Where I stand—Mike O’Callaghan: Dying but not quitting

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

NEVADANS BORN BETWEEN 1917 and 1926 feel the pain of receiving less in Social Security payments than some other qualified Americans. That pain wasn't relieved when Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, along with Rep. Shelley Berkley, discussed the problems and further dimmed their hopes to eventually receive justice. Time and again Reid has created bills that would give them justice, but his success in the Senate has died in the House. Berkley has also co-sponsored similar bills which are going nowhere because of little support.

It's evident that all three of them have about given up hope and came out criticizing organizations raising funds to promote the changing of present payment shortcomings. Very simply, notch babies have been taking a financial bath from their government and now if the bigwigs wait long enough they will all be dead and the problem will no longer exist.

The "friend" of senior citizens, the AARP is one of the biggest roadblocks for the correction of this injustice. If you read that outfit's rationalization for opposing bills of correction it soon dawns on you that its leaders don't really give a damn about the notch babies or being fair.

Sen. Reid's bill attempting to give each notch baby a one-time flat payment of $5,000 sure can't hurt a nation that has such huge surpluses. It won't hurt the Social Security program as the AARP tries to claim. As an AARP member I have become disillusioned in recent years. I now very closely monitor every bit of the legislation it promotes in Washington. Former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., had the courage to question the motives of AARP lobbyists. It's too bad there's no Simpson in our nation's capital today.

The AARP has pumped up its membership with people who are below the age of 60. Then these large numbers are used to threaten legislators because of the propaganda the organization will pump out to help or hurt them at election time. I'd say it's about time the notch babies still with us get the attention of their AARP enemies and say that they don't represent them with their negative attitude. In the meantime we have gutless legislators who use the AARP nonsense as cover when refusing to go along with efforts by a few of their more reasonable members.

A senator or representative with a heart and soul can take a few hours going over the Bush tax cuts and budget and find more than enough dollars to bring a touch of justice back for these Americans born between 1917 and 1926. Or have we reached a point in our nation where justice and right isn't required if we view the notch babies as faceless numbers who are dying by the hundreds every day?

Allow me to remind these bearers of thoughtless and unkind conclusions that the notch babies are the people who suffered through the Great Depression and supported the creation of a fair Social Security Act. Then they went on to fight history's biggest world war, and the lucky ones returned to build an industrial giant that has given all of us a better life.

Shame, shame on legislators and selfish groups that block these elderly people from receiving fair treatment. Yes, and shame on people who have given up this struggle for justice.

One large group of Southern Nevadans refuses to give up and will hold a big meeting on Friday, May 11, at 10 a.m. The meeting to be held at the Castaways (Showboat) Hotel on the 2nd floor will feature Mike Plumer from Washington, D.C., as the speaker. He's a well-informed and experienced senior citizen lobbyist who understands notch baby and all other senior Social Security and Medicare problems.

Ken Mahal tells us that the meeting is open to the public and the room can handle 600 people. If you want to participate call 477-6859. Mahal, president of the Nevada Seniors Coalition, has a reputation of following issues and solving problems.