Social Security benefits for 2017

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
I looks like there will be a small...Very Small...rise in SS benefits for 2017....about .2 percent, or enough to buy an extra gallon of gas per month.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trus...ecurity-benefits-next-143202462--finance.html

I sometimes wonder if any of these government officials ever go to the grocery store. It would seem only logical that the government would begin to take steps, NOW, to insure the future solvency of things like SS and Medicare, but I guess this will be another example of how "Nothing happens in Washington, until it becomes a crisis".
 

They may go to the grocery store, but I think the bottom line is, they just don't care about anyone but themselves and maybe their own nuclear families. It's not just the government; I know other rich people who just don't care, because they just don't get it. They say things like, "No one can live on $12,000 a year. It's impossible." Or, "People who are poor are poor because they are lazy and feel entitled. They don't deserve to eat anything but beans and rice, because they aren't willing to work."

Just two examples from my own experience; basically direct quotes from people I know.

I doubt there has been anyone in government since Abraham Lincoln who knew what it is like to be poor, or since Franklin Delano Roosevelt who cared even if he didn't actually know what it's like.

I wish one of the requirements to serve in government was to first spend a year living below the poverty level. Not with a family, but alone, to see what it's really like.

That said, I think your 2017 news is good news. Every little bit helps!
 

Butterfly said:
Well, I was at the grocery store yesterday and it seemed like everything I picked up had gone up substantially since last week! The price of beef is absurd -- I won't be buying beef anytime soon.
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About the ONLY thing I've seen go down in price is eggs. A couple of years ago, the poultry farms had problems, and eggs were selling for over $2 a dozen. Yesterday, I pushed the cart while the wife shopped, and we got a carton of 18 eggs for 89 cents....I guess chickens are abundant again. However, that seems to be about the only bright spot....everything else just keeps going up.
 
the country is made up of 1500 mini economy's and we all experience different things as far as inflation .

we live in nyc and while some prices have gone up many big ones did not . 2017 will be the 2nd year in a row millions of folks in rent stabilized apartments are seeing zero rent increases and nyc is 50% stabilized housing .

the cost of finacing cars , mortgages , and credit card debt is extremely low . what most folks saved by refinacing or buying a home offsets many price increases .

many things vary weekly , i have seen strawberry's and blueberry's go from 1.00 to 5 bucks and back in a matter of weeks .

not everything that goes up is inflation . keep in mind that the index's used for cola's are not really cost of living index's . they are price change index's .

they just track a basket of goods and services up and down . some may pertain to you , others do not . in no way will it match your personal cost of living .

keep in mind to that as we age we spend less and less on many things we no longer do or buy . the reality is we actually need a lot less inflation adjusting then we think . a lot of what we no longer buy or do pays for the increases in what we do .

study's like tye bernicke's and the sun life study show seniors tend to spend in a smile shape .

we spend more early on , then spending falls off a cliff , then it picks up again in our 80's because of increased healthcare costs .

all in all our spending patterns and inflation vary greatly between all of us . my sister refinanced and is saving so much her bills are less then they were 3 years ago . i rent on the other hand so i am seeing a bit more inflation in rent and healthcare costs . but the zero % financing on my car , no rent increases and low gas prices offsets much of that if not all of it . i can't say food costs us anymore this year then last year . in fact with chickens that are precooked going from 7.99 to 4.99 here our food costs have gone down since we buy a few a week .

we all tend to take what effects us and try to equate that nationally some how but you really can't . .
 
Me, too. Many, if not all, of them are completely out of touch with what's going on in the average citizen's reality, and when they retire, they get a fat pension and will never have to worry about money. They have super platinum health care plans, so they won't have to worry about that, either. I personally do not see any reason in the world that congress should get better healthcare than the rest of us. Perhaps if they had to deal with the real world, they would make better decisions. Probably none of them have shopped for their own groceries in years.
 
Butterfly said:
Me, too. Many, if not all, of them are completely out of touch with what's going on in the average citizen's reality, and when they retire, they get a fat pension and will never have to worry about money. They have super platinum health care plans, so they won't have to worry about that, either. I personally do not see any reason in the world that congress should get better healthcare than the rest of us. Perhaps if they had to deal with the real world, they would make better decisions. Probably none of them have shopped for their own groceries in years.
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They must take care of their parents if they are still alive..
 

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