SEATTLE – Free public forums this week in Bellingham and Seattle will cover the future of Social Security.

For just over half of married couples and three-quarters of single people, Social Security makes up at least half of their retirement income. And it is the only income source for three out of 10 women age 65 and older.

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), says that's why her group sees it as vital to not only keep Social Security in place, but strengthen it.

She points out the average annual benefit for a retired man is just over $17,000 – for a woman, it's $13,000.

"Women work an entire lifetime at unequal pay, and a lot of that relates to the fact that about two-thirds of minimum-wage workers are women,” she points out “So, they get to the end of their working career and they don't have that nest egg.

“Social Security is what women rely on in their retirement years."

O'Neill says NOW is backing the idea of a caregiver credit – a minimum amount of Social Security that could accrue for women during years when they have to drop out of the workforce to care for children or elderly parents.

O'Neill will be a panelist at the forums, on Wednesday night in Seattle and Thursday night in Bellingham.

Also on the panel is Marilyn Watkins, policy director at the Economic Opportunity Institute.

She says backers of Social Security have spent a lot of time in recent years defending it from those who would privatize or defund it.

Watkins stresses it's time to change the focus – to how to adjust and modernize a program that she says hasn't seen major updates since the 1980s.

"Now we all know that this is important, and let's start talking about making it better right now, and reassuring younger working Americans that we've done what we need to, to make this financially sound for when you get to retirement, too," she says.

There are proposals in Congress to increase Social Security benefits and cost-of-living adjustments, and to lift the cap on how much of a person's income is taxed for Social Security, so that people at higher incomes contribute similar percentages as those with lower incomes.

The Wed., June 4, forum starts at 7:00 p.m., at Bethany United Church of Christ, 6230 Beacon Ave. S., Seattle. The Thurs., June 5, forum is at Syre Center, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham. It begins at 7:30 p.m.





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September is Workforce Development Month and North Dakota offices managing energy assistance programs hope people in need of a fresh career start will give weatherization work some thought.

Community Action Agencies help low-income individuals sign up for aid to keep their heating and cooling bills lower. These offices also have teams specializing in weatherization, with free repairs and upgrades for eligible households, so their homes are safe and healthy and energy systems run more efficiently.

Willy Soderholm, executive director of the Community Action Partnership-Minot Region, said his crews have veteran leadership but there are still turnover issues with newer staff.

"They're working underneath the trailer-house bellies," Soderholm pointed out. "They're working up in the attics and things like that. And plus, you know, they're working out in the cold."

Despite the challenging work, Soderholm noted those who make it through a full season can realize the stability and rewarding mission aligned with the jobs. He explained there are benefits, competitive pay and training available. His region has a waiting list of more than 40 homes in need of weatherization work and a complete staff could help whittle down the number.

Recent federal policies have boosted weatherization funding, with office leaders noting job availability should not be as unpredictable in the coming years. Beyond charting a new career path, Soderholm emphasized joining one of the teams means you are helping people in your community meet basic needs.

"We're really looking for somebody that has compassion to work with those in need and understand the struggles that are going on out there," Soderholm explained.

Soderholm added his agency's longtime staff is nearing retirement age, which should create pressure and opportunities for others to advance their careers. Similar workforce challenges are reported by other offices around the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, such programs have led to nearly 275 jobs created or retained in North Dakota since 2015.

A new report showed Connecticut's post-pandemic job growth lags behind the rest of the nation.

The State of Working Connecticut report found personal income, gross domestic product and job growth are all falling behind the U.S. averages. Though low-wage workers saw significant wage growth to help with their cost of living, post-pandemic inflation has eroded the gains.

Patrick O'Brien, research and policy director at Connecticut Voices for Children and the report's author, said one reason for the state's slow job growth is its overall unaffordability.

"You need to make the state more affordable for families to stay here and grow here and for also some families to move here," O'Brien urged. "You could think about, you know, addressing affordable housing, affordable child care, a child tax credit. Those types of things that make it more affordable for families to live in the state."

Slower economic growth can also be attributed to the lagging recovery of public-sector jobs, which plummeted around the start of the pandemic. But nationwide, such jobs returned to pre-pandemic levels around mid-2022. Connecticut is close to the national average but has not reached pre-pandemic levels. The report showed building up the public-sector workforce could also significantly reduce wage inequality.

The report recommended ending the subminimum wage, limiting noncompete agreements and improving early childhood education to bolster Connecticut's economy. Bringing the changes to fruition will not be easy. O'Brien noted budget controls could prevent such policies from being enacted.

"With the fiscal controls and our tight budget, it's hard to get funding to increase individual programs," O'Brien pointed out. "Because there's a spending cap, that money tends to have to come from somewhere else."

He added the state has tried to reduce government spending by not filling public-sector jobs. But it can negatively affect the state budget, because it slows personal income growth and income tax collection. O'Brien thinks if nothing is done, Connecticut will remain on the same trajectory of repressed economic growth.

Average teacher pay increased in 2023, but a new study shows it still lags far behind that of other college graduates.

Average weekly wages for teachers across the nation increased 1.7% last year. But it was still more than 26 percentage points below other college graduates.

Sylvia Allegretto, senior economist with the Center on Economic Policy Research, is author of the report - and said there's a vast disparity across states, with Idaho among the states falling behind.

"The worst is in Colorado at just over 38% - and then Idaho, the teacher pay gap is 27.1%," said Allegretto. "So, not really great news, but it's not the worst in the country."

Wyoming had the smallest gap between teacher pay and other college graduates, at 9%. Nearly three quarters of states had gaps larger than 20%.

Allegretto noted that the gap for teachers has increased significantly in recent decades, from about 6% in 1996 to more than 26% in 2023.

She said this is having far-reaching effects for a profession that's one of the most important in the country.

"Are we able to retain the teachers that are already in the profession?" said Allegretto. "And how are we going to attract and retain future students of today to choose teaching as a profession?"

Allegretto said more public investment in education will be necessary to correct this issue.

"There's not going to be one way to do this," said Allegretto, "but it is definitely going to take federal, state and local government effort."




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