The National Academy of Social Insurance provided Global Policy Solutions with a grant to shift the conversation about Social Security in media and policy environments to focus on finding solutions to modernize Social Security to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and economically insecure workforce.
As a result of our efforts, a U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (WI) has introduced legislation with many of the recommendations outlined in Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on People of Color.
Social Security provides benefits to retired and disabled workers, their dependents and the surviving dependents of deceased workers. Social Security is a particularly important program for communities of color and other vulnerable populations, and plays an essential role in providing income support to workers at pivotal moments in their lives.
Global Policy Solutions partnered with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development to identify and bring together leading experts of color from academia, think tanks, and community-based organizations to form the Commission to Modernize Social Security. The commission’s recommendations are outlined in Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on People of Color, which provides strategies to address Social Security’s long-term financial challenges while also strengthening benefits for vulnerable groups.
To educate policymakers and their staff, Global Policy Solutions released the report at a Capitol Hill briefing attended by more than 60 staff members from key congressional offices, including several from the offices of congressional leadership and “super committee” members. There were also representatives from many policy organizations in attendance, such as the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, AARP, and the Social Security Administration. The report was also disseminated to reporters at a “super committee” hearing, Congressional leadership and other key Members of Congress, and to relevant House and Senate Committees.
Plan for a New Future was referenced in testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging and in Maintaining and Improving Social Security for Poorly Compensated Workers, released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Global Policy Solutions targeted mainstream newspapers and outlets such as The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, NPR’s Tell Me More, Chicago Sun Times, The Huffington Post and Washington Watch with Roland Martin. To raise awareness in communities of color about the importance of Social Security, we also targeted ethnic newspapers and outlets such as La Opinion, World Journal, Tavis Smiley Radio, The Michael Eric Dyson Show, New American Media and BET.com. The report was featured in more than 40 news outlets, reaching a potential audience of almost 64 million.
