Reply #75: I know it wouldn't be a cola increase.

[sabrina 1]

By 2023 there will be over 4 trillion dollars in the trust fund. There is more than enough money to take care of the baby boomers' retirement.

The reason for not raising benefits was to keep the fund growing. If we had not had this economic collapse, it is very likely that benefits would have been raised. But even in this bad economic times, with high unemployment depleting the amount going into the fund (SS has other sources of income btw) SS was still, and will be, able to meet its obligations until at least 2037 and beyond. In fact the Congressional Budget office puts that time at 2044, without doing a thing. 100% benefits, and if they still did nothing, and this is based on THIS year, a bad economic period which won't be the case foreever, they could still out 75% of their obligations after 2037-44 or whatever.

To raise SS benefits now would help the economy. To legalize undocumented workers would increase SS funds. To end the wars and reduce the Pentagon budget is another way to help the economy.

There are many ways of making it possible to provide for the most vulnerable Americans. But the will to do so is not there. That is the only reason why we cannot do it. Priorities are all wrong, war, bailouts etc. are eating up this country and no one is being held accountable, except the elderly and the poor.