Senior Citizens Brace for Social Security Freeze

AP Yahoooo ^ | 10/11/2010 | Matt Sedensky, Associated Press Write

[ex-Texan]

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Seniors prepared to cut back on everything from food to charitable donations to whiskey as word spread Monday that they will have to wait until at least 2012 to see their Social Security checks increase.

The government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through a second straight year without an increase in monthly benefits. This year was the first without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation started in 1975.

"I think it's disgusting," said Paul McNeil, 69, a retired state worker from Warwick, R.I., who said his food and utility costs have gone up, but his income has not. He lamented decisions by lawmakers that he said do not favor seniors.

"They've got this idea that they've got to save money and basically they want to take it out of the people that will give them the least resistance," he said. * * *

[listenhillary]

Where are these senior citizens retirement plans? SS is a scam, but it wasn’t designed to replace a pension or retirement savings.

[NEMDF]

If my memory serves me right it was you young people who voted in the current administration. So thank you for being so stupid to create your problem. Us older folk have no control over our income the way you do.

First of all, you have no idea how old I am. Secondly, I did NOT vote to put the current administration in office. I do not appreciate you calling me stupid.

[nascarnation]

By any reasonable accounting, SS and Medicare don’t work long term. It’s Ponzi and Madoff with a government sanctioned authority to make EVERYBODY pay in.

There’s no way that the US economy can generate enough wealth to make them work and China won’t lend us enough money to do it. These shortfalls will be taken care of via inflation (for SS) and rationing (for Medicare).

Anyone who denies this is a politician or lacks knowledge.

[PogySailor]

Your kidding right? Those people will be screaming for higher taxes on everyone else so they get their COLA.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Why do you think the GOP didn’t put the Bush Prescription boondoggle on their cut list when they made their pledge? It’s very easy to promise to get rid of things people don’t have yet or keep things the way they are. Only idiots and politicians believe that you can dig us out of this debt crisis and keep entitlements rising at the same time.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Tea Party support when the new administration also freezes COLAs and tries to cut back on entitlements. Remember the warm reception GWB received when he toured the country with a few modest proposals for SS reform.

[Notary Sojac]

But the Democrats penalize the most vulnerable people

Please, can we not play the game of "who can pander more to the government-dependent"???

[navyblue]

"they want to take it out of the people that will give them the least resistance," he said. * * *"

Not so Paul. Seniors are rated in the "most likely to vote" category.

[ontap]

The senior vote in 2008 was 53-45 McCain!!

[TomGuy]

Where are these senior citizens retirement plans?

Drawing 1% at the current CD rate or 0.25% at the current Money Market rate.

[ontap]

Seniors are facing the same thing you are...add to that 2or 3 hundred or more in co pays and drugs each month. I have taken steps to not rely totally on SS...but I had the funds to do so. Most seniors don’t they scrap by on their SS benefits so when their expenses go up they can’t do anything about it. They had their money ceased all their life with the promise SS would be there... it’s not...they’re scared...you would be too!!

[listenhillary]

Drawing 1% at the current CD rate or 0.25% at the current Money Market rate.

We can't save them from themselves I suppose.

[upcountryhorseman]

Thes folks did pay into the social security “lock box”.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Because the non change is in the COLA, their Part B and Part D and Secondary policies are all going to increase, so they are taking a cut when many are barely making it as it is.

[KarlInOhio]

Most of this comes from the big price spike in gasoline, natural gas and food in the summer of 2008. That hit during the 2009 SS COLA calculation period, so the January 2009 COLA was much larger than it should have been (gasoline prices had dropped from $4/gallon in July 2008 to about $1.41/gallon on Christmas 2008). Prices had dropped by the summer calculation period in 2009, so the January 2010 COLA should have been negative. But that isn't allowed, so the COLA was zeroed out and the drop was carried forward to this year, where it still hasn't been completely covered.

If the calculating period was advanced by three months (Oct-Dec) to avoid the energy price spike in 2008 the COLAs for 2009, 2010 and 2011 would all have been in the 1.5% range instead of 5.8%, 0% and 0%.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Entitlement mentality? Have you not paid into FICA and Medicare Insurance? If you work you do and what you pay into FICA your emoloyer has had to match dollar for dollar. How much do you think that money would be worth at retirement if you had it invested in your name in a 401K or something similar that was locked until retirement age? This so-called entitlement is money that was stolen from us all... typical of the democratic mindset that everyone should have just enough money to get by and the rest is theirs for their pet projects.

[badad]

Not getting an increase doesn’t bother me so much knowing that Fed. employees
won’t be getting raises either. What? You say they got a raise in 2010 and looks like also 2011. Well I guess Obama knows best.

[CPT Clay]

50% of the purchasing power they had a couple of years ago.

Bingo

[finish9]

Exactly!

[The Comedian]

It now appears to me that the thug-slugs will be letting the SElection go forward and possibly plan on causing great chaos thereafter. Hard to say . . . so many undercurrents, cross currents and flags on plays are in the air.

Thx for the ping here bro.

Here's a thought. I have nothing to back it up, just conjecture on a possibility.

What if the circumstances have already spiraled out of control, so that TPTB are in fact, terrified that their plans have caused unforeseen and tangential forces which are not under their control?

What if their *planned* instigation of CW2 isn't working, and their timeframes are all skewed, and coinciding events which they may have been counting on via a Lookingglass/Web bot-style tech aren't going to synch up?

Might explain some "slippages" and that "on hold" feeling a lot of us are getting.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[stephenjohnbanker]

I expect MAJOR defections from senior citizens over Obama/Pelosi/Reid. Even more in 2012. Seniors know when they have been accu-jacked ;-)