Pasadena Weekly: “Urge lawmakers to support the Social Security Expansion Act”

“Those who falsely mislead people into thinking that a balanced budget can be achieved on the backs of America’s seniors, families and disabled don’t mention the millions of dollars we spend every week… Social Security is not an entitlement, but a right, one paid in full with a lifetime of contributions.”

Alicia Dhanifu’s piece last week over at Pasadena Weekly renews the call for Congress and their constituents to show resounding support for the Social Security Expansion Act.

Today, the House voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Resolution, a budget accused by some of being a “Robin Hood-in-reverse” deal cutting nearly $500 billion from Medicare, $1 trillion from Medicaid, and raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67.

The FY 2018 budget has been condemned by many seniors’ advocacy groups as unfairly adding weight to the financial burden already carried by seniors.

Millions of American seniors rely on these programs to make ends meet–and with 61% of seniors relying on Social Security benefits for half or more of their total income each year (on average, this benefit is $1,342 per month), aggressive cuts to these programs will prove financially catastrophic to those already struggling to live on such a small monthly stipend.

To make matters worse, in just two weeks the Social Security Board of Trustees will announce the final estimate for 2018’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment, a number expected to remain small due to slowly falling overall inflation.  Due to the steadily climbing cost of Medicare premiums and prescription drugs, even with a small COLA increase, seniors could yet again lose purchasing power in general.

These realities bring the dire importance of strengthening and expanding Social Security benefits into sharp focus.

Dhanifu calls the Social Security Expansion Act “a major opportunity to halt current cuts.”  It increases benefits, particularly for low-earning workers, and enacts a revised COLA computation formula that helps to innoculate seniors against poor COLAs resulting from general inflation decreasing–especially when medical costs are high.

“Some like to brag about America’s high standard of living. We love it, but it should not end just because seniors are living longer.  Housing, food, utilities and medical care cost more than ever before. Every citizen who has paid into Social Security should have priority when it comes to having these basic things to live.”

With cuts to critical social programs benefitting seniors and retirees on the horizon, and paltry benefit increases anticipated–despite the climbing costs of medical care, passing the Social Security Expansion Act is more critical than ever before.