In 2010, for the first time in 35 years, Social Security recipients are not getting a Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) added to their checks. How dare this happen to our seniors? AARP, like liberal organizations and lobbists along with Members of Congress are raising hell and screaming for an investigation into how this COLA is calculated. This politically motivated disturbance is quite creative because it deflects attention and blame away from the actual root cause. After all, the very blatant Obama overspending and liberal government largess has depressed our economic spending in all sectors to cause the CPI to drop.
The COLA is based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is called an inflation indicator. The current economic downturn created this official measure (CPI) to level and even drop by 2.3%, which means that the real purchasing power of the dollar has risen because goods and services are now cheaper. The seniors at present do not have inflation. Therefore, due to a 5.8% COLA increase awarded for 2009, Medicare Part B premiums freezes during any year their is no COLA, when adding all these savings up with the average Social Security check of $1,160/mo. there is a $612 per person benefit or 4.4% increase.
So, the old saying, "Don't shoot the messenger" is so true here. Calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for it.
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