterparts. For example, according to the 2011 fact sheet, Professional Women: A Gendered Look at Occupational Obstacles and Opportunities, produced by the Department of Professional Employees (DPE), AFL-CIO and available on CLUW’s website, “Female elementary and middle school teachers earned nine percent less than similarly employed men, despite comprising over 80 percent of the field, and female postsecondary teachers earned over 22 percent less than equivalent men.”

Research consistently finds that women earn less across the board. For example, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women truck drivers only make 71.8% of their male counterparts earnings, 81.3% for janitors and building cleaners, and 82.9% for maids and housekeeping cleaners (despite making up 85% of the workforce in this occupation).

In a recent debate I had with someone, they argued that women are more likely to take time off to have children, falling behind in training and creating gaps in their resumes. This is a faulty explanation of the wage gap; an increasing percentage of American households rely on the income of a mother to make ends meet. In light of this trend, we need to re-evaluate the assumption that women are removing themselves from the paid workforce for decades at a time. Personally, I believe that parenting is a societally relevant form of unpaid labor and should be recognized as such.

Those who attribute the wage gap to lower levels of educational achievement have long been off-base. The DPE fact sheet, cited earlier in this post, reports that women have been earning more bachelor and master’s degrees than men since the early eighties, and in 2008-2009 earned 52.3% of all doctoral degrees. It is relevant to examine the gender segregation in college majors. According to the DPE, women make up 79% of education majors, while men make up 82% of engineering majors. After completing their degrees in a male dominated educational environment, the 18% of engineering majors who are women (special shout out to my cousin Mimi, engineering undergrad) are relatively well-positioned in relation to the wage gap. The DPE fact sheet explains, “The support and opportunity for women to pursue careers in fields like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are important for achieving pay equity. In science and engineering, for example, women are still paid less than men but tend to earn more than similarly educated women in other sectors of the workforce.”

I will admit that I have been hesitant to approach the issue unless in the context of thoughtful, methodical paper writing, with statistics at hand. I dread encountering the, “yes, but…” people. However, I realize now that as a woman on the cusp of her career, it is essential that I become well versed on and fully aware of the issue of pay inequality.

Whether she is engineering our buildings, educating our children, or making the beds in our hotel rooms, the work of a woman in America is consistently valued less than the work of a man. That’s not OK.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Filed Under: Jobs and Pay Equity

HERvotes Blog Carnival: Economic Security

May 11, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

by Terry O’Neill, National Organization for Women

In time for Mothers Day, the 12th HERvotes blog carnival is dedicated to getting the word out about economic security for women, especially in their retirement years. Women need better benefits — not cuts — under social safety net programs.

The economic slump in both the U.S. and Europe has prompted elites to call for “austerity.” But we know that’s just a code word for cutting social programs women rely on disproportionately. It turns out, though, that politicians who champion “austerity” will pay a price at the polls. Just look at Europe: Last week, French voters ousted Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek voters threw the government into crisis — mainly in reaction to harsh cuts in social programs and (in France) an increase in the official retirement age. Voters get it: austerity leads to a stagnant economy.

Here in the U.S., austerity imposed by state and local governments has thrown hundreds of thousands of government employees out of work, the majority of whom are women. Want to know why the unemployment rate, while declining, hasn’t gone below 8 percent yet? It’s mostly because of spending cuts imposed by conservative state officials like Texas Governor Rick Perry, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, Florida Governor Rick Scott, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and others.

Despite elites’ call for across-the-board federal budget cuts and reductions in Social Security benefits, women’s organizations are calling for improvements in those benefits — specifically, child care credits for those who drop out of the work force to care for children or ill or disabled family members; an improved minimum benefit for lifetime low-wage and part-time workers, who are disproportionately women; fairer rules for disabled widows and surviving spouses, benefit equality for working widows; and equal benefits for same-sex spouses and partners, among other improvements.

In a report to be released today (Friday, May 11), the National Organization for Women Foundation, with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare call for these improvements to be made. In “Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling: A Proposal to Modernize Women’s Benefits” (PDF) we call for updating the program to face the new demographic reality: many women are now both bread-winners and primary care-givers and our guaranteed social insurance system should recognize that fact.

Join us by sharing the posts below on Facebook, Twitter (using the hashtag #HERvotes), and other social media.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Read More:

Moms Deserve Economic Security, Not Just Flowers- Beth Scott, Regulatory Affairs Manager, American Association of University Women (AAUW)

My Time, Intellect, Skills and Labor are Worth Less than Those of My Male Peers? Really? Yes, Really.- Anny Bolgiano, Intern, Coalition of Labor Union Women

The Gifts Mothers Really Want- Ellen Bravo, Director, Family Values @ Work

Thank You, Mom, for Teaching Me to Be Safe and Secure- Malore Dusenbery, Special Populations Associate, WOW

Can’t Afford to Work?- Shawn McMahon, Manager of Research and Innovation, WOW

Making a Vital Lifeline More Secure for Women- National Organization for Women

#HERvotes, a multi-organization campaign launched in August 2011, advocates women using our voices and votes to stop the attacks on the major advances of the women’s movement, many of which are at risk in the next election.

Filed Under: Medicaid (1965), Medicare (1965), Social Security Act (1935) Tagged With: Economic Security, HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security

Making a Vital Lifeline More Secure for Women

May 11, 2012 by admin Leave a Comment

by National Organization for Women

In a time of economic hardship, Social Security is a lifeline that keeps hundreds of thousands of women from falling into poverty. In 2010, an astonishing 46 percent of elderly unmarried women and 58 percent of elderly unmarried women of color relied on Social Security for 90 percent of more of their total income. Policy experts have long known that Social Security is vitally important to everyone in the U.S. — but it is especially critical to the financial security of women.

That’s partly because women outlive men by an average of 2.4 years. Another reason, frequently overlooked, is that women also have significantly less savings to begin with, thanks to working a lifetime at unequal pay in jobs that often lack benefits such as health care, pensions or even 401(k) plans. Women on average are paid just 77 cents to the dollar paid to men. For women of color the disparity is even worse: African American women are paid 69 cents, and Latinas 59 cents, to the dollar paid to white males. At 59 cents to the dollar, who can put money away for retirement?

On average, only 28 percent of women age 65-74 receive pension income, whereas 42 percent of their male counterparts do. Even for women who do have pensions, theirs are usually smaller than their male colleagues’ because of the gender wage gap — compounded by a race-based wage gap for women of color — that follows women throughout their careers. Over a working career, the cumulative effect of the gender wage gap can total several hundred thousands of dollars for the average worker. For women in highly-skilled professions — where the wage gap is also found — the loss of income can be more than a million dollars.

Social Security has dramatically cut poverty among older women in recent decades: without it more than half of would be in poverty. Still, 12 percent of older women live in poverty; 15 percent of widows are at the poverty level. But for women of color, the statistics are even worse: in 2010, 26.1 percent of African American women and 21.4 percent of Latinas aged 75 and older were living in poverty, despite the fact that they were receiving Social Security.

Even if they are not living at the poverty level, many older women get by on very tight household budgets and often by the time they reach their 80s, they’ve exhausted their savings. Social Security is all the income they have. If their husbands have passed away by then, their income has shrunk as a result. Social Security retirement benefits are quite modest: women’s average yearly benefit was $12,155 in 2009 (compared to men’s $15,620). It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to live on little more than $1,000 income per month — especially if you have substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses as many elderly women do.

Despite that, some lawmakers want to cut those benefits. They would do this by using a stingier formula to calculate the cost-of-living adjustment measure, or COLA, the Chained CPI, which would reduce the individual benefit over time by as much as $672 a year for a woman at age 80. Doesn’t seem like all that much, but that amount could be worth 23 weeks of food. At age 95, the Chained CPI would reduce the monthly amount by about $100! These Scrooge-like conservatives also want to increase the retirement age to 67, a benefit cut that would have an especially harsh impact on those who work in physically demanding jobs or have a serious health condition.

Women must fight back against these draconian proposals, not only for our mothers and grandmothers but for ourselves as we will sooner or later be retiring. Towards that end the National Organization for Women Foundation, with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare are proposing a series of updates and improvements to Social Security in their new report, “Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling: A Proposal to Modernize Women’s Benefits.” We believe it is essential to bring Social Security into the 21st century when so many more women are juggling childcare, elder care and work outside the home. This is especially vital now that retirement savings and investments, along with housing values, have sustained serious losses thanks to the financial meltdown and slow-to-recover economy. Additionally, employment among older workers has declined and many older women and men are not adequately prepared for 20 more years in retirement.

Among the improvements that we suggest:

• An increase in the basic benefit for all current and future beneficiaries of five percent or approximately $55 per month;
• Critically important for women, provide Social Security credits for caregivers that would be calculated as imputed earnings for up to five family service years for a worker who provides care to children under the age of six or to elderly or disabled family members;
• Enhancing the Special Minimum Benefit for those who have spent most of their working lives in low-wage employment;
• Use the same rules for disabled widows and surviving divorced spouses as other disabled individuals in determining their eligibility for benefits;
• Achieve benefit equality for working widows, who shouldn’t be penalized simply because their spouses decided to retire early;
• Strengthen the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) which currently uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by switching to one that has been developed to address retirees’ living costs. This new CPI-E more accurately reflects the yearly increase in older people’s living expenses, especially their health care expenses.;
• Provide equal benefits for same-sex married couples and partners and extend to the children of these relationships the same benefits as children of heterosexual couples;
• Improve benefits for workers’ disabled adult children; and
• Restore the student benefit up to age 22 (currently reduced to age 18 or 19 if attending school) if that child is a full-time student in college or vocational school.

How to pay for these benefit improvements? Some politicians are claiming that we can’t afford to pay even current benefits, but that is not the case. Simple changes that we suggest in this report will not only cover the costs of these improved benefits but also reach the gold standard of 75-year solvency of the system. Here they are:

Scrap the Cap – Most importantly, we could eliminate the cap on wages subject to the payroll tax, currently set at $110,100, so that millionaires pay their fair share.

Adjust Payroll Tax Rate – We could also increase the Social Security contribution rate very gradually, by 1/40th of one percent over twenty years, significantly strengthening Social Security’s financial condition far into the future.

Treat All Salary Reduction Plans like 401(k)s – Right now, workers pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on their contributions to retirement accounts, but do not pay taxes on their contributions to flexible spending accounts, such as health care, transit and dependent care plans. Adopting this change produces revenue equal to about 0.48 percent of taxable payroll.

A number of other solutions to paying for benefit improvements and financing Social Security of the very long run have been advanced by others. It is clear that we have the ability to secure a livable retirement for both women and men in this country. We can also assure that persons with disabilities and dependent children of deceased or disabled workers are taken care of under Social Security.

Don’t let politicians who say that cutting the federal deficit is the most important thing tell you we can’t afford to strengthen and update Social Security. Women and their families need a modern, responsive — and guaranteed — social insurance program.

Filed Under: Medicaid (1965), Medicare (1965), Social Security Act (1935) Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Social Security

HERvotes Blog Carnival: Protecting Unemployment Benefits

December 8, 2011 by HERvotes 4 Comments

by Hannah Gordon, Feminist Majority Foundation

Welcome to the seventh #HERvotes blog carnival on the need to protect women and employment during these tough economic times, with a focus on the importance of extending Unemployment Insurance (UI) before the December 31st deadline.

It is critical that Congress acts before the end of this calendar year to renew federal UI. The loss of this lifeline will hurt over 6 million people and their families who stand to lose their benefits during 2012.

If Congress fails to extend the benefits, women will suffer. According to Dr. Adriana Kugler, chief economist for the Department of Labor, 2.2 million women will lose their benefits if UI is not extended. Many others will be affected too, including 500,000 Latinos and 400,000 Latinas, 1.2 million African Americans (including 500,000 African American women), and millions of children.

UI must be extended in order to protect American families. 1.8 million struggling families will be immediately kept afloat. This will have a positive impact on our overall economy too; studies show that every $1 spent on unemployment insurance stimulates $2 in growth in the U.S. economy.

Extending unemployment insurance must be a vital priority for Congress. For many American families and many American women, the protection of their benefits is crucial.

Join us by sharing the posts below on Facebook, Twitter (using the hashtag #HERvotes), and other social media.

Let’s spread the word and make sure Congress hears our voices.

The blog posts below include personal stories and more information on why unemployment insurance is critical. Happy reading and thanks for joining in the fight to protect women’s economic welfare.

#HERvotes, a multi-organization campaign launched in August 2011, advocates women using our voices and votes to stop the attacks on the women’s movement’s major advances, many of which are at risk in the next election. We are very excited HERvotes is growing in membership and reaching millions of people.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Congress Must Protect the Lifeline Women and Families Depend On- Vicki Shabo, National Partnership for Women and Families

A Day Of Thanks & Of Aspiration: No Child Should Be Hungry On Thanksgiving, Or On Any Day – Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Mom’sRising.org

No Time for Games: Extend Unemployment Insurance- Katie Kopania, Say It Sister- NOW’s Blog for Equality

The Cycle of Abuse and Financial Security- Lauren Levine, Jewish Women International

Looking for Jobs that Don’t Exist Is Hard Work – Anna McClure, National Women’s Law Center

Latinas call on Congress to Extend Unemployment Insurance Set to Expire on Dec 31- Natalie D. Camastra, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Extend Unemployment Insurance!- Heather Munro Prescott, Knitting Clio

At the Edge-Emily Alfano, National Council of Jewish Women

Women and Families Need Unemployment Benefits Extended Now!- Carol Rosenblatt, Coalition of Labor Union Women

I may lose my home because I can’t find work- Juli from Wisconsin, unemployedworkers.org

I Want My Pay Equity- Emmily Bristol, Sin City Siren

Women and Unemployment- Dren

Women, Black Workers Hard Hit By Attacks on Public Employees- Tula Connell, AFL-CIO

Even in a Recession, Flex Makes (Dollars and) Sense- Nanette Fondas, MomsRising.org

Unemployment Insurance in the 1930s and Today- Michael J. Wilson

And Now, About Those Mega-Rich Alleged Job Creators…- Lily Eskelsen, National Education Association

Congress Should Act Now to Extend Unemployment Insurance- Beth Scott, American Association of University Women

The 99% and Our Homes- Nancy Wilberg-Ricks, National Council of La Raza

Small Steps Forward in Job Gains, But Not Enough to Close Gender Gap- Caroline Hopper, Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Unemployment and Taxes- Andrew Brusnahan, UnemployedWoman.com

I Am ‘Occupying’ D.C. for My Children and Future Generations- Linda Evans

When My Husband Faced Unemployment- Karoline, Mom’s Rising

Unemployment Insurance is the LEAST We Can Offer Working Families- Elisanta “Lisa” Batista

Without Unemployment Insurance, My Family Would Have To Choose Which Bills to Pay- Teresa “Tigger” Rey, Mom’s Rising

Good Education. Good experience. Still Unemployed- Theresa Witt

Holiday Fear- Christy Jones, American Association of University Women

Unemployment, Congress, and People Like Me- Danielle Jackson, National Women’s Law Center

The Pathways Back to Work Act: A Must-Pass Piece of Legislation for Women- Julie Vogtman, National Women’s Law Center

Happy Holidays, Congress! It’s Time to Extend UI- Julie Vogtman, National Women’s Law Center

“No Christmas for Congress” Unless UI is Extended- Anna McClure, National Women’s Law Center

November’s Drop in Unemployment News Leaves Vulnerable Groups Behind- Abby Lane, National Women’s Law Center

Action Alert: Tell Congress to Extend Unemployment Insurance- YWCA USA

Navigating Unemployment- Jen, Mom’s Rising

Women, the Economy, and Unemployment Insurance- Angel Savoy, Metro DC Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Unemployment Insurance, Good For People, Good For Country- Sherry Saudners, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation

Women and the Unemployment Crisis- National Association of Social Workers

Surviving a Corporate War on the Middle Class- Verlene Jones, Seattle Washington, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Extend Unemployment Benefits, But Don’t Stop There- Lindsay Beyerstein, Ms. Magazine Blog

Unemployed Blogger Finds Humor In Rich/Poor Divide- Claire Gordon, AOL.com

Tough Job Market for Recent College Grads- Corrina Beall, Feminist Majority Foundation

Women, Sexism, Racism & the Economy: Why Congress Needs to Reauthorize Unemployment Insurance- The Opinioness of the World

Filed Under: Unemployment Insurance Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Jobs, Unemployment Insurance

Women and Families Need Unemployment Insurance Benefits Extended Now!

December 8, 2011 by HERvotes 3 Comments

By Carol Rosenblatt, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Executive Director

Today I will be joining unemployed workers, members of labor unions, community activists and members of the religious community on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in a prayer vigil urging Congress to take action before December 31^st to extend unemployment benefits. Visits to Congressional offices in DC and throughout the country will also be taking place by activists who will be imploring their representatives to “Do the Right Thing” It is the right thing for the economy, for the country and for individual Americans who are without work through no fault of their own.

The AFL-CIO has just released a web page with the individual stories of some of the unemployed so Congress can see and hear their situation and their struggles – they are not just a statistic.

Here are a few examples:

Juli (Newmanstown, PA) :

“I just lost my job on Friday. Without unemployment, I have no way to feed my two sons, to pay our rent, to try and find another job. Our country has tough choices to make, but this should be easy. Our own country and people should be the top priority of our government so let’s stop bleeding trillions of dollars in pointless, endless wars in the middle east and tax the people and corporations who have the most money and don’t pay at all.”

Rose (Erial, NJ):

“I have worked all my life, except for two years periods where I attended school and potty trained my kids. After twenty years of working and never collecting unemployment, I developed a hernia and was unable to continue in my present job. I have no medical insurance, and my unemployment disqualifies me from food stamps. Without my unemployment I don’t know what I will do, or where I will go. I am a full-time student seeking work and working towards a degree. I have done all I’m supposed to do, can’t congress do its job?”

To see personal stories from members from the Coalition of Labor Union Women please check out today’s HerVotes Blog Carnival.

In addressing how unemployment impacts families, the National Employment Law Project’s Briefing Paper “Hanging On By a Thread” states….”the number of people protected against destitution has increased nearly sevenfold since 2007 thanks to the unemployment program. They go onto say..”the federal investment in unemployment benefits has an immediate payoff for those kept out of poverty, but it also produces long-term dividends for children and families given the social costs associated with child poverty and severe economic hardship. Children who experience economic hardship are more likely to drop out of school, suffer from poor health, and experience difficulty maintaining stable employment as adults. The National Center for Children in Poverty has documented the invaluable role that economic stability plays in laying the groundwork for later school achievement, economic productivity, and responsible citizenship.”

And how are women doing in this economic crisis – not good at all.

According to an analysis by the National Women’s Law Center – women lost 46,000 jobs from December 2007 – June 2009 while men gained 1.26 million.

Over the course of the recovery, women’s overall unemployment increased from 7.7 to 7.8 percent.

Heavy job losses in public sector employment have disproportionately affected women. While women represented just over half (57.2 percent) of the public workforce at the end of the recession, they lost a disproportionately high number of jobs there. Between June 2009 and October 2011 women lost 359,000 public sector jobs, 63.9 percent of all public sector jobs lost.

So what is Congress waiting for – this should be a no- brainer!! Extend Unemployment Insurance benefits now and while you are at it how about passing the American Jobs Act! We want to work – how about a little help!!

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Filed Under: Unemployment Insurance Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Unemployment Insurance

Surviving a Corporate War on the Middle Class

December 8, 2011 by HERvotes 8 Comments

By Verlene Jones, Seattle Washington, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Washington State President, verlenejazz@msn.com

I am a 57 year old black woman who has worked consistently all my life until being laid off from my job in April of 2009.

The years of hard work have taken a toll on my body and I am now faced with multiple physical limitations.

I apply for jobs weekly on a regular basis and have not been able to get past the first interview to be hired for employment. I now have no health care and my unemployment insurance is the only thing keeping me from total financial devastation.

Extending the unemployment benefits is the right thing to do. I am not asking for a hand out, I am asking for a return on the 43 years of making contributions to unemployment to keep me going through an economic down turn that has been imposed upon me through no fault of my own.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Filed Under: Unemployment Insurance Tagged With: HERvotes Blog Carnivals, Jobs, Unemployment Insurance