Congressman Dennis Cardoza
18th Congressional District of California

Washington – U.S. Representative Dennis Cardoza, D-CA., said today that a new report confirms that the Central Valley would be hit hard if proposals to privatize Social Security are made a reality.

“Social Security is not a partisan issue to me,” Cardoza said. “This new report strengthens my conviction that the Central Valley and rural communities across the country would pay a steep price for the proposed plan to privatize Social Security.  I remain determined to preserve Social Security and to oppose risky schemes that threaten the economic well-being of my constituents.”

The new report - issued by the Institute for America's Future - finds that rural communities depend nearly twice as much on income from Social Security as do non-rural communities. While Social Security accounted for 4.7 percent of total personal income in non-rural counties in 2003, it accounted for 8 percent of total personal income for residents of rural counties.  According to a study by the American Corn Growers and Americans for Secure Retirement, less than 25 percent of farmers participate in retirement plans sponsored by their employer.

According to the report: “Social Security is crucial to the economic independence of seniors who have worked hard and paid taxes all of their life.  Cuts to Social Security benefits would swell the ranks of the rural poor to levels not seen since the great depression.  A dramatic reduction in the economic wellbeing of future rural seniors will have a devastating impact on rural American communities, governments and businesses.”

In response to the needs of rural communities, Cardoza said he supports a new effort called Rural Americans for a Secure Future.  The initiative is a national coalition of farm and rural advocacy groups, including the League of Rural Voters, the National Farmers Union and the Center for Rural Affairs, concerned about proposals that would privatize Social Security and slash retirement and disability benefits. This effort represents the most significant and organized activity to date to educate the public and the Congress about the importance of Social Security in rural communities and to protect it from privatization schemes or other proposals which would undermine the most important safety net in rural areas for retirees, survivors and the disabled.