Something is about to happen, that has never happened before. Some of the nation's Social Security recipients are about to have their only source of income cut, but approximately 75% of Social Security recipients are protected by law, and will simply see no COLA (cost of living adjustment) increases over the next few years.
Is a democrat about to end the very programs that have given them an uncontested voting base for over 70 years?
Two things are at work here, one is the slowing economy. If there is no inflation, no COLAS occur-- if there is deflation, there is no cut in benefits. Since the COLA increases will not occur, but the Medicare Part B premiums probably will, that means millions of Social Security recipients will be paying more for their Medicare premiums, but there will be no increase in their monthly checking accounts, effectively cutting the amount of money they will have to spend each month.
The cut in financial benefits, which would be the first time such a thing occurred, would affect about 25% of all Social Security beneficiaries.
This is the beginning of the end. Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are about to go broke. While Social Security might remain solvent a decade or more longer than Medicare/Medicaid, all three programs are in serious financial straits.
This nation is about to come face to face with the unsustainable promises the government has made with the people, and something will have to be done. The time to ignore the problem is over, as there is no way to ignore the fact that nearly 2/3s of the federal budget is consumed by these three so called entitlement programs.
This is just the beginning of the end, to be sure, and it will take many more years before the final truth is known, but the dire predictions are nearly without doubt. The numbers are virtually undeniable.
Either the nation is going to sink into the black hole of debt, never to be seen again, or we'll do what needs to be done, and ABOLISH what never should have been created in the first place.
The time to act is now, before the debt grows any larger, and the nation falls.
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Comments: 29
Where is the cut off for the 25%? Of course, the president must get whatever he recommends through a difficult congress. Republicans won't vote for it just to spite the president and Democrats will worry about reelection.
It's a "notch" in the system, an unintended consequence of badly crafted legislation. Just like the Social Security "notch babies," the law simply doesn't cover 25% of all recipients.
Nearly all of these people are VERY OLD -- and the laws passed in the mid 70s simply left them out of the loop.
Walker, check my source ??? *chuckle* What you "believe" is IRRELEVANT, the facts speak for themselves.
Perhaps you are referring to the DISCRETIONARY funds ???
As for the entire bidget--- you know, including MADATORY ENTITLEMENTS and the sort....
This pie is from factcheck.org and is rather simplistic, but gets to the point
About 1/2 of the "other" slice of the pie is MANDATORY SPENDING as well--- and is rightly included with the Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid numbers.
As you can see from the factcheck.org pie chart, the three programs, SS, Medicare/Medicaid account for a full 44% of the total federal budget, both mandatory and discretionary spending. Add in the rightful chuck of the "other" slice, and it rises to 56-57% which is NEARLY 2/3s of the federal budget, as I said.
YOU were probably talking about the DISCRETIONARY portion of the budget, which EVEN THE DEMOCRATS HOLDING THE PURSE STRINGS KNOWS is the most important part of the budget.
As they say, put your money where your mouth is.
OOPS, I think Barack Hussein Obama is MAD!.
Where does the money come from for those who are getting SSI... these are people who didnt work enough or at all to get a check but do get a check from the government?
There is so much abuse in this program,,,,, now for the ones who have reached the age of retirement , these are the people that I feel sorry for...they shouldnt have to worry about where their next meal is coming from... I read somewhere on the computer from the Social Security page that we could never work enough to pay for the money that we will collect from social security... so they are paying more out than they have collected... I also, read where they said, that if you do get approved for a check that either you really have a disability or you have no income and are poor... They will give you a check just because you have no income.....I do believe this... as most people are turned down the first time... I have a friend who got hers first time around... her father was supporting her as she was his caregiver , when he died she had no income and she got her checks.... plus back pay....
I know what you mean about the whole thing needs reworking. You're also right about many people that receive far more in benefits than they ever paid into the system.
I'm one of them.
Exactly what I said, except it isn't Part D-- it is the premium for Part B that will rise, causing 25% of Medicare recipients to pay more, WITHOUT a corresponding COLA.
Remember 5am in the morning? Remember the 15 minute vote held open for several hours? Remember the lobbyiests down on the senate floor? NO? Where were you?
Sleeping soundly sister woman, where were you ??
Maybe that is why you do not know what you are talking about.
You and I seem to agree so far, except for your minor mistake about it being Part D.
The 25% of people whose premiums will go from $96.40 to $119 will pay 100% of the amount needed to pay for the increase in Medicare.
Correct you are, however that's for Part B premiums, not Part D.
That is why their SS will be reduced.
Well, their Social Security check will be reduced in two ways, the added cost for Part B premiums, and NO COLA-- which is an effective cut, since there will be no increase for inflation.
Ask Tom Delay and others who supported this attrocious bill
Do you have any idea how long Tom Delay has been out of office ??? *chuckle*
The low income people who have help to pay their medicare bill will see their premium increased, the people on Medicaid will see their premium increased and new beneficiaries will see their premiums increased. All others are protected from a Medicare increase if their SS check is not increased this year.
The only people that will see an INCREASE are those not covered by law, which amounts to about 25% of all Medicare recipients, as I have said.
CBO predicts that there will be COL for SS recipients for the years 2010 and 2011.
Well, no they don't....
Social Security Benefits Not Expected to Rise in ’10
WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than three decades, Social Security recipients will not get any increase in their benefits next year, federal forecasts show.
The absence of a cost-of-living adjustment, calculated under a formula set by law, will be a shock to older Americans already hit by plummeting home values, investment losses and rising health costs. More than 50 million people receive Social Security.
“Most seniors have never been through a year in which there was no Social Security COLA,” said David M. Certner, legislative counsel at AARP, the lobby for older Americans. Beneficiaries have received automatic cost-of-living adjustments every year since 1975. The increase this year was 5.8 percent.
The forecasts, by the Obama administration and the Congressional Budget Office, indicate that Social Security beneficiaries will not receive any cost-of-living increase in 2010 or in 2011.
If there is no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security, about three-fourths of beneficiaries will not see any change in their basic Part B premiums, federal officials said. But some beneficiaries do not have this protection and could face substantial increases in their Part B premiums.
Officials have already said the condition of Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is deteriorating because of the recession, which has reduced payroll tax revenues, the main source of money for the fund (that means it's not Tom Delay's fault.)
Most people on Medicare have Part B premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security checks. These premiums have historically increased much faster than Social Security benefits.
Under federal law, most Medicare beneficiaries have some protection. Their basic Part B premiums cannot rise more than the dollar amount of the cost-of-living increase in their Social Security checks. So if there is no COLA, their basic Part B premiums will not increase.
But one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries are not protected by the law, and their Part B premiums could increase.
Most Medicare beneficiaries pay a monthly Part B premium of $96.40. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the basic premium will rise to $119 next year and $123 in 2011 for those who are not protected under federal law.
Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, predicted that inflation would remain low for several years, so Social Security might not pay a cost-of-living increase until January 2013. President Obama’s budget assumes no increase in 2010 or 2011, then a 1.4 percent COLA in 2012.
If you are going to post something, please know and understand what you are trying to write about.
If you can find ANYTHING I have stated in error, by all means PLEASE TELL ME *double chuckle*
This person joined just today, and within 11 minutes after joining, the VERY FIRST THING SHE DID was come directly to my post, and spew her vitriol. *chuckle*
Hiding behind a new "handle," perhaps ???
The link demonstrates quite clearly, EVERYTHING I'VE SAID IS TRUE ! ! ! ! *ROFL*
If Congress hadn't been robbing the Social Security trust fund over these many years, we wouldn't be having this conversation. And, how about an annual COLA to the earnings cap? That'd fund a lot of the current cuts that would otherwise be made. And if we had universal healthcare in this country, our elders and the disabled wouldn't have to worry about rising Medicare premiums -- but that's another discussion.
It still boils down to you stingy conservatives not wanting to pay your fair share.
Of course we would. SS is mostly solvent, it is MEDICARE that is out of control, SS is running out of money, because we are running out of workers.
how about an annual COLA to the earnings cap
That's not a bad idea...
if we had universal healthcare in this country, our elders and the disabled wouldn't have to worry about rising Medicare premiums
Sure, but that's because they'd probably be dead.
What's "fair" ???? Since no one can agree on that, everyone should receive the same thing, NOTHING ! ! ! ! from the government.
This is really scary stuff, and any examination of the data shows it. This is an early sign, but by no means as severe as what's ahead.