Social Security

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Raising Social Security Age Is &#39;Cruel&#39; Idea

 Raising Social Security Age 
 Is 'Cruel' Idea 
paul krugman
Nov 16, 2012 12:13 PM CST

Raising Social Security Age Is 'Cruel' Idea

Paul Krugman says advocates miss key point on rising life expectancy

(Newser) - One idea that gets floated by both parties in the conversation about reforming Social Security and Medicare is to raise the eligibility age for both. After all, life expectancy is rising, so it's only logical, right? Wrong, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . In fact, "it'...

Psst, Taxes Go Up Next Year for 163M Workers

Neither party plans to extend the payroll tax break

(Newser) - President Barack Obama isn't talking about it and neither is Mitt Romney. But come January, 163 million workers can expect to feel the pinch of a big tax increase regardless of who wins the election. A temporary reduction in Social Security payroll taxes is due to expire at the...

Watch for Biden to Come Out Swinging

 Watch for Biden to 
 Come Out Swinging 
VP Debate Preview
Oct 11, 2012 7:59 AM CDT

Watch for Biden to Come Out Swinging

But controversy over moderator hangs over proceedings

(Newser) - There's a whiff of desperation in the air over tonight's vice presidential debate—and a hint of controversy, too. The desperation, of course, comes from the blue team, which is desperate to halt the momentum Mitt Romney gained in the first debate, and expects Joe Biden to be...

Entitlements Favor the Rich —Because They Live Longer

Peter Orszag: Social Security, Medicare formulas should be tweaked

(Newser) - Most people don't think of Social Security and Medicare as regressive programs that favor the well-off, but they are, former Obama budget director Peter Orszag argues in his Bloomberg column. Chalk it up to one simple reason: "Better-educated, higher-income Americans are living longer than everyone else." And...

OK, Obama, Romney: Stop Lying About the Budget
OK, Obama, Romney:
Stop Lying About the Budget
opinion
Oct 1, 2012 1:44 PM CDT

OK, Obama, Romney: Stop Lying About the Budget

Robert Samuelson argues that candidates should actually be honest

(Newser) - Truth may be the first casualty of war, but it's also in low supply on the campaign trail, writes Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post . The nut of the problem: "a yawning gap between the political rhetoric and the country's budget problems," he writes. "And...

Social Security Orders 174K Bullets

'Routine' buy fuels conspiracy theories

(Newser) - A routine purchase request from the Social Security Administration has caused a flood of conspiracy theories, reports AP . The agency posted a notice that it's buying 174,000 hollow-point bullets, causing some to believe that it was stockpiling ammo to put down civil unrest. A retired major-general at the...

Dear Politicians, You Forgot About Social Security

It's dumb to focus just on Medicare: Ramesh Ponnuru

(Newser) - Politicians from both sides keep harping about Medicare and how or how not to fix it, while Social Security has become an "afterthought," writes Ramesh Ponnuru at Bloomberg View . Big mistake, he argues. The program's long-range troubles may be smaller than Medicare's, but they're still...

Ryan&#39;s Plan Is a Deficit-Hiking &#39;Con Game&#39;
 Ryan's Plan Is a 
 Deficit-Hiking 
 'Con Game' 
paul krugman
Aug 20, 2012 12:05 PM CDT

Ryan's Plan Is a Deficit-Hiking 'Con Game'

Paul Krugman: He's 'style over substance'

(Newser) - Paul Ryan is a media darling: Pundits can't stop praising his "seriousness." But the truth is that "Ryanomics is and always has been a con game," scoffs Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Ryan claims to be a deficit-slasher, but let's crunch the...

Owe Student Loans? Your Social Security Might Be Cut

Feds taking up to 15% of some retirees' checks

(Newser) - If you're retired and owe student loans, your Social Security benefits might not be as big as you thought. More and more retirees who are in student loan default are seeing a chunk of their monthly Social Security checks being grabbed by the federal government. Since January, the feds...

Social Security in Worse Shape Than We Thought

Funds that feed it to run dry 3 years earlier, in 2033

(Newser) - If your outlook on Social Security is a dismal one, the government's latest revelation will only add to your gloom: The trust funds that feed Social Security will be exhausted in 2033, a full three years earlier than the last government estimate. Medicare is still set to die in...

7 Best Reasons to Retire Abroad

Retire cheaply and luxuriously in a new country

(Newser) - Who says you have to spend your golden years in the US? Stretch every retirement dollar you've saved by heading overseas. Here are the seven best reasons, courtesy of US News:
  • Live on the cheap: Get the most out of your retirement dollars by shipping out to inexpensive destinations
...

What Mitt Romney&#39;s Not Saying About Social Security
What Mitt Romney's Not Saying About Social Security
Gail Collins
Mar 1, 2012 12:30 PM CST

What Mitt Romney's Not Saying About Social Security

Gail Collins on the real way to fix the system

(Newser) - Mitt Romney recently gave a speech on Social Security, and no one noticed—people were distracted by all the empty seats. But Gail Collins was listening. "Romney has several ideas for Social Security, all involving cuts in benefits," she reports in the New York Times . Chief among them:...

More Unemployed Turn to Social Security Disability

Jobless apparently using fund as a last resort

(Newser) - The ranks of Americans collecting Social Security Disability Insurance payments have swelled dramatically in recent years, and that may be because more people are turning to the program when they can’t find work, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 10.6 million Americans are now on the program, compared...

Bush-Era Policies Account for Most of US Debt: Washington Post


 Who's to Blame 
 for America's 
 Massive Debt? 
'post' analysis
Oct 30, 2011 2:27 PM CDT

Who's to Blame for America's Massive Debt?

Bush policies account for $7T: Washington Post

(Newser) - The United States started 2001 with a cozy nest egg of more than $2 trillion, and now the country owes about $10 trillion—but who's to blame? Put simply, Obama-era policies account for $1.7 trillion of the debt, and Bush policies for over $7 trillion, the Washington Post...

Social Security Checks Get First Raise Since 2009

 Social Security 
 Checks Get 
 3.6% Bump 
UPDATED
Oct 19, 2011 10:48 AM CDT

Social Security Checks Get 3.6% Bump

Raise is first since 2009

(Newser) - Social Security recipients will get something in January they used to get every year: a raise. The 3.6% boost, which is tied to the government's official inflation measure released today, will be the program's first cost-of-living adjustment since 2009. That's because inflation has been so low...

'Dungeon Woman' May Have 50 Victims

4 victims chained in cellar may be just tip of brutality: cops

(Newser) - The Philadelphia woman suspected of chaining four mentally challenged adults in a basement dungeon to steal their Social Security checks may have brutalized as many as 50 other victims in similar schemes, according to investigators. Linda Ann Weston had documents, including drivers licenses and signed power-of-attorney forms, linked to dozens...

4 Mentally Ill Adults Found Chained in Philly Basement

3 charged, including woman who previously starved man to death

(Newser) - Three people have been charged with kidnapping and other offenses after four mentally challenged adults were found chained and starving in the sub-basement of a Philadelphia apartment building. The building's landlord discovered the prisoners on Saturday, lying in their own filth in a 10-by-15-foot room, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports....

Romney Tells Seniors to Beware 'Perry Scheme'

Social Security is safe, he promises

(Newser) - Mitt Romney, speaking at one of Florida's biggest senior citizen communities yesterday, assured his elderly audience that Social Security is safe—despite Rick Perry. The Texas governor, in a book published last year, called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" because of its funding problems. "I think Social...

Obama Plan Preview: $3T Savings, $1.5T Tax Boost

'Washington Post' bares early details of president's plan

(Newser) - Details of President Obama's new debt-reduction plan to be unveiled this morning are emerging—and it's not a pretty sight for the rich. The president will likely outline a plan to cut the federal debt by $3 trillion over the next decade, with half of that coming from...

Yes, Social Security Is a Ponzi Scheme—but We Can Fix It: Charles Krauthammer
 Yes, It's a Ponzi Scheme 
 —but We Can Fix It 
charles Krauthammer
Sep 16, 2011 10:44 AM CDT

Yes, It's a Ponzi Scheme —but We Can Fix It

Social Security can be easily saved, with political courage: Krauthammer

(Newser) - Rick Perry keeps riling people by calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme . But guess what, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post : It is a Ponzi scheme. In fact, it's almost the very definition of one. The big difference is that a Ponzi scheme is illegal while Social Security...

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