Little to Celebrate in Deficit Debate for Mother’s Day?
As Mother۪s Day nears, OOTS takes note of a recent opinion piece in TheHill by Heinz Family Philanthropies President Jeffrey Lewis, called, “A Pathto Poverty: Happy Mother۪s Day.” In the article, Lewis shows how proposed changesto Social Security and Medicare would disproportionately affect elderly women.
Lewisnotes that older women “are more than twice as likely as men to work part-timeand much more likely to work in low-wage positions or to spend years outsidethe workforce.” This reality often leads to lower retirement savings and SocialSecurity payments for women as compared to men. Without the current Medicaresafety net, retired and retiring women who are more likely to be low-incomethan their male counterparts, would face an additional $6,000 in health carecosts.
“In recent years, women have made tremendousgains in income and opportunity,” writes Lewis. “But at retirement time, women especially those who۪ve put their families ahead of careers still come upshort compared to men.”
Lewishas special knowledge of the policymaking progresshe comes to Heinz FamilyPhilanthropies after working as the Republican Staff Director for the late SenatorJohn Heinz (R-PA). He has also worked as the Deputy Staff Director for the U.S.Senate Special Committee on Aging for Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), as a seniorlegislative assistant for Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR), and as Senior PolicyAdvisor for Senator John Kerry (D-MA). During his tenure at Heinz FamilyPhilanthropies, he co-edited a free eBook entitled, “WhatWomen Need to Know About Retirement.“
IfMother۪s Day is a time to think about the women in our lives, then Lewis۪spiece reminds us that continued debates surrounding deficit reduction and thebudget should be top of mind this weekend.
Posted by Mike
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