Today the LATimes gives us a heads up on what to expect as a Cost of Living Increase if you are living on Social Security or Disability. 60 bucks. A tank of gas, 1/5 of one prescription cost for a month, or 1/2 of Medicare cost for one month, or maybe appox 1/5 of the donut hole, or even a one-way train trip to LA from Santa Barbara. What would 60 bucks a month do for you ? Less than 2 bucks a day won't even buy you a cuppa coffee here in Ca., but of course you can buy 2 double cheeseburgers at MickeyD's but not the taxes.
Next year's cost-of-living increase will go to more than 55 million Americans. More than 50 million of them receive Social Security benefits, while the rest get Supplemental Security Income payments for the poor.http://www.latimes.com/...
This increase would of been even higher but the price of gas started going down in August, or so they say. We here in Ca pay among the highest gas prices in the nation, and 60 bucks doesn't even fill my gas tank. I'm sure someone will say I should be grateful get any increase at all and I am but tell me, if you boss gave you a raise of 60 bucks a month would you fall all over yourself thanking him ? Is .30, 30 cents a hr the kind of raise that thrills you ?
Of course the poor or those on a fixed income are always the first to get the shaft at budget time. We in Ca. just found out by letter that this yr Arnold cut a long running program that gave the poor a small yearly rebate check to help defer the price of rent. The only way I found this out ( it was never mentioned by the press or Gov. before the budget was passed ) was in a letter I got 2 days ago in place of the check I was expecting. It wasn't much, appox $340., less than 1/2 a months rent and I live in a cheap area of Ca
In a article titled "Largest Cost of Living Adjustments to Social Security retirement benefits in a quarter century" I found a few depressing facts others may not be as aware of as some of us.
The Medicare premium alone has doubled since 2000... and is almost 100 dollars a month.... The Social Security COLA over that time period has gone up only 25%. So healthcare costs are eating up more and more of recipients income every year. http://www.scribd.com/...
Another point made in that piece points out something most people don't think about. Those of us trying to get by are always a years behind because we pay those increased costs for a year before the COLA kicks in, leaving us behind the eightball every yr and trying to play catch-up.
This year, since John Edwards quit the race, the poor have all but been forgotten in favor of the Middle Class and the Millionaires of Wall Street. There are very few that step up to defend those that don't have the money for their own Lobbyists and it shows. In the last couple years when we have seen how fast the prices of what it takes to just get by has gone up monthly, it's time someone put forth a Bill to see that those on SS get a COLA quarterly, or at the very least, every 6 months. We should also make sure that once a Bill is passed to help the poor, like the one Arnold blew-off to help his rich buddys, can't be cut without at least a years notice, and they must notify those affected before passing such a bill. That last bit is very important because the Poor rarely have the time or money to follow the day to day politics that so affect their lives. This would allow the time for some to organize against such cuts and keep people like Arnold from quietly screwing them in some backroom deal. Democrats need to return to their roots of helping those that can't help themselves now that they will have the power and numbers to do the right thing.
I'd like to hear any other ideas that you think would help the elderly, disabled, and poor keep from being shafted every time Gov. decides cut what little help we get now. Please remember most of us collecting our SS worked over 40 yrs and paid in faithfully every paycheck for these minor benefits that have been promised us from the very beginning. This is NOT welfare, it's something we paid for every week our entire working life and is owed to us. Is it too much to ask that the Gov. keep it's promises ?