General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: From the White House transcript: Obama DID include Chained CPI in negotiations. [View all]Divernan
(15,480 posts)But Obama's comfortable throwing out exact income amounts when it comes to placating the Republicans. $250,000 to start, and that gets raised to $400,000. So why can't Obama spell it out for seniors?
ANYONE concerned with protecting the most vulnerable would not only stay away from the chained cola, but improve the current formula which does not take into account the different proportions of expenses carried by ALL seniors. We're talking percentage of income spent on fuel, utilities, food, medicine and medical care. Social Security recipients are getting a 1.7% COLA for 2013. However, the formula used to calculate COLAs for Pennsylvania's House & Senate members is more generously calculated:
HARRISBURG, PA- The base salary for state lawmakers will automatically increase 2.2 percent to $83,802 effective Dec. 1, 2012.
Isn't that special? And don't forget, what meager savings we've managed to hang on to earn no effective interest from all those banks Obama bailed out. They were too big to fail; we seniors are too insignificant to survive.
Vulnerable? I'll give you vulnerable - there are precious few Americans who are not one medical catastrophe away from bankruptcy, even with basic health insurance - co-pays/deductibles take a huge bite out of one's budget . The stocks I owned dropped 60% in value and stopped paying dividends in 2008 and have never regained value nor resumed dividends. My $6,000 hearing aids are now 12 years old - should have been replaced/upgraded 8 years ago. My roof is past due for replacement. I buy my reading glasses off a drugstore rack. However since my income is not at poverty level, guess I'm not "vulnerable".