This letter was published Sunday, March 31st

To the editor:

Let’s get one thing straight: Social Security is insurance. The overwhelming majority of working Americans pay for it. It is a self-financed program and does not increase the deficit, so don’t cut its benefits for deficit reduction.

 
OWL members know about the perils of bone fractures; breaking a hip is one of the most feared accidents for older women. 

Over the years, OWL has participated in education programs about osteoporosis. More recently, we have joined with other organizations as part of the National Bone Health Alliance, which brings together researchers, service providers, manufacturers and educators to work together to prevent second fractures. I have represented OWL in this group, and want you all to know about the most recent initiative.

Is the country ready to take a closer look at our military budget?  Barney Frank thinks so. The former congressman believes that Americans are ready to reexamine why we’re spending billions of dollars on unnecessary weapons systems at the expense of programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

One of OWL’s biggest supporters is Ken Schug, a recently retired chemistry professor who worked to bring more women into science. In the early 1980s, he started a program bringing women who had majored in science back to campus and back into the field. We appreciate men like Ken for their continued, creative support!

The chained CPI proposal—euphemism for a cut in Social Security benefits— is a bad idea that just won’t go away.  OWL is pleased to join leading organizations like AARP, AAUW, the National Partnership for Women & Families, the National Women’s Law Center and the YWCA in a print ad campaign running this week in Roll Call and Politico educating policy makers about the very real harm that would be done to women if this proposal is adopted.

The VAWA vote is a reminder of the very real difference policy can make in people’s lives. It demonstrates the power of practical and bipartisan problem-solving, of hundreds of thousands of men and women making their voices heard in D.C. The power of civic engagement. Read more in the February Observer.

Leafing through OWL co-founder Tish Sommers’ biography by Patricia Huckle and came across a familiar face—my late grandmother, Elsie Frank.

A recent report from CEPR finds that raising the cap would not affect many workers—read about that and more in the latest OWL Observer.

OWL congratulates Sally Jewell on her well-deserved nomination as Secretary of the Interior—she would be the first woman to join the president’s second-term cabinet. We wish her smooth sailing (or as she would probably prefer, smooth kayaking) through the sometimes-rough waters of confirmation hearings.

In a January 9 news article,  OWL Policy Director Amy Shannon says the end of the payroll tax holiday is good news for Social Security.

“The payroll tax holiday was dangerous because it changed the way Social Security had been financed for 75 years,” said Amy Shannon, policy director of the Washington-based Older Women’s League, known as OWL, a grassroots organization that focuses on issues unique to women as they age. “Instead of workers and employers contributing all of the funds, part of the worker’s share came from general funds allocated by Congress.”

Yesterday, OWL congratulated the administration and congressional leadership on making the tough decisions needed to avert the fiscal cliff.  As a direct result of their actions, millions of Americans’ taxes will not go up; Medicare payments to physicians will not be slashed; there will be no reduction in Social Security benefits.

But the fiscal cliff spectacle also demonstrates how tempting it can be to look for short-term “fixes” instead of engaging in meaningful policymaking.

Sometimes it’s tough to see how decisions made in D.C. affect our lives.  Not today. This victory means a little more money in the pockets of people for whom every dollar counts. 
 
Of course, these proposed cuts will continue to be offered up.

And OWL will continue to work with you to knock them down.

OWL exists because sometimes national decision makers forget that a lifetime equation of lower wages, under-employment and unpaid caregiving equals economic insecurity for millions of women. Show your support for OWL’s mission by donating today.

In the latest OWL Observer—OWL takes its message to the White House, and will a new effort to take Social Security off the table during fiscal cliff debate be successful? Also, new Affordable Care Act provisions and information on unwanted medical treatment.

Employment expert, Nick Corcodilos, answers readers’ questions about job hunting and how how to address employers’ “dirty little secrets.”

This week, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a must-read article detailing their top ten facts about the Social Security Program. Their point: ever since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, it remains one of the nation’s most successful, effective, and popular programs.

As predicted, women played a key role in the president’s victory over Mitt Romney, choosing Obama by 12 percent—55 percent to 43 percent. And while Romney did better with men than John McCain in 2008, the gender gap in 2008 was almost identical at 13 points.
Writing the day before the vote, Barbara Grufferman cited OWL in a post explaining why women had so much at stake in the election:

OWL announces newly elected board of directors. To read the full announcement, click here.

OWL President thanks everyone who attended the 2012 Annual Meeting and those who continue to support OWL’s work.

Today, OWL released it’s latest issue of the E-Observer. To see Volume III, Issue 9, click here.