Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Washington Dems Committing Political Suicide

One of the most fundamental axioms in politics is that the one group that will always go to the polls to vote is senior citizens. Even if no one else shows up, seniors will. No smart politician ticks them off.

First the Dems propose to pay for Obamacare by raiding Medicare funds to cover the costs. Now they want no COLA increase for Social Security in 2010 and probably 2011.

Mrs. Pelosi, I hope you don't have more than 15 months worth of stationary in stock....

1 comment:

William Bailey said...

Henry: Aren’t we getting a little dramatic?

From the newspaper: "By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.

Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels.

About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.

More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security Administration.
Millions of people with Medicare Part B coverage for doctors' visits also have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments. Part B premiums are expected to rise as well. But under the law, the increase cannot be larger than the increase in Social Security benefits for most recipients.

Critics argue that Social Security recipients shouldn't get an increase when inflation is negative. They note that recipients got a big increase in January — after energy prices had started to fall. They also note that Social Security recipients received one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the government's economic stimulus package.”

So you now support raising taxes as a plan to make seniors happy at the polls? Aren’t you making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Frankly it leaves both political parties hanging in the breeze as to raise taxes or not increase benefits. How Nancy gets the blame is beyond me...