Slaughter celebrates Social Security

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, NY-28th District, celebrated the 75th anniversary of Social Security this month as the special guest of the President Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum at Hyde Park, N.Y.

"Seventy-five years ago, President Roosevelt understood the significance of the program he was creating. Today, more than 50 million Americans benefit from Social Security and six out of every 10 seniors rely on it to supply more than half of their monthly income," said Slaughter. "Today, it's hard to imagine this country without Social Security. It has never been a day late or a dollar short. It has survived 13 recessions and kept its promise to millions of Americans."

In the 28th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Erie, Niagara, Orleans and Monroe counties, more than 120,000 residents received Social Security benefits, 77,000 of them were seniors and nearly 13,000 were children who receive benefits because a family member has retired, become disabled or died, according to Slaughter.

In response to efforts by Congressional Republicans to privatize Social Security, Slaughter told the crowd: "Imagine for a minute what would have happened to our Social Security system if seniors had their benefits tied up in the stock market last May when $1 trillion of wealth disappeared in 30 minutes during the ‘flash crash' on the stock exchange. We cannot leave Social Security to the whims of Wall Street, and I will do everything in my power to make sure everyone receiving Social Security ... gets every dollar they've put into the system."