Franni Franken on the Anniversary of Social Security
Posted in Press Releases on August 14th, 2008
Saint Paul [08/14/08] – Franni Franken, wife of U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken, offered the following thoughts today, the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act:
When I was seventeen months old, my dad – a decorated World War II vet – died in a car accident on his way home from a shift at the paper mill. My mother was widowed at age 29 with five kids – and I wasn’t the youngest. We made it because of Social Security survivor benefits.
Sometimes we didn’t have heat, sometimes no electricity, and sometimes there wasn’t enough food on the table, but we had a lot of love. Sure, we all learned how to manage a household on a shoe-string budget but we also learned the true meaning of family.
And I’m proud to say that my mom, my three sisters, my brother, and I are here today and contributing to society because of the opportunity we were given by the Social Security Act. The opportunity to stay together as a family. The opportunity to keep our home. The opportunity to overcome a tough blow and become productive citizens.
Every time Al tells my story on the campaign trail, I watch the crowd. And I always – ALWAYS – see somebody nodding, because my story is the story of so many Minnesotans who’ve benefited from Social Security, or who are relying on it today to provide them with economic security in their retirement.
So you can understand why I get so upset whenever I hear people talking about privatizing this important program. Can you imagine what would have happened to our Social Security funds if we had allowed big business to take them over? The very businesses that are losing BILLIONS of dollars because of bad investments are the ones that would have been in charge of our Social Security funds.
That’s why Al has always been such a strong defender of Social Security. And that’s why, when he gets to Washington, he and I will work hard together to make sure Social Security continues to provide security and opportunity for Minnesotans for the next 73 years – and beyond.
