FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
October 18, 2012 Aldira Aldape, Centro Hispano Milwaukee/Council for the Spanish Speaking, Inc., (414) 384-3700 Ext. 214
Kathy Mimberg, NCLR, (202) 776-1714; kmimberg@nclr.org
Community town hall provides information to address concerns of Latinos in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE—At a community town hall held at Centro Hispano Milwaukee/Council for the Spanish Speaking (Centro Hispano) today, Latino seniors expressed strong concern over looming cuts to the financial safety net for America’s seniors and disabled. Experts from NCLR (National Council of La Raza), AARP and Centro Hispano answered questions about the presidential candidates’ policy proposals for Social Security and Medicare. The three organizations hosted the forum to address the importance of these programs to Latino families and the state of Wisconsin, which receives $14 billion annually in Social Security benefits paid to its residents.
“Latinos count on our Social Security system,” said Aldira Aldape, Director of Bilingual Social Services, Centro Hispano. “I know from my own experience talking to seniors in our community that it gives them peace of mind to know that they can rely on Social Security, the most safe, efficient and reliable system possible. It worries them to hear about potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”
About half of all workers—and two-thirds of Hispanic workers—lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, making our Social Security system more important than ever. More than 2 million Latino seniors today rely on Social Security benefits they earned while working. Latino seniors are particularly vulnerable to cuts because more than half of all Latino seniors rely on Social Security for nearly all of their income. Average yearly benefits for Hispanic seniors are only $12,213 for men and just $9,536 for women. Almost one in five Hispanic seniors lives in poverty, which is twice as high as for White seniors. In Wisconsin, Social Security provided benefits to 9,523 Latino households, or about one out of nine (11.6 percent) Latino households.
“Latino workers earn lower wages than others and are unlikely to have access to workplace retirement plans, and so rely heavily on Social Security benefits in old age,” said Leticia Miranda, Senior Policy Advisor at NCLR. “We oppose any plans by either candidate to reduce benefits in ways that impact lower-income workers and vulnerable seniors. Our Social Security system should be strengthened for future generations, not cut and weakened.”
Medicare and Medicaid are also essential lifelines for vulnerable Americans. An estimated 3.5 million Latino seniors and disabled adults and children use Medicare. One-quarter of all Hispanics on Medicare were also covered by the Medicaid program and are extremely vulnerable to cuts to either program. In addition, the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health reform law, is critical for Hispanics, since an estimated 6 million Hispanics will gain pathways to health insurance under the new program.
“We’ve heard from millions of our members who are tired of partisan bickering and political spin about the important Medicare issues on the table. The candidates owe voters straight answers about where they stand. In a razor-tight election, candidates have a major opportunity to reach key voters with their plans for the future of Medicare—and they are taking a huge gamble if they ignore it,” said Lisa Lamkins, AARP Wisconsin Advocacy Director.
Lamkins cited a recent AARP national survey which showed that voters age 50+ overwhelmingly think the candidates have not done a good job of explaining their plans on Medicare (63 percent). Across party lines, these voters say (70 percent) that getting more information on the candidates’ plans on Medicare will help them determine their vote on Election Day.
In Wisconsin, Social Security contributes $14 billion annually to the local economy by paying benefits to over one million Wisconsin residents, including 716,800 retirees, 146,500 disabled workers and 77,000 children. Social Security kept 372,000 Wisconsinites out of poverty in 2008. Medicare and Medicaid contribute another $15 billion to the economy by serving approximately one million Wisconsin residents each. The Milwaukee forum is the seventh in a series of town halls held across the country as part of the “Latinos and Social Security: ¡Tu Futuro Cuenta!” campaign.
Centro Hispano Milwaukee is a member of the national NCLR Affiliate Network. Centro Hispano Milwaukee, established in 1964, making it Milwaukee’s first Hispanic-serving agency, provides educational, housing and social services. For more information about Centro Hispano Milwaukee, visit www.spanishcenter-milw.org/.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information about AARP, visit www.aarp.org.
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