Maintaining and Improving Social Security for Poorly Compensated Workers

Millions of American workers are poorly compensated for the work they do. This is not because they do not work hard or deserve adequate compensation. Rather, it is due to a political failure to ensure that increases in economic growth and productivity over the last several decades have been fairly distributed. One consequence of this failure is that many working-class Americans do not enjoy the living standards they deserve either during their working years or when they retire. Without the earned benefits provided by Social Security, along with Medicare and related health insurance benefits for the elderly, these workers would see their already modest living standards in old age fall even further below typical ones.The federal government should strengthen Social Security in ways that increase the retirement security of middle and working-class Americans. Particular attention should be paid to improving the living standards in retirement of workers in poorly compensated jobs, who typically have little or no retirement savings outside of Social Security. Some recent proposals to cut Social Security would put the retirement security of workers in poorly compensated jobs at further risk. While it would be wise to shore up the long-term finances of Social Security, this can be done without cutting benefits for working and middle-class retirees. Finally, it is important to remember that Social Security by itself cannot be the sole vehicle for addressing an economy that is out of balance. We need to do much more improve job quality in the United States by ensuring that poorly compensated workers get a better deal.This report examines the essential role that Social Security plays in bolstering the retirement security of poorly compensated workers

Income, Inequality, and Food Prices: A Critique of Broda, Leibtag, and Weinstein's "The Role of Prices in Measuring the Poor's Living Standards"

In "The Role of Prices in Measuring the Poor's Living Standards," Christian Broda, Ephriam Leibtag, and David E. Weinstein (2009) use proprietary data -- the 2005 Nielsen Homescan dataset -- to analyze differences by income level in the prices paid for food. They find that Nielsen households with incomes above $60,000 pay somewhat more for the same food items than most households with lower incomes, with Nielsen households with incomes above$100,000 paying the most. Based on this finding and additional regression analyses, they conclude broadly that the "poor pay less -- not more -- for the goods they purchase" and that not accounting for this suggests that income inequality may be between 2.5 to 5 percent less than shown by national statistics

The Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

This report provides a detailed look at the tax provisions in the ARRA, noting which current laws are affected and the costs of each

Maintaining and Improving Social Security for Direct Care Workers

America's more than three million direct care workers (DCWs) -- a category that includes nursing assistants, home health aides, and personal and home care aides -- play a crucial role in maintaining the health and economic security of elderly retirees and people with disabilities. Yet, they are among the most poorly compensated and economically insecure workers in the United States.Only about one in every four direct care workers have employer-provided retirement benefits. When these workers themselves retire or become disabled, many of them will rely almost exclusively on modest Social Security benefits to keep a roof over their heads and meet other basic living expenses.Some recent proposals to cut Social Security would put the retirement security of direct care workers -- and millions of other workers in poorly compensated jobs -- at risk. Instead of cutting Social Security benefits, the federal government should strengthen Social Security in ways that increase retirement security, particularly for retirees who have worked in poorly compensated jobs and typically have little or no retirement savings outside of Social Security.This brief provides direct care workers and their allies with information they can use to become engaged in efforts to maintain and strengthen Social Security. After providing background on how Social Security works and why today's direct care workers can count on it being there for them when they retire, it details some troubling recent proposals that would cut Social Security benefits. The final section way to improve Social Security and increase the retirement security of direct care workers