It’s not every government program that gets its own birthday party, but Social Security was feeling the love at Rianda House last Thursday.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, hosted a celebration of the 89th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of the Social Security Act, which has provided pensions for generations of retired Americans.
Thompson called Social Security “without question the most successful program in the United States of America” and offered an upbeat assessment of its long-term solvency, saying it’s “still going strong.”
Rianda House executive director Maury Robertson, Rep. Mike Thompson and St. Helena City Councilmember Anna Chouteau celebrated the 89th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act last Thursday.
Submitted photo
Thompson said there probably need to be “some tweaks” to Social Security, although privatizing it would be “an unmitigated disaster.”
“We’ll keep working to make it strong,” he said.
Napa’s Dorothy Salmon, a Social Security recipient, quoted the old adage that you can always count on death and taxes.
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A birthday cake celebrating the 89th birthday of Social Security.
Jesse Duarte, Star
“But you can also count on Social Security,” she said. “It’s an amazing program.”
Ana Casey, a student at Georgetown University and an intern in Thompson’s Napa office, said she’s been paying into the program since she got her first job at the age of 16.
“While I know that I won’t see the benefits for a while, it gives me peace of mind to know that already I’m contributing to my future retirement,” Casey said.
She acknowledged concerns about the program’s stability but said, “It’s a relief to me to know that, no matter what, Social Security will be able to pay partial benefits for retirees, even in 2069 when I become eligible.”
“It is so important for my generation to pay attention to Social Security and to advocate for policies that strengthen the program,” Casey added.
Rep. Mike Thompson talks to constituents at Rianda House in St. Helena during a celebration of the 89th birthday of Social Security.
Maury Robertson photo
Retired legal secretary Ida May Fuller of Vermont received the first monthly Social Security check on Jan. 31, 1940. It was for $24.75.
Rep. Mike Thompson speaks at an event at Rianda House last Thursday celebrating Social Security.
Maury Robertson photo
Thompson also singled out another notable Social Security recipient: his late grandmother, Minnie Mossi Forni of St. Helena. She made gloves at the Napa Glove Factory, both in Napa and in St. Helena at the corner of Main Street and Hunt Avenue, and labeled wine bottles for John Daniel at Inglenook.
“I was amazed that my grandmother always had 10 bucks for her grandkid if there was a need,” said Thompson, who later learned that Social Security had supplemented his grandmother’s meager $53-a-month pension.
“My grandmother was able to retire with dignity because of one thing, and it wasn’t that 53 bucks a month. It was Social Security,” Thompson said. “And there are untold millions of people across the United States who are able to do the same thing today.”
Thompson said Social Security is also valuable to young people who are eligible for survivors’ benefits, and to the broader economy.
“I’m willing to bet there’s nobody here who’s on Social Security who takes their Social Security check and deposits it in a secret account in the Cayman Islands. … That money is plowed right back into the community,” Thompson said.
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You can reach Jesse Duarte at 707-967-6803 or [email protected].
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Publish date : 2024-08-07 03:05:00
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