Rich Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans spoke with America’s Work Force Radio Podcast on May 15 to discuss President Trump’s attempts to gut social security.

Fiesta explained that President Trump is working to scrap the payroll tax. Fiesta said this is a big mistake because payroll taxes fund social security. Fiesta said that Trump is attempting to instill a one time payout plan where people would receive money immediately and reduced benefits later. Fiesta continued by saying that it is really just a “government funded payday loan” and is a terrible idea because it would have such a high interest rate. He added that people will have to take out a loan on their social security to receive all of the money at once. Once they retire, they will have to pay back the interest. Lastly, he spoke about protecting voting by mail. Fiesta said that some states have laws requiring a witness be present and sign the ballot after it is filled out. He also said that some states make it more difficult to vote by mail by not including free postage. He explained how this is a form of voter suppression, especially for those who are too old or weak to show up to a polling place. This will be a hot button issue as we are facing a global pandemic during a presidential election year.

Jeff Stoffer, Director of Media and Communications with the American Legion Magazine spoke about the upcoming edition of the publication and the stories that will be featured. One of the stories he spoke about was a D-Day soldier and his artwork. Stoffer told the story of a soldier who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and the artwork that portrays the horrors that he saw. He said the soldier sketched images in his notepad in the middle of combat no matter where he was. Stoffer said that six months after the soldier died, his wife found his artwork and shared it with the public. Along with his artwork, she showed notes that he wrote to her during the war that showed the decline in his mental and emotional state. Stoffer said that his artwork and notes proved he had a mental condition comparable to post traumatic stress disorder.

AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about the News Guild being dissolved at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio.

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