Historically, we have been a society that takes care of our senior citizens. We were taught as youngsters to "respect our elders" – a lesson our government leaders reinforced through programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

But recently, that seems to be changing.

It just doesn't seem right that after participating in and sacrificing through the Great Depression, two World Wars and the Korean War - while raising children, grandchildren, and building businesses and communities – that America's Greatest Generation should be shortchanged.

More than 36 million senior citizens, including over two million Texans, receive Social Security – and many depend on it as a primary source of income. But each and every year, as costs skyrocket around us, the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) continues to lose its punch. The COLA, the small annual increase seniors depend upon each year to keep up with inflation, has stunningly averaged less than three percent in recent years.

Consider this – monthly Medicare premiums have almost doubled since the year 2000. Home energy prices are soaring. And gas prices? They're in a league of their own, soaring close to 30 percent in just the past year alone. And yet, the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment remains preposterously low.

That's why we were a natural pairing – a nationally known seniors group with 1.2 million members and a member of Congress who demanded a better way of life for seniors. Earlier this summer, with the support of TREA Senior Citizens League, Congressman Gonzalez took the leadership role when he went to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and introduced a bipartisan resolution called, "Recognizing and Honoring America's Seniors."

The resolution pays homage to our nation's senior citizens, acknowledging the accomplishments, hard work and tireless efforts of senior citizens to keep America free. Equally important, it stresses their right to retire with dignity and access to medical care.

Although the resolution is largely symbolic, it is also quite important. We hope it will spark a renewed commitment on Capitol Hill to the elderly on issues such as the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment. According the members of the TREA Senior Citizen League, more than 1,400 of whom call this congressional district home, no single issue is more critical to their quality of life.

What Can Be Done

How the Social Security COLA amount is calculated is interesting. You might guess that a 25-year-old working mother of two has dramatically different spending habits than a retired senior citizen. But that mother of two? It's her spending patterns the government uses to compute the COLA amount that senior citizens receive in their Social Security checks.

That's because the government uses the spending profile of young, urban workers to calculate the COLA. Of course, the vast majority of workers have not reached the age where they must spend most of their money on items like prescription drugs and doctor bills, as do many seniors. On paper, using this method may be an effective cost-cutting measure for Uncle Sam, but in reality, it's a decision that is severely shortchanging our senior citizens and forcing them to make tough choices that affect their day-to-day survival.

There is a better option. The government produces data that tracks elderly spending patterns – the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) – and it should be used to develop Social Security COLAs, because it more accurately reflects their spending patterns. As compared to the current formula for calculating COLAs, using the CPI-E each year will boost Social Security COLAs slightly higher, and when applied consistently, over time, it can bring some financial relief as senior citizens struggle to keep pace with inflation.

Dignity During Retirement Years

What a sad commentary on our society if the greatest undertaking of the Greatest Generation is basic survival in their twilight years. Whether we know someone who is a senior citizen – or if only because we know we'll someday become senior citizens ourselves – today everyone has a vested interest in how we care for the elderly.

We have high expectations this resolution will pass. Let's show our gratitude to America's senior citizens – our parents, grandparents, elderly friends and members of our family and communities – who, after their long journey, deserve to retire with dignity.

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With 1.2 million members, TREA Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups.

September 2006