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Ask the Advisor: CPI Corrections Also Hurt the Disabled
I applaud your efforts to get Congress to stop reducing COLAs based on "correcting" the CPI. That notion is so bogus it hurts! If we must give up fruit juice to drink water, has our expense gone down, or our living standard and nutrition? If we eat hot dogs instead of fresh meat, have we saved money or risked our health? If we all stopped living indoors, our costs would go down even further, so why not just put all Social Security recipients on the street, as has already been done with the mentally ill? I write to remind you that it is not only over-65-year-olds for whom any reduction in COLAs is absurd. The under-65 disabled would likewise be seriously hurt, since almost by definition, health care costs are a large part of their budget.-S.S., Washington, DC, where taxation without representation thrives From the editor: In a recent TREA Senior Citizens League survey, TSCL found that more than 50% of all respondents were concerned that the most recent low Social Security COLA would force them to cut back on essential items. Another 20% were concerned they would need to cut back somewhat. Source: "An Economic Speedometer Gets an Overhaul," Jolie Solomon, "The New York Times," December 23, 2001. For an in-depth look at the COLA crisis, click here: http://www.tscl.org/AdvisorOct2002Issue.asp. October 2002 | ||||||||
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