Social Security Checks Rising 2.3 Percent

[FreeStateDemocrat]

Source: AOL money and finance

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER,AP
Posted: 2007-10-17 16:37:41
WASHINGTON (Oct. 17) - Come January, the nation's nearly 50 million Social Security recipients will see the smallest cost-of-living increases in their monthly checks in four years, even though they are paying significantly more for such items as food, energy and medical care.

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With oil prices surging this week to highs above $88 per barrel, analysts believe consumers will get socked with higher gasoline prices in the months ahead, but those gains will come too late to influence the new cost-of-living adjustment. The Energy Department already is predicting that most Americans will pay a lot more to heat their homes this winter.

Also, the cost of food products has been rising much more sharply this year than last, reflecting increased use of corn in ethanol fuel; and as usual, medical costs, which fall heavily on the elderly, have been outpacing gains in other CPI categories.

But energy, food and medical prices have been offset by a moderation in prices in categories that the elderly buy less of such as computers, consumer electronics and clothing.

"Social Security recipients are going to feel like they are getting squeezed," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "For most households out buying gasoline and a loaf of bread, it feels like inflation is high."







Read more: http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/social-security-checks-rising-23-percent/20071017161409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

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Any response from the Democratic Party, Inc.'s leadership or candidates on how they intent to rectify this flagrant inequity?

[mainegreen]

1. So that's about, what, 1/8th of the real inflation rate?

Oooooh, don't hurt yourself guys.

[Highway61]

2. whoopty f *cking ding! n/t

[Lugnut]

3. It's obscene.

I will receive a whopping $20.00 extra in my monthly SSDI benefit check.

[Rainbowreflect]

5. The increase on my husband's disability won't even fill the gas tank.

Good thing I can work two jobs.

[Lugnut]

16. I'm fortunate.

I have a husband who is working. My heart aches for those who aren't so fortunate.

I put less than a tankful of gas in my car on my way home from rehab today. 7.3 gals of gas cost me a few cents short of $21.00.

[Rainbowreflect]

17. We are lucky too.

I was able to finish my education and get a pretty good job before my husband had to stop working. We do okay, but it keeps getting tighter and tighter.

[whistle]

4. That is less than half of the official inflation rate and for most SS recipients

...the real inflation level is in the double digits, basic food stuff, milk, eggs, utility rates, fuel, insurance rates, medical, transportation and so forth, all rising faster than the market basket price index.

[Sukie1941]

6. Also deduct for next year's Medicare premium increase

And my supplemental insurance premium over the past 24 months has increased $50 a month.

I live on Soc Sec and a very tiny pension (after working since age 14, often two or three jobs at a time), and I am slowly sinking into debt I will never recover from. Many of us on Soc Sec also live on our credit cards.

[whistle]

8. That increase alone would wipe out the increase in monthly SS for most people

...BushCo has turned the clock back 40 years

[Samantha]

10. And that, I believe, is the goal line

These legislators are surreptitious in their efforts to eliminate "entitlement" programs; one way to do so over the long-haul is to have recipients pay for their Medicare through their Social Security checks, and bolster the Medicare system through the supplemental policies participating providers are insisting they have. It's a win-win for everyone -- those who seek to eliminate the entitlement programs (pay for it yourself); the participating providers who want more money for services; and the HMO/PPO insurance companies who will solve a lot of problems by resolving them without actually losing any profits.

Yes, everyone wins except for the senior citizens who will see the programs FDR and the Democratic party put in place to eliminate "America's shame" -- the aged population of this Country living in absolute poverty, sometimes even starving to death -- BUT WHO COUNTS THOSE PEOPLE, RIGHT?

Postscript: When I heard on the news this morning the average Social Security recipient would receive $24 in a cost-of-living raise, I was aghast. THAT IS BEYOND SHAMEFUL. That's the exactly the type of cost-of-living raise the legislators themselves should receive -- $24.00. With the ever-tanking value of the dollar, that is a less-than-nothing token bone. I cannot say it often enough -- it's beyond shameful.

[kineneb]

14. they seem to have forgotten one thing in their plan

Senior citizens vote in greater quantity than any other age group.

But I suppose that won't matter too much, since votes don't seem to count anymore... unless you are a large corporation.

is it fascism yet? (gov.+corps)

I guess Hubby will get the little "adjustment" to his SSDI. Whoopie... it won't even buy us full tank of gas.

[TexasLawyer]

7. Inflation measurement fakery

We all know prices have been rising out there. How do the official statistics come in so low? Lots of different tricks, including substitution, imputed rental income and "hedonic" pricing adjustments.

http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/article/id=343

"GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTS: THINGS YOU'VE SUSPECTED BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!"

A Series Authored by Walter J. "John" Williams

"The Consumer Price Index" (Part Four in a Series of Five)

October 1, 2006 Update

<snip>

Hedonics adjusts the prices of goods for the increased pleasure the consumer derives from them. That new washing machine you bought did not cost you 20% more than it would have cost you last year, because you got an offsetting 20% increase in the pleasure you derive from pushing its new electronic control buttons instead of turning that old noisy dial, according to the BLS.

When gasoline rises 10 cents per gallon because of a federally mandated gasoline additive, the increased gasoline cost does not contribute to inflation. Instead, the 10 cents is eliminated from the CPI because of the offsetting hedonic thrills the consumer gets from breathing cleaner air. The same principle applies to federally mandated safety features in automobiles. I have not attempted to quantify the effects of questionable quality adjustments to the CPI, but they are substantial.

[whistle]

9. Is it called hedonics because it allows more time for the pursuit of

...of pleasure such as fornication?

[ryanmuegge]

11. Gotta love that Clintonese measure of inflation.

Of course there's no response from the Democrats. Come on.

[saigon68]

12. Yes , I doubt Mrs Clinton will say anything about this.

Or DO ANYTHING about this

[area51]

13. I'm sure you're right. (n/t)

[RushIsRot]

15. That's OK, Congress will vote themselves a whopping pay raise

so they don't have to feel our pain.

[Massachusetts]

18. And We the People continue to BEND OVER!

QUIS COSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODIES?