‘The $770 Million Gorilla’

Regarding the recent New York Sun editorial [“The $770 Million Gorilla,” May 10, 2005], let’s set the record straight. AARP is not opposed to private investment vehicles. In fact, we encourage our members to pursue them as part of diversified retirement plans.

We oppose introducing risk into Social Security, which must remain the one part of Americans’ retirement portfolio that is a rock-solid, lifetime guarantee. Mutual funds and other investment offerings should supplement, but must never replace, Social Security. Private accounts that drain money out of Social Security would put benefits at risk, move us further away from solvency, and pile trillion-dollar debt on future generations – who are already due to inherit record deficits.

And AARP does not accept federal funds – for advocacy or any other purpose. An affiliated charity, the AARP Foundation, does receive federal grants dedicated exclusively to helping deliver important services like job training and tax preparation for older people. Both the Department of Labor and the IRS have given the Foundation high marks for its stewardship of these programs.

AARP is working to enhance the quality of life for everyone as they age. Retirement Social Security, strong and solvent for future generations, is essential for achieving this goal.

LOIS ARONSTEIN
State Director AARP
New York
Manhattan

‘Running Away From Evil’

Of course, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is exactly correct, as usual, in his analysis “Running Away From Evil” [Opinion, May 5, 2005]. The chief reason for the appalling carnage in Iraq today is due to, as he states, the “insufficient number of troops to run the insurgents [read: terrorist murderers] down quickly,” thanks to the cowardly United Nations and European Union, which should be foremost in protecting the new Iraqi democracy. Buy why be surprised? This is the same crowd who did nothing for Bosnia, Sudan, Rwanda, Nigeria, and all the other victims of barbarism and genocide.

JEROME STARR
Manhattan

Hypocrisy of Wal-Mart Bashers

Alicia Colon’s “The Hypocrisy of Wal-Mart Bashers” [New York, May 10, 2005] refers to the supposed hypocrisy of Wal-Mart critics who fail to realize how many women the company employs and then goes on to belittle the legitimacy of the plaintiffs in the gender discrimination suit, saying that anyone can find an ex-employee willing to testify against their former bosses.

The problem with this argument is that two of the six women filing suit, including lead plaintiff Betty Dukes, are current Wal-Mart workers who are risking their jobs to fix a company with a sorry record with regard to pay equity and fair promotion of its female employees. They, like the other four ex-employees, are out raged that a company they highly respected (and in some cases still respect) routinely denied them and their fellow female workers promotions and equal wages.

Furthermore, critics never claimed that Wal-Mart fails to hire women. The question, instead, is whether the women Wal-Mart is hiring are given fair wages and an equitable chance at advancement.

As the court depositions and expert testimony show, this was not the case. According to expert witness Richard Drogan, women who work full-time at Wal-Mart earn $5,000 less than men in the same position. He further concludes that women earn $1.16 less than men do in hourly positions and that women were systematically under-promoted. Former and current employees back up the data with affidavits pointing out how newly hired men often made significantly more than their experienced female counterparts and how women, due to the camaraderie between male managers and male employees, weren’t told about otherwise poorly publicized advancement possibilities.

Sadly, the wages that women at Wal-Mart do receive are usually not even enough for a family to break the poverty line. Due to poor or nonexistent health benefits, female workers often do not receive vital preventive screenings or treatment for their children. In fact, an unprecedented number of Wal-Mart workers have to rely on publicly funded programs just to get basic care. What we need is legislation like the Health Care Security Act, which will ensure that companies like Wal-Mart give their female and male employees the coverage they deserve.

ADRIANNE SHROPSHIRE
Executive Director
New York Jobs With Justice
Manhattan

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