Keep the heat on Schwab.

Shame on Charles Schwab

While working families across America are protesting Charles Schwab’s support for Social Security privatization, the investment firm doesn’t seem to be listening. Unlike other finance companies, Schwab has not dropped its membership in lobbying groups ready to spend millions to privatize Social Security.

Schwab must be ashamed of its position—as it should be. Company executives are claiming Schwab hasn’t taken a position on privatization. Shame on Schwab for trying to pass off that nonsense—Schwab belongs to, funds and even takes leadership roles in several of the business groups pouring money into the fight to privatize Social Security. According to published reports, Schwab’s chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders, and Charles Schwab, the CEO himself, have endorsed privatization.

Please take a minute to fax the following message to a Schwab office near you.


 

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Back Off Our Social Security

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Shame on your company for being part of the main lobbying groups that support Social Security privatization. Privatizing Social Security would devastate working families--including your clients--by slashing guaranteed benefits, exploding federal debt and opening Social Security up to political corruption and Enron-ization. Your company is putting its desire to collect fees for managing privatized Social Security accounts above the financial interests of your clients and other working people.

Please join the other investment companies that have dropped their support for the groups like the Alliance for Worker Retirement Security that are spending millions of dollars to privatize Social Security.

Please stop your membership in those organizations and stop all contributions to them by your company and its officers.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 04, 2005


Background Information

Don't Privatize Social Security—Strengthen It

With private pensions and public employee retirement plans under attack, working families need more retirement security, not less. But privatizing Social Security would make retirement less secure by cutting guaranteed benefits by 40 percent even for those who do not choose privatized accounts.

  • They say:
    The program is voluntary.

    THE FACT IS:
    The program is not voluntary—your retirement benefits are cut by at least 40 percent, even if you do not choose a private account.

  • They say:
    You'll make more money with private investments.

    THE FACT IS:
    The government will take back 70 cents in your Social Security benefits for every dollar in your account when you retire—on top of the 40 percent cut in your guaranteed retirement benefits.

  • They say:
    You'll get to personally direct your retirement investments.

    THE FACT IS:
    You don't control your own money—politicians will pick Wall Street firms to control your investment accounts, a process corrupted by politics.

  • They say:
    You'll be able to pass on your retirement investments to your heirs.

    THE FACT IS:
    For most retirees, there will be little or nothing left to pass on because most Social Security investments cannot be passed on to heirs.

To find out more go to: www.aflcio.org/socialsecurity.