THE ELDERLY LOSES OUT ON SOCIAL SECURITY COST-OF-LIVING (COLA) AGAIN. 

THE KUHNS REPORT

LAS VEGAS

Hello America, and how is the world treating you?

Preliminary  figures suggest that the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA will e less than  two (2%) percent com e January 2015. The government says gasoline prices are down from a year ago and so is the cost of clothing. Prices of meat, fish and eggs are up nearly nine(9%) percent.

Folks, those of us who depend on social security are feeling the squeeze and the idiotic small, tiny increase year after year. We people on social security continually lose that increase not only in the short-term, but we lose the compounding over time.

For the middle-class, for people who DO NOT qualify for low-income programs, they have to dip into their savings (if they have any) or they are borrowing against their homes  to get by.

Congress enacted automatic increases for Social Security beneficiaries back in 1975, when inflation was high and there was a lot of pressure to raise benefits. For the first 35 years, the COLA was less than two(2%) percent ONLY three times. In fact, if the COLA is less than two(2%) percent next year, (2015), it would be the FIFTH time in six years,

Folks, the elderly seniors are being dinged over and over again. They may get a small, pittance of and increase but generally the cost of their Medicare  share  goes up and in most cases the  person doesn't see any increase to spend. It is eaten up in the government's automatic raise for health care. So the small, tiny increase which will probably be (1.7%) is "zeroed" out, leaving the person with no increase at all.

I want to remind all you elderly people out there on social security that Congress, Federal employees, and public sector workers have seen  annual cost-of-living increases each year ranging from THREE (3%) percent, FOUR, FIVE and SIX percent. Some have even received up to a TEN (10%)   percent cost-of-living increase. So, tell me that's fair? It isn't.  The (lawmakers, federal employees, and public employees) have clearly look out for their own well- being and retirement but in essence tell the elderly senior citizen ( let them eat cake) while they gorge at the government pigs trough.

I would suggest the elderly people and all of those  dependent on social security benefits take to the streets demanding at least a THREE (3%) percent guarantee  annual cost-of-living increase. It can be done by Congress if they want to do . They just have to rewrite parts of a law. If it's good enough for the Congress, federal employees and public employees to receive 3,4,5,6 and even ten percent cost-of living increases each year, it should be good enough for the elderly seniors depending on the benefit.

Finally, I would submit that EVERY person in America, including (Congress people, federal employees, public sector employees) have to be enrolled in the social security program. Their employers and themselves should have pay into the social security system just like all of us PRIVATE sector people holding down jobs. Their retirement expectations  should be no different than what we in the private sector expect to receive when we retire.

As it stands now the social security COLA's are chained into the Consumer Price Index (CPI) . Many Democrats and advocates of older Americans have put a thumbs down on the  CPI indexing for a Social Security COLA.  They want a more generous COLA, that they say would reflect price increases faced by older American who clearly spend more of their income on health care. I totally agree with those Democrats and advocates of the elderly who want to see the social security COLA increased. That said, Congress should get of it's duff and find a way to calculate the COLA for social security increases that deal with reality. We need Congress men and women to stop looking out for themselves and think about the older Americans in this country and do what is right-- increase the annual COLA's other than depending on the CPI calculation. I would suggest that congress make sure older Americans receiving social security benefit COLA's see at least a THREE (3%)  increase each and every year, at a minimum. That is fair.

You can bet that if all of the Congress people, federal employees and public employees were paying into the social security system like the rest of us common folk the fund would be more than stable and secure.  Further, you can bet that if those lawmakers, federal employees and public employees had to depend on the social security benefits on retirement, (like the rest of us),  not on the public dole, the social security fund would never be in trouble because those government people would have some skin in the game  and wouldn't let it go for broke - -no matter what. - And, that's my opinion. Make your own decisions. You decide.

Bradley W. Kuhns, Ph.D., O.M.D.
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Dr. Kuhns can be reached by email at:
bradleykuhns@gmail.com