| Submit your comments on this article |
| Economy |
| Social Security beneficiaries, federal retirees won't get cost-of-living increase |
| 2015-10-18 |
| [Wash Times] Social Security beneficiaries and federal retirees won't see any raise in their checks next year after a still-sluggish economy sapped inflation in 2015, the government announced Thursday as it reported the smallest deficit of President Obama's time in office. The government ended up $439 billion in the red for fiscal year 2015, the Treasury Department reported, as it set new records for spending at $3.688 trillion, but saw tax revenues surge even more quickly. Still, even though the red ink is spreading more slowly, it's still accumulating in ever-deeper debt, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Congress in a new letter that the government will run out of borrowing room on Nov. 2, forcing yet another deadline showdown on a Capitol Hill that is already overwhelmed with political fights. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #9 A republican majority wouldn't cut it - as we see many of them, especially in the leadership, are RINOs. We need a supermajority of conservatives. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2015-10-18 19:12 |
| #8 but first we've got to elect a Republican majority in Congress. A majority isn't enough, as we are currently seeing, Matt. It needs to be a veto-proof supermajority in both Houses. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2015-10-18 14:53 |
| #7 But, corrected for inflation, there has never been any justification for cost-of-living increases. :) |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2015-10-18 12:19 |
| #6 Those are all great ideas, but first we've got to elect a Republican majority in Congress. |
| Posted by: Matt 2015-10-18 11:34 |
| #5 The average residence doesn't need mail delivery more than 3 days a week. 90% of what we get at our home is advertising and mass marketing mail. Goes to 98% in election years. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-10-18 11:12 |
| #4 The average residence doesn't need mail delivery more than 3 days a week. 90% of what we get at our home is advertising and mass marketing mail. Require that the Federal government can't own more than 10% of the land mass of any state: excess land is given to the states or sold off at auction. Require universities to hold 5% of the loans they make to students. When a student defaults they lose. Force them to have skin in the game. Tax university endowments above a certain level. As a man once said, at some point you've made enough money. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Harvard. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2015-10-18 11:05 |
| #3 Social Security beneficiaries, federal retirees won't get cost-of-living increase Cause we can't afford to cover real inflation* anymore. * due to the creation of funny money by the Fed and Treasury. Got to have some control on the spiral to Zim level dollars. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-10-18 11:04 |
| #2 Quit picking |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-10-18 09:40 |
| #1 Well, at least the gov't won't have to struggle with a phony CPI calculation and continue to lie to us that all is well with the economy. Here's a few suggestions: How about treating Food Stamps and subsidized housing as taxable, earned income ? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday mail delivery. 32 hour work week/pay for giverment workers until further notice. WTF, we're all working part-time jobs now, why not them as well ? Close down the Department of Education and hand the mission off to the States. Sell off some BLM properties and pay off the debt dollar for dollar. Tie student loan applications directly to student loan re-payments. If the gov't gets $100. dollars back in re-payments, they've got $100. to loan. Get nothing back, loan nothing. Dollar for dollar tax deductions for students who pay their own tuition. Eliminate the huge, bureaucratic consolidated school district scams and costly bus expenses. Return to small neighborhood schools where kids can walk to school and get some exercise. Start with expandable shelters. Leverage technology with laptops and video. Use parent volunteers and brown-bag lunches. Eliminate the EPA and hand the mission, whatever it is, off to the states. No pay raises for Congress until the budget is balanced for two consecutive years. Terminate all 'foreign aid programs' not directly linked to some kind of natural disaster. Quit picking winners and losers overseas and selling or giving guns to them. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-10-18 06:08 |