How To Claim Your $250 Stimulus Check… Not!
Will Obama make us jump through the hoops to get our $250 stimulus checks in 2010? Watch the clip below for the Late Show’s take on the issue. (Sadly, some people haven’t even received their 2009 stimulus checks yet.)
Bret Baier: We told you last week that there will be no cost of living increase next year for more than 50 million Social Security recipients because of an absence of inflation, but the Obama administration wants to send seniors a check for $250 anyway. Well, apparently, the rules of how to actually get that check have just come out.
Voice: In these tough times, President Obama is pleased to offer America’s seniors $250 bonus. To receive your money, simply go to 250bonus.gov and print out the six-page form. Upon completion of the form, hand-deliver it to Social Security headquarters in Washington, Room 740 7th Floor. Sorry, no elevator access. You’ll be given a unique 17-digit code, which you enter at the US Treasury’s toll-free number when you hear the prompt. Please listen carefully as the 24 menu options have recently changed. You’ll receive Form SP-250 within 6 to 8 weeks. Complete the form, have it countersigned by your local postmaster, then just scan it, convert it to a PDF file and send it as an email attachment to your nearest Federal Reserve Bank. That’s all there is to it.
Bret Baier: Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That’s it for Special Report; fair, balanced and unafraid.
No Social Security Benefit Increase In 2010
For the first time in 30 years, Social Security recipients in the United States will not receive an annual adjustment in benefits. More than 52 million older Americans depend on Social Security for all or part of their retirement income. As pension funds and the stock market have declined in the last decade, Social Security has become the primary – rather than supplemental – income for many retirees. VOA’s Jeff Swicord introduces us to one Social Security recipient who is trying to stay afloat.
2010 Social Security COLA Poll
It’s official: There will be no COLA in 2010, even though costs of living have been going up for most seniors. Should the government pay Social Security recipients a $250 COLA replacement, and if so, how should they pay for it?
Loading ...Is the 2010 COLA just a government bribe for seniors on Social Security?
Next year, for the first time ever, social security recipients will not receive a cost of living adjustment in their payments. Instead, Barack Obama is proposing a one-time $250 payment right before next fall’s midterm elections. Gerald Celente says that the cost of living really hasn’t decreased, the government is basing their measurements on a decreasing standard of living and the payout is just to keep people quiet.
Bill: Joining us for more on this is Dina. So does the government have anything left now to sweeten the pill for those on Social Security?
Dina Gusovsky: Indeed they do. Now millions of Social Security recipients, as you said, will not see an increase in their monthly payments next year, because the cost of living has decreased. But, the federal government says it’s going to give them a onetime payment of $250, which of course will cost the government billions of dollars, considering how many seniors there are. So, is this really warranted, and how much is it going to contribute to the national debt?
Well, joining me is Gerald Celente from the Trends Research Institute. Mr. Celente, thank you so much for speaking to me. So, help me understand this – if the cost of living is decreasing, then why are seniors getting anything at all?
Gerald Celente: Well, first of all, the cost of living isn’t decreasing. What they are doing in Washington is the same thing they do on Wall Street. They cook the book. What they’ve done is they’ve cooked the cost of living. For example, one time it used to be a fixed basket of goods. Now it’s a variable basket of goods. So let’s say that the price of gasoline goes up, they say, “Oh, no no. It really didn’t go up. The quality of air went up, so therefore, the cost of gasoline went down.” They’re doing everything they can to shortchange the people. So it’s going to cost the government 13 billion dollars to give the people a couple of bucks that they will hardly feel at all.
Dina Gusvsky: Well, that’s another thing I wanted to ask you. Where did they come off with this figure? What’s $250 going to do?
Geralnd Celente: Well, they’re just making something up, just like they make up the numbers. These numbers have nothing to do with reality. The reality is that what they’re measuring now is a declining standard of living. So let’s say at one time they measured you going into a retail store and buying some clothes. Now they’re going to measure you going into a discount store, or a dollar store, to buy your goods and services. They didn’t even take into account the rising prices of housing. The way they measure it is, “How much can you rent your house for? Even though, let’s say, you are paying $4,000 a month for that mortgage, you can only rent it for $1,500, so therefore the cost didn’t go up, it went down.” They’re cooking the books just like they do on Wall Street.
Dina Gusvsky: So is this essentially a political move, because these payments are going to be issued just before the mid-term elections. Is this kind of a bribe, would you say, because politicians rely on seniors to vote?
Gerald Celente: Of course it is. The people are seething from the tens of billions of dollars that executives are getting in pay, and the Wall Street bonuses that were given to them, via the people, through the bailout programs. So they’re throwing the people a couple of crumbs to keep them quiet and to say, “Hey, we’re in your corner and we’re doing the best we can to help you”. It’s political jive talk.
Dina Gusvsky: Is this a second stimulus then? Because the government has been very careful about how it words this. What do you think?
Gerald Celente: Well, it’s not a stimulus. But what it is doing is that the effect is the same. Follow the dollar and follow gold prices. Gold prices are hitting historic highs. The dollar is now worth 16% on year, and what it is doing is it is devaluing the dollar and a continuation of very, very irresponsible Federal Reserve policies. It’s just building up more debt, that’s all it’s doing.
Dina Gusvsky: Well, speaking about that, how does Barack Obama plan to finance this? He hasn’t been clear on that, either.
Gerald Celente: Same way they finance everything, by just selling more debt. They’re monetizing debt, and so that’s all we’re seeing, again. The results can be seen on the markets. Current events form future trends. You know, they’re talking about the DOW hitting 10,000. Well, the DOW first hit 10,000 ten years ago. Since that time, the dollar has lost 36% against the Swiss franc and the euro. Ten years ago an ounce of gold was selling at $280/ounce, not $1,050/ounce as it is today. And ten years ago, a barrel of oil was going for under $17, not nearly $77 a barrel. So you can see what they’re doing; devaluing the dollar. The cost of living index is really just chasing America’s lowering standards of living.
Dina Gusvsky: That’s a very interesting point, Mr. Celente. I want to thank you for your analysis, as always. And right now I’m going to throw it back to you in Moscow, Bill. But we will be here in just one hour bringing you another live up-to-date report.
Bill: Thanks very much indeed, Dina. And as Dina says…
Seniors Need a $250 COLA in 2010
The National Committee To Preserve Social Security and Medicare delivered 120,000 petitions to Congress saying “Seniors Need A COLA”.
Senator Bernie Sanders: On October 15th, it is expected that social security administration will announce for the first time in 35 years that seniors will not receive a COLA. Based on the formula, that by law they are obliged to use, they came to the conclusion that there is no inflation this year for seniors, and in fact their understanding is that prices for seniors have declined.
In my view, that is a wrong formulation. And I believe that it simply does not accurately reflect the purchasing habits of seniors. Seniors right now – I know this will come as a great shock – are not rushing out to discount stores to buy laptops, computers or iPods. What seniors now are purchasing, what they need, is health care prescription drugs. And the evidence is overwhelming that seniors spend a disproportionate percentage of their limited incomes on health care and prescription drug needs. And those costs, sadly, are not declining. They are, in fact, going up.
Rep. Peter DeFazio: As Senator Sanders noted earlier, a much more accurate measurement of the poverty level for seniors would show that it’s twice what we measure it at. We don’t have a good measure of what the inflation rate is for seniors. But we do know that pharmaceutical costs continue to escalate, medical care costs continue to escalate. Their rents or mortgages haven’t gone down. Their utilities have likely gone up. You know, nothing else that they have to consume has gone down in price over the last year. So, this modest $250 one-time payment to seniors would be basically equivalent to a 2% cost of living adjustment. It would help them meet some of those bare necessity costs.
Barbara B. Kennelly: And I am here today to deliver a 120,000 petitions saying “Hey, guess what? We need a COLA! Guess what, we’ve got some problems! We are the seniors of the United States. We are the seniors that built this county to be the country it is.” And I’m so delighted that these gentlemen are right behind that.
Let me give you the facts – 43% increase in Part A since 2000, 50% increase in Part B since 2000. Part D – now listen to this – Part D has a 130% increase. Those are prescription drugs.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: In Rhode Island, our seniors have a bigger proportion of their income come from social security than almost any other state. And we have seen, with real impact, what the other speakers have described. Which is – seniors seeing electric utility rates go up, seniors seeing pharmaceutical costs go up, seniors seeing all the real costs of their living go up. And with no real help in sight.
Senator Bob Casey: The least that we should do in the midst of the terrible recession, for older citizens and for families all across the country, is to make sure that we can provide some measure of relief that this legislation provides. That’s why we support it, no matter when it would come up, but especially in the midst of this economic darkness that so many families, so many older citizens have had to endure.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey: A failure to provide a Social Security COLA in 2010 for seniors would be a very critical mistake and have a very negative impact on them. And also, given the economic circumstances our country has faced over the course of this past year – actually, over the course of past two years – this economic downturn has pushed a decline in the standard of living of many seniors. Many have seen their home values drop, their pension funds severely decline, and their savings, in many instances, undermined and disappearing.
Estelle Lenet: My name is Esther Lenette and I am a resident of Montgomery county, Maryland. I’m 91 years old, and blessed to still be living independently. My only source of income is Social Security and I want to say that without Social Security, I don’t know where I’d be today. I really don’t. Getting a COLA next year doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to live extravagantly, but it means that I can keep up with my financial responsibilities and pay for the basics, especially the medical care that helps me stay independent. My thanks to the members of Congress for working to pass a COLA for seniors. Thank you!
Social Security Confirms: No COLA in 2010!
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed
Law Does Not Provide for a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2010
With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010. This will be the first year without an automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) since they went into effect in 1975.
“Social Security is doing its job helping Americans maintain their standard of living,” Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security said. “Last year when consumer prices spiked, largely as a result of higher gas prices, beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent COLA, the largest increase since 1982. This year, in light of the human need, we need to support President Obama’s call for us to make another $250 recovery payment for 57 million Americans.”
The Social Security Act provides that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year if there is an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year to the third quarter of the current year. This year there was no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. In addition, because there was no increase in the CPI-W this year, under the law the starting point for determinations regarding a possible 2011 COLA will remain the third quarter of 2008.
Some other changes that would normally take effect in January 2010 based on the increase in average wages also will not take effect, even though average wages did increase. Since there is no COLA, the statute prohibits an increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amounts. These amounts will remain unchanged in 2010. The attached fact sheet provides more information on 2010 Social Security changes.
Information about Medicare changes for 2010, when available, will be found at www.Medicare.gov. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet announced if there will be any Medicare premium changes for 2010. Should there be an increase in the Medicare Part B premium, the law contains a “hold harmless” provision that protects about 93 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying a higher Part B premium, in order to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Those not protected include higher income beneficiaries subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries newly entitled to Part B in 2010. On September 24th, the House passed legislation by 406-18 that would, on a fully paid-for basis, prevent abnormally large premium increases. The President is calling on the Senate to enact this legislation before it becomes too late for the Social Security Administration to update its computer systems to implement this needed change.
For additional information about the 2010 COLA, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.
Social Security and Medicare as Pyramid Schemes
Dr. Peter Holmes: And good morning and welcome. I’m Dr. Peter Holmes, an orthopedic surgeon and host of your program, Ask the Doctor. My guest this morning is Dr. Byron Limmer. Dr. Limmer is a dermatologist. If you have any question for Byron in the future and my other guest, two ways to reach us, it’s through the foundation and it’s www.kneedfoundation.org or fax, 696-9012.
I’d like to talk about pyramid schemes and your health. Recently, we heard on the news is a gentleman named Madoff who made the news because he bilked some $50 billion off of investors and he did it through what they call a pyramid scheme.
Now, folks, what a pyramid scheme is it’s just that, it’s shaped like a pyramid. You get one person to put money in and he gets notice that his portfolio is worth something and then you get other people to put money in later and you pass some of their money off to the first investor, but for the most part, you spend everybody’s money.
So the person on top is getting a little bit of money, but the key is you have to keep bringing in more and more investors and the pyramid gets wider and wider at the bottom, that’s why it’s called a pyramid.
The money is all gone; it’s just on paper. So the net result is this: you now have this vast fortune of zero. In other words, there’s no money. It’s worth nothing, yet everybody thinks it’s worth something. Any money again going to the top is strictly transferred from new money coming in the bottom.
It sounds pretty ludicrous, doesn’t it? Well, guess what? We have a pyramid scheme in this country and most of you are part of it. It’s called Social Security and Medicare. There is absolutely no difference. You pay your Social Security and Medicare taxes in. That money is being spent in the general budget. It is then put down in the ledger, much like Mr. Madoff, that says “I owe you” (IOU). In other words, the trust fund is owed money by future taxpayers.
So what we have here basically is the money is spent. We have the people retiring now, on Medicare now, and new people coming in the bottom paying to the top. In other words, it is a generation to generation direct transfer of tax revenue. There are zero funds in this trust fund. It’s zero, same as Mr. Madoff’s, nothing.
All we have in the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are IOUs. Now, the problem with this pyramid scheme is that it’s really not a pyramid. What’s happening with the ageing babyboomers as we get older and there are fewer workers below, the pyramid is beginning to look more like a diamond, which is unsupportable in any sort of pyramid scheme.
Your healthcare and your Social Security depends now on a pyramid scheme and they’re both going to collapse. These are my opinions. If you have any comments, two ways to reach me, go to the foundation at www.kneedfoundation.org or fax 696-9012 to Ask the Doctor.
$250 Social Security Stimulus Check Received in 2009?
It’s mid-June 2009 and many of our readers have received their $250 Social Security Stimulus Check.
What about you? Did you receive your stimulus check? Or are you still waiting?
If you did get your Social Security recovery payment, what did you do with it? Paid some bills, went shopping, set it aside for a rainy day?
Loading ...$250 Economic Recovery Payments for Social Security and SSI Recipients
Many of our readers have received their $250 Social Security Stimulus Check / Recovery Payment. Let us know about you: did you receive your check? Or are you still waiting?
Loading ...Social Security $250 Stimulus Check
Participate in our poll and let us know your opinion about the $250 Social Security Stimulus Check.
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