Work Until You Die

That seems to be the answer dollar crisis that the GOP has for the crumbling retirement infrastructure….every time they control something in DC their first reaction is that workers need to retire later than last fiddled with…..

And it is that time again…..GOP is trying to push through another extension on your working ages…..

But is that truly the answer to the looming crisis?

Right-wing lawmakers’ preferred method for dealing with the United States’ looming retirement crisis—telling older workers to keep toiling until they’ve saved enough to stop—is “not a viable solution,” says a report published Wednesday.

“Millions of people are entering their retirement years with insufficient savings to cover basic expenses and medical bills,” the new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) notes. “In response, some policymakers have proposed that older Americans could delay retirement to increase their savings.”

But this ostensible fix “overlooks the large group of older Americans who work in difficult conditions—ranging from the physically demanding to the outright dangerous,” EPI points out. “If older Americans endure difficult conditions that often force earlier exits from the workplace, proposals to delay retirement make little sense.”

Rather than forcing aging employees to postpone retirement, lawmakers should implement full-employment macroeconomic policies to ensure that workers have “access to jobs that pay fair wages and provide solid benefits during their prime working years,” says the report, calling the latter approach “a more effective way to close the retirement savings gap.”

To make sure “older workers can afford to retire when they need to,” EPI also urges policymakers to bolster “support for workers with caregiving responsibilities, expand Social Security coverage and benefits,” and improve “conditions for all workers through collective bargaining, stronger labor standards, and more effective health and safety protections.”

Those who portray working longer as a legitimate solution for people who cannot afford to retire assume that “as workers age and gain more work experience, they are able to transition into jobs that are less physically demanding, less onerous, and less hazardous—making it possible to extend their working lives,” the report notes. But as it goes on to show, “many workers in fact see little or no improvement in working conditions as they age.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/working-longer-no-solution-to-us-retirement-crisis

Wait an see just what silliness the GOP has to offer to solve this problem….and believe me it will be silly.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

To Retire Or Not

As a retired worker I was worried about if I would have enough to live comfortably…..my fears were made moot when I was hurt after Katrina and had to retire because I could no longer do my job.

Today many workers are worried that their retirement plan may not provide a situation that they are comfortable with as far as their lives go, that is…..

Inflation and falling stock prices have contributed to fewer retirees and workers than a year ago feeling good about having enough money for a comfortable retirement. The share of workers confident about their retirement finances fell from 73% to 64% in that time, the poll by the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute showed. The economy’s performance, including slipping returns on savings, have “people significantly more hesitant about the future than they were,” said Craig Copeland of the institute, the Wall Street Journalreports. Among retirees, the drop was 77% to 73%. The findings are nowhere near the most worrisome found by the institute, which has conducted the survey for 33 years. The low point in confidence came in 2011: 49% for workers and 60% for retirees.

Inflation was cited most often as the problem facing retirees; 42% cited it as their top concern. About 60% of them reported the balances in their retirement accounts went the wrong direction in the past year. The S&P 500 index fell 2.95% in that period, according to Dow Jones Market Data. People still working named debt as the big problem 62% of the time, up from 56%. Almost half of them said debt is hurting their ability to save for retirement. “As we’ve come out of the pandemic, with heightened inflation and interest rates, we’re starting to see financial stress start to increase again in employees,” said Lynda Abend, head of strategy for John Hancock Retirement, per MarketWatch.

We will be working longer to enjoy our declining years less.

All this bad news could be avoided if only the people we elect spent my time worrying about the people than their moronic image.

If you are having these worries then I am truly sorry….but all these problems could have been avoided by the election of people that literally had your back.

But you prefer the hate and vitriol of social media….basically you are screwing yourself.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden And Changes To Social Security

The day after and I will attempt to recover from all the festivities and this damn head cold…..

I agree that Social Security needs updating….and yes it may soon go broke but not the fault of the program more so because of the idiots that have been working to kill this social program from it’s inception.

Pres. Biden is offering up a few changes that he says will go a long way to stabilizing the program.

A list of the changes Biden foresees…..

1. Lift payroll taxation on high earners

The most notable change proposed by Biden involves collecting more payroll tax revenue from high-earning workers. In 2023, all earned income between $0.01 and $160,200 is subject to the 12.4% payroll tax.  However, wages and salary above $160,200 aren’t subjected to this tax. Well over $1 trillion in earned income “escapes” the payroll tax this way every year.

Biden’s plan would reinstate the payroll tax on earned income above $400,000, while creating a doughnut hole between the maximum taxable earnings cap (the $160,200 figure in 2023) and $400,000 where earned income would remain exempt. Since the maximum taxable earnings cap increases over time, this doughnut hole would eventually close and subject all earned income to the payroll tax.

2. Change Social Security’s measure of inflation from the CPI-W to the CPI-E

The other sweeping change Biden is offering is to shift the program’s inflationary tether from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).

The issue with the CPI-W is that it tracks the spending habits of “urban wage earners and clerical workers,” which doesn’t make much sense when senior citizens make up the bulk of Social Security beneficiaries. Since the CPI-E specifically tracks the expenditures of seniors, it should result in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments being passed along to beneficiaries.

3. Increase the special minimum benefit

A third Social Security reform proposed by Biden involves increasing the special minimum benefit paid to lifetime low-earning workers.

This year, the maximum payout for a lifetime low-earner with 30 years of coverage is just $951 per month. That’s more than $180/month below the federal poverty level for a single filer. Under Biden’s plan, the special minimum benefit would rise to 125% of the federal poverty level. For a lifetime low-earner, it would mean a monthly payout boost of nearly $500.

4. Boost the primary insurance amount for aged beneficiaries

The fourth and final change would see the primary insurance amount (PIA) steadily increased over time for older beneficiaries. Specifically, the PIA would grow by 1% annually from ages 78 through 82 until a 5% cumulative increase was realized.

The purpose of boosting the PIA is to account for higher late-in-life expenditures. As we age, things like medical transportation costs and prescription drugs can become costlier. This would help offset some of those expenses.

The bigger problem for Joe Biden, and pretty much every president for the past four decades, is that getting the needed votes in the U.S. Senate to amend Social Security has been impossible. Whereas a simple majority of the vote suffices in the House, 60 votes are needed in the Senate to make changes to the Social Security program. Neither party has held 60 seats in the Senate since the late 1970s. This means any major overhaul to Social Security will require bipartisan support.

Basically a good idea but as usual will go nowhere at all.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Defraud Seniors

This is post is for all those Americans that have had their 50th birthday surely they have received their official letter inviting them to join AARP (where did they get your birthday info)……

The big deal these days is that Medicare Advantage plans for us pre-dementia seniors….to me they seem like a scam and not worth the cash they cost….seems I am not the only one with such thoughts….

I recently wrote about the deceptions that insurance companies are pulling on seniors…

Those MediCare Advantage Plans

Now further info has been given to help seniors know what is being done to rip them off…..

Insurance giants are exploiting Medicare Advantage—a corporate-managed program that threatens to result in the complete privatization of traditional Medicare—to capture billions of dollars in extra profits, Saturday reporting by The New York Times confirmed.

The newspaper’s analysis of dozens of lawsuits, inspector general reports, and watchdog investigations found that overbilling by Medicare Advantage (MA) providers is so pervasive it exceeds the budgets of entire federal agencies, prompting journalist Ryan Cooper to call the program “a straight up fraud scheme.”

Nearly half of Medicare’s 60 million beneficiaries are now enrolled in MA plans managed by for-profit insurance companies, and it is expected that most of the nation’s seniors will be ensnared in the private-sector alternative to traditional Medicare by next year. Six weeks ago, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) launched an inquiry into “potentially deceptive” marketing tactics used by MA providers to “take advantage” of vulnerable individuals.

As the table below shows, almost every major player in the industry has been accused of fraud by a whistleblower or the U.S. government. In addition, the vast majority are engaged in rampant upcoding, or exaggerating patients’ illnesses in order to reap more money from taxpayers—something they do while refusing to provide necessary care for tens of thousands each year.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/09/straight-fraud-data-confirms-private-insurers-use-medicare-advantage-steal-billions

Seniors should research this before they commit to a monthly deduction to their Social Security benefits.

Remember if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is just that….too good to be true.

Please do not fall for the glowing promos….you need to be more vigilant for these parasites will suck you monetarily dry.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–20Sep22

This an FYI for all my retired seniors that get a Social Security payment monthly….a must read to understand the news of the largest COLA in decades.

Our seniors got some good news recently…..it appears as if there will be a good substantial COLA for next year.

When we last read the tea leaves in May, it was looking like seniors could be looking at an 8.6% adjustment to their monthly Social Security checks in 2023. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) happens in October, and with just one month to go, the predicted increase has ticked up. The New York Times reports the Senior Citizens League is now projecting an 8.7% increase for next year. The Social Security Administration will make its announcement on Oct. 13. Our story from May 2022 follows:

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) doesn’t happen until October, and it’ll be based on the previous three months of inflation numbers. But a forecast from the Senior Citizens League indicates those Social Security checks could see a big hike. CBS News reports the advocacy group for older Americans projected an 8.6% increase for 2023 based on the Consumer Price Index data for April that was released Wednesday. Consumer prices were up 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, a slight decrease from March’s 8.5% annual increase. The COLA is calculated using a slight variation of that Consumer Price Index (CPI) called the CPI-W. The CPI-W was 8.9% in April.

Some 69 million Americans collect Social Security, and their average check is about $1,658 per month. Should that 8.6% hike come to pass, that would bring it to about $1,800 in 2023. As for the Senior Citizens League’s track record, it ultimately forecast a 6.1% COLA increase for 2022, versus an actual boost of 5.9%—an amount that isn’t keeping up with this year’s rate of inflation. The top three COLA increases since 1975 were 14.3% (1980), 11.2% (1981), and 9.9% (1979). An 8.6% increase would enter the list at No. 4. But it’s possible inflation will ease over the next five months. “I think the action at the Fed is going to slow things down,” Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League, tells CNBC.

Not to worry the insurance companies and your c-pays will go up…..meaning that seniors will probably see a lot less of the raise than anticipated.

2023 will bring some major changes to the program…..

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/09/18/3-changes-to-social-security-retirees-must-know/

Happens every time we get a good COLA….we lose most of it to the health industry….

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/09/19/kiss-your-101-social-security-raise-goodbye-2023/

One of the worse scams in history….the American healthcare system.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“You Can Live On Less Money”

This is about Social Security….I watch these things because I live on SS and I am always interested on the antics by the Congress, especially the GOPers, that try every year to screw the majority of our retired people.

Sen. Graham of South Carolina has uttered another stupidity when talking about the solvency of the Social Security system…..

In a June 13 Fox Nation debate, Sen. Lindsey Graham said seniors may have to “take a little less” and “pay a little more in” when debating Social Security solvency, reports Knewz via MSN. Graham made the comments while debating Sen. Bernie Sanders during a “Senate Project” debate.

“Let’s do something like Ted Kennedy would do: get Republicans and Democrats to find a way — like the Gang of Six, the Simpson-Bowles plan. Senator Sanders: bring your Social Security plan to the floor. All it does is raise taxes. To get out of this mess, people like me are going to have to take a little less and pay a little more in. We’re going to have to adjust the age one more time like Ronald Reagan and Tip — Tip O’Neil did. There is a bipartisan way forward. You describe problems, but your answer is always the government — it’s always socialism,” Graham said.

Let me help Graham out here…..SS is a governmental program so yes the answer is the government….it’s not rocket science Lindsey(or maybe it is for him).

Let me see if I have this right…..the US dumps billions upon billions of taxpayer money into Ukraine….and billions into Taiwan…..and he wants the retired Americans to take less money…..maybe a better idea is since the Congress is impotent in working for the nation maybe he and his colleagues should take a pay cut….after all their pay day is a mere penitence of the cash they get from bribes from lobbyists.

Graham asks us to learn to live on less money and he lives high on the horse.

To Graham all I have to say is “BITE ME”!

Time for the American people to wake the Hell up!

Your taxes are being wasted on stupidity like war….while your reality is a struggle….is that what you signed up to do?

Congress and the White House are not your friends….time for something to be done to take the country back from the oligarchs that own the Congress and the White House.

Learn the issues and do the right thing for yourself and the country….vote them out and start over from scratch.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Good News For Social Security

AS the weekend begins I would like to post on some possible good news for us retired folk……

Many Americans depend on social security for their retirement….and usually the news about the system is seldom good news…..but finally some news that should make some smile a bit….at least for now……

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) doesn’t happen until October, and it’ll be based on the previous three months of inflation numbers. But a forecast from the Senior Citizens League indicates those Social Security checks could see a big hike. CBS News reports the advocacy group for older Americans projected an 8.6% increase for 2023 based on the Consumer Price Index data for April that was released Wednesday. Consumer prices were up 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, a slightly decrease from March’s 8.5% annual increase. The COLA is calculated using a slight variation of that Consumer Price Index (CPI) called the CPI-W. The CPI-W was 8.9% in April.

Some 69 million Americans collect Social Security, and their average check is about $1,658 per month. Should that 8.6% hike come to pass, that would bring it to about $1,800 in 2023. As for the Senior Citizens League’s track record, it ultimately forecast a 6.1% COLA increase for 2022, versus an actual boost of 5.9%—an amount that isn’t keeping up with this year’s rate of inflation. The top three COLA increases since 1975 were 14.3% (1980), 11.2% (1981), and 9.9% (1979). An 8.6% increase would enter the list at No. 4. But it’s possible inflation will ease over the next five months. “I think the action at the Fed is going to slow things down,” Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League, tells CNBC.

Good news indeed but sadly inflation may eat up and increase…..news can be good….but the economy may pee all over that increase.

Sorry to be a downer…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Senators Come And Senators Go

Closing Thought–09Mar21

And speaking of going……

It seems that the more conservative of the GOP are turning tail and running for the hills to hide from a revenging Trump.

Roy Blount of Missouri is the latest Repub to throw in the towel…..

Roy Blunt on Monday became the fifth Republican senator to announce that he’s calling it quits. The 71-year-old Missouri lawmaker said in a tweeted video that he will not seek reelection in 2022. Axios notes that Blunt is the fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate, and it ticks off the previous four GOP senators to announce their pending retirement: Richard Shelby of Alabama, Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Blunt was elected to the Senate in 2010, and prior to that he served as House GOP whip, notes Politico.

“After 14 general election victories—three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives, and four statewide elections—I won’t be a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate next year,” Blunt said in his statement, per the Washington Post. He vowed to his constituents that he would “finish strong.” The Post notes that Blunt didn’t explicitly state his reason for stepping down.

I am sure he is leaving to “spend more time with my family”…..that one is as tired as our foreign policy.

Not to fret he will be part of the revolving door….from Congress to lobbyist.

Are these slugs leaving because they do not want to defend their undying support for Trump….or maybe it is their actions in Congress that fly in the face of the needs of the people in their state…..

My advice is that in 2022 the DNC needs to funnel cash into those states and try to win at least 3 of the 5 open seats in the US Senate….

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden And Social Security

I realize the Biden has just now started his tenure as president….but that does not mean that I will give him a free ride….there are things that we all need to know about this person and his admin.

Many elderly Americans depend on Social Security for their retirement……and without it about 38% of seniors would fall into poverty.

Will Biden make our Seniors proud in the coming years?

Along with a crippling pandemic and a struggling economy, President Biden inherited another significant challenge:  a Social Security program that needs enhancements to survive and thrive.   Former President Trump promised to “protect” Social Security, but spent four years trying to undermine and cut SSDI – the part of the program that covers workers with disabilities.   Congressional Democrats introduced legislation to strengthen and expand Social Security, but Trump officials and GOP allies on the Hill called for “entitlement reform” immediately after giving the wealthy and big corporations a $2 trillion tax cut.

Contrary to conservative propaganda, Social Security is not “going bankrupt.” But if Congress takes no action, the Social Security trust fund reserves are projected to run dry in 2035, at which time the program still will be able to pay about 80% of promised benefits (an outcome nobody wants). Economic fallout from the COVID pandemic may well drain the trust funds sooner. Fortunately, President Biden has a plan to fortify Social Security for the future while also boosting benefits. It is a commonsense plan that overlaps in important ways with legislation introduced in the last Congress by Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.).

President Biden wants to improve the formula for calculating the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This year’s COLA was a paltry 1.3%, or about $20 a month for the average beneficiary. Rising prescription drug prices and an increase in the Medicare Part B premium will eat away at that meager amount.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/02/04/biden-presidency-opens-window-expand-strengthen-social-security

This is a policy that I will support if Biden will sure up the Social Security system….

But will the Congress stand in his way?

My guess is there will be massive GOP push back.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–20Oct20

Do you collect Social Security?

If so then you will be getting a rip-roaring 1.3% COLA for year 2021…..but not to worry your insurance will eat up most of that raise…..

The Democrats in the Congress have called the COLA “absolutely anemic”……and will try to do something about the small COLA…..

In the wake of the federal government’s announcement this week of a paltry 1.3% cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients in 2021, a pair of House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would more than double the benefit increase next year as an emergency measure to help seniors cope with the devastating economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis.

“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, seniors are facing additional financial burdens in order to stay safe,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who unveiled the bill alongside Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). “This absolutely anemic COLA won’t even come close to helping them afford even their everyday expenses, let alone those exacerbated by Covid-19.”

Endorsed by advocacy groups representing millions of seniors and retirees across the U.S., DeFazio and Larson’s legislation would boost Social Security’s COLA to 3% in 2021 because, as the Connecticut Democrat put it, “a 1.3% cost-of-living adjustment is just not enough during these difficult times.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/15/remedy-absolutely-anemic-social-security-increase-amid-pandemic-democrats-bill-would

Sorry to be a Gloomy Gus but I will believe it when I see it…..we Seniors have been promised so much and given so little that I doubt any party’s claims of support.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”