The problem with this is that gasoline is a minor expense for most Social Security recipients -- especially those who live on a small fixed budget. They don't need to drive to work every day, or haul children around to their various activities.
But the things that these retirees need the most (food, clothing, rent, medical care, etc.) have not gone down. They all cost more now -- and having no COLA next year just means many retirees will fall further behind financially (as the buying power of their Social Security check goes down).
Senator Elizabeth Warren knows this, and she doesn't think it's fair. That's why she is introducing a bill in Congress to give Social Security recipients a 3.9% increase in their benefit for 2016. Here's how she explains it in her latest message to her supporters:
Three weeks ago, the Social Security Administration made a quiet announcement.
Next year, for just the third time since 1975, seniors who receive Social Security won’t be getting an annual cost of living increase. Neither will millions of other Americans whose veterans’ benefits, disability benefits, and other monthly payments are pegged to Social Security.
Two-thirds of retirees depend on Social Security to pay for the basics, to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads – but seniors who usually get a small boost on January 1st won’t see an extra dime next year. That’s why today, I’m introducing the Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act – a one-time payment equivalent to a Social Security benefits increase of 3.9%.
Why give seniors and veterans a 3.9% Social Security boost? Well, times are tough for America’s seniors – but they aren't tough for everyone. According to recent data, CEOs at the top 350 American companies received, on average, a 3.9% pay increase last year.
But here’s the kicker: taxpayers like you subsidize huge pay packages for CEOs through billions of dollars in giveaways, including a crazy loophole that allows corporations to write off obscene executive bonuses as a business expense for “performance pay.”
Our new SAVE Benefits Act would give seniors and veterans a benefits boost without adding a single penny to the deficit simply by closing that performance pay loophole. In fact, closing that tax loophole would create enough revenue to give seniors and vets this 3.9% emergency boost and still have money left over for the Social Security Trust Fund to help extend the life of Social Security.
Think about what this change would mean. A one-time 3.9% Social Security payment is worth about $581 a person next year – a little less than $50 a month. For someone barely scraping by on a $1,250 Social Security check each month, $581 would cover almost three months of groceries, or a year’s worth of out-of-pocket costs for a Medicare beneficiary’s prescription drugs. According to an analysis, that little boost could lift more than 1 million Americans out of poverty. That’s a big deal.
This is about choices. We have the money to do this – only right now that money goes to fund a loophole that benefits corporate CEOs. We could use exactly that same money to help out seniors and vets – and make the Social Security system more stable. For me, it’s pretty straightforward: Our spending should reflect our values.
Thank you for being a part of this,
Elizabeth
P.S. I've got a strong, tough, determined group of fighters by my side for the SAVE Benefits Act: Ed Markey, Barbara Mikulski, Patty Murray, Chuck Schumer, Bill Nelson, Debbie Stabenow, Maria Cantwell, Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jeff Merkley, Kirsten Gillibrand, Al Franken, Dick Blumenthal, Chris Murphy, Mazie Hirono, and Tammy Baldwin. Join us now to help give seniors and veterans the boost they need on January 1st.
I was advised to use SS as the third leg of my retirement stool when I was younger. I had a 401k which was decimated in two major downturns, I invested in a home which I sold for a profit when I saw the tsunami of real estate losses coming and immediately put that into another smaller home so I would have a place to live. I have a small MMF which pays for big things my SS check doesn't cover like car repairs. I still try to save $50/mo so my husband and I can afford to take a vacation every 5 years or we visit our kids so we don't have to pay for a hotel or rental car. So, the first and second legs of my retirement stool crashed with the economy and the third leg is dependent on a capricious government legislature. I expected to work longer but the economy screwed that up too and I was laid off at age 63 so after searching in vain for another job, I took SS early at age 65 losing @$79/mo in future benefits. Seniors are not the only ones suffering. But we followed the financial advice of the times and invested in financial vehicles available to us. I feel sorry for those that come after us, our children, because we will probably have very little to leave them. If SS is on the chopping block and we can't even get a small COLA, the future looks pretty gloomy for everyone. To paraphrase part of a poem I heard once, "The golden years have come at last, the golden years can kiss my a$$."
ReplyDeleteAnd the money for this is easy to get...dock the congressional automatic pay hike!
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