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Beyond the 2004 Election – Outlook for America’s Retirees By A.J.(Jim) Norby - Fall 2004 National Retiree Legislative Network President Following the election it seems to me that our country has a lot of mending to do. It was a divisive, sometimes brutal campaign, but I guess that’s the way it is nowadays. George W. Bush garnered more popular votes than any President in our history. Nearly 60 percent of those eligible voted – the highest percentage turnout in a presidential election since 1968 and exceeding our last presidential election by almost 15 million voters. We are split as a country demographically, politically, and maybe even morally. Does it seem to you that the value system in this country has changed? As older, retired voters, we are known as a “sub segment” of the population base by the political pundits. It will be interesting to find out how this so-called “sub segment” voted in the election. Based on research conducted among retirees who are members of National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN), the main issue in this election was not Afghanistan, Iraq or terrorism. Some 52 percent of those retirees surveyed identified affordable health care and pension benefits as their chief concerns. I’m told that in the last three weeks of the presidential campaign, no mention was made of retiree issues by the candidates. In the wake of President Bush’s re-election and continuation of a Republican-controlled Congress, it may seem as though the next four years will be “déjà vu all over again.” In fact, things may be a little bit different. In the first place, the nation will have a president who is not worried about re-election. This can be quite liberating for the White House, because the president is now free to pursue controversial issues without having them turn into campaign attack ads from his opponent. While President Bush has not been reticent about approaching controversial issues in the past, we may now see him more certain and strident in presenting his views and formulating policy. House Republicans continue with their majority, which has existed since they gained control in 1994. Republicans also enjoy a comfortable margin in the U.S. Senate with the defeat of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D. S.D.). Although weaker in numbers, Senate Democrats are in a strong position to be “bomb-throwers” – working to block the Republican agenda while actively pursuing their own. After electing a Minority Leader Senate Democrats must proceed with a new legislative agenda and a strategy for victory in the 2006 mid-term election and the 2008 presidential contest. This scenario begs the question of how secure retirees can feel about their future in this environment. In recent years, there has been growing frustration among seniors with both political parties. On the one hand, Republicans don’t want to acknowledge in any real sense that retirees’ pension and health care benefits are at high risk due to corporate failures to maintain them. On the other hand, Democrats talk a great deal about seniors’ financial security but fall well short of actually addressing the issue and making hard choices. President Bush’s second term in office may offer a change in this scenario. His re-election leaves him in a position where he can formulate policy that does not always win a nod from the party’s conservative base. Should he choose to do so, his first opportunity will be through policy initiatives from the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation, which is reviewing pension management regulations in an effort to address the increasing number of under-funded pension plans from companies in bankruptcy. If the Administration looks at how these plans should be administered in the current corporate environment and makes changes accordingly, retirees have a much greater chance of getting their pension and health benefits at levels commensurate to their investment. An even greater responsibility falls on congressional lawmakers. Reforming the laws governing pension and health benefits in favor of retirees should be a priority, but it has not been. Simply getting Congress to hold hearings on the issue is an enormous challenge, as it would add impetus to the urgency for Congress to enact legislation to change the status quo. Opposing any change are corporate special interests which provide members from both parties with seemingly endless amounts of money in the form of campaign contributions. The goal of the 2 million member National Retiree Legislative Network to continue applying pressure on Congress and the Administration to look at the hard issues and to engage in active discourse about the financial security of retirees. Not only is the discussion imperative, but so is the need for concrete legislative solutions. The urgency for retirees to contact their members and demand solutions has never been greater. As a voice and voting block in Washington, D.C., retirees have never been stronger. Working together, retirees can send a strong message to the White House and Capitol Hill. To President Bush, that message is: “Retirees in this country have given you a second chance to do the right thing!” To members of Congress, that message is: “Inaction equals action. Ignoring retirees’ financial security and healthcare is tantamount to abandonment. Ignore retirees, and you ignore a growing voting block. Do the right thing!” How do we persuade Congress to do the right thing? We’re going back to the basics by overwhelming our House and Senate members on Capitol Hill with letters, E-mails and personal visits that explain our grievances against those employers who are abusing us. Current corporate strategies designed to weaken the pension and health care system cannot go unchallenged. We also must redouble efforts to gain popular support for our issues by urging newspaper editors and columnists into action, by calling in to radio station talk shows, by attending political rallies, and by generally getting involved in the political process.

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