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Protesters Blast Social Security Overhaul
By Beth LaMontagne, Portsmouth Herald
February 17, 2005
Rebecca Spencer, of the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, stands with other protesters who had gathered near the site of Bush's town hall meeting at Pease.
Photo by Amy Root-Donle
"I believe this administration is trying to destroy Social Security," said French while holding a sign that read, "I am a fighting moderate."
Caroline French was part a group of protesters standing outside in the cold Wednesday morning at Pease International Tradeport to express opposition to President Bush's proposed Social Security reforms.
Members of the AFL-CIO and the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance and others gathered along New Hampshire Avenue, where they held a news conference.
The protesters then marched to the Pan Am hangar, where the president was scheduled to speak, waving signs at people in their cars lined up waiting to pass through the security checkpoint.
Many of the local residents who came to protest said they felt Bush's proposed plan would eventually undermine the entire Social Security system.
"Social Security is not only retirement. It's widows with children," said Peggy Killmer of Yarmouth, Maine. "This is just another way Bush is paying back his financial friends."
"It's not private security, it's Social Security," said 13-year-old Megan Williams of Dover.
"Our goal is to make sure the majority is represented," said Sam Mekrut, executive director of New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, a nonpartisan organization that works for economic and social justice. The group's position is that most New Hampshire residents don't want changes in Social Security and would prefer that Congress take a more common-sense approach to fixing the system.
According to the Citizens Alliance, the president's proposal would cost $2 billion up front, pushing the Social Security Trust further into insolvency. The organization also opposes the proposed private investment accounts, which they say will benefit Wall Street investors while putting American's retirement money at risk.
"(Social Security" is a good program. Without it, there would be a lot of older people living in poverty," said Jen Schaffer of the AFL-CIO.
Schaffer said that company-provided pensions have been getting weaker in recent years and that many retirees depend on Social Security to survive.
Amy Root-Donle contributed to this article.
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