Social Security 7-10-12

 The Washington Post (NAT)

Study: Waiting to join Social Security can boost income for some retirees

07-09-12

Suzy Khimm

Americans can start receiving Social Security benefits between the ages 62 and 70. Recent proposals to raise the retirement age have raised fears about slashing income to seniors. But a new paper points out that for some seniors, joining Social Security later can actually boost their lifetime income, depending on their health, marital status and the country’s interest rates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/09/study-waiting-to-join-social-security-can-boost-income-for-some-retirees/

 

Business Insider (NAT)

You Should Probably Plan On Working Until Age 70

07-10-12

Emily Brandon

Only about half of households are on track to maintain their current standard of living upon retirement at age 66. However, if workers are willing to delay retirement until age 70, 86 percent can expect to enjoy a comfortable retirement, according to recent Center for Retirement Research at Boston College calculations.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-should-plan-on-working-until-youre-70-2012-7

 

The Huffington Post (NAT)

Allen West Calls Reports Of Him Equating Social Security To Slavery 'False'

07-10-12

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) sought to do damage control on Monday after sparking controversy with remarks he made over the weekend.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/10/allen-west-social-security_n_1661812.html?utm_hp_ref=social-security

 

Federal Times (NAT)

Retiring employees can still count on COLA

07-09-12

Reg Jones

With the specter of higher pension contribution rates in a recently House-passed bill, employees are looking forward to lower take-home pay in exchange for the same benefits. As a result, many who are eligible to retire are seriously considering doing that. If you are one of them, there’s one piece of good news: Congress hasn’t yet managed to alter the law that provides annual cost-of-living adjustments to retirees.

http://blogs.federaltimes.com/federal-retirement/2012/07/09/retiring-employees-can-still-count-on-cola/

 

Women’s enews.org (Blog)

'Family Care' Benefit Could Fix Retiree Pay Gap

07-10-12

Sharon Johnson

A national coalition of advocates for women's financial security is proposing sweeping changes in the Social Security system to end the gender gap in retirement benefits. They want public retirement credits for people who take time off from paid employment to serve as family caregivers, for retirees who have worked in low-wage occupations and for widows.

http://womensenews.org/story/retirement/120709/family-care-benefit-could-fix-retiree-pay-gap

 

US News (Blog)

Will Social Security Be There For You?

07-10-12

Tom Sightings

Social Security will likely be there for us in the future. It's just that, for younger people, it could prove a more bare-bones base income if things go wrong, or a somewhat-less-significant supplement to retirement income if things go well.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/On-Retirement/2012/07/10/will-social-security-be-there-for-you

 

Politico (DC)

Social Security's Inspector General: Master death list missing 1.2 million

Mackenzie Weigner

07-10-12

The Social Security Administration did not record 1.2 million dead people on a national master list, according to a new report. The 1.2 million dead people found in the SSA Office of the Inspector General study were not listed on the Death Master File, a national record of death information that is used to verify identity and to make sure deceased people aren’t wrongly paid benefits.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78343.html#ixzz20EeUsKta

 

The Hill (DC)

House votes to increase cost of living payments to disabled vets

07-09-12

Pete Kasperowicz

The House on Monday afternoon approved legislation that would increase the rates of compensation for veterans with service-related disabilities, and for survivors of disabled veterans.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/236801-house-votes-to-increase-cost-of-living-payments-to-disabled-vets

 

WWLP 22 News (MA)

Social Security under siege, advocate says

07-09-12

Sy Becker

Donald Adcock, a director of the non-profit National Committee to Preserve and Protect Social Security and Medicare spoke at the Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow on Monday, where he told 22News why Social Security benefits could be put in jeopardy. “Changing the formula for how cost of living adjustments are set. They (members of Congress) could reduce Social Security benefits over ten years by three percent,” he said.

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/social-security-under-siege-advocate-says

 

Pittsburgh Tribune (PA)

Letter: State hurts poorest

07-09-12

Ruth Kolb

On Aug. 1, 70,000 Pennsylvanians will have no income. Most are disabled, awaiting Social Security to rule on their disability applications. In my legal practice representing disabled individuals, I talk to people each day who have sold their homes and raided their retirement to avoid “welfare.” Family, friends and nonprofits do what they can but they are limited.

http://triblive.com/opinion/2145850-74/family-200-applications-bathroom-church-disability-disabled-general-pennsylvanians-poorest

 

The Columbus Dispatch (OH)

Growing burden

07-10-12

Editorial

A record number of Americans say they can’t work any more because of disabilities, dramatically shrinking the number of productive Americans to 16 for every person receiving Social Security disability payments. That’s an enormous change over just two decades: In June 1993, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 35 workers paid taxes into the system for every one person getting a disability check.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/07/10/growing-burden.html

 

Politics

 

The Washington Post (NAT)

President Obama, Mitt Romney deadlocked in race, poll finds

07-10-12

Dan Balz and Jon Cohen

A pair of tepid jobs reports, landmark Supreme Court decisions on health-care and immigration laws, and an unprecedented barrage of negative ads have shaped the opening months of the fall presidential campaign. The impact on the horse race: virtually none.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obama-mitt-romney-deadlocked-in-race-poll-finds/2012/07/09/gJQAaJwdZW_story.html

 

The Washington Post (NAT)

Wonkbook: A weirdly stable campaign

07-10-12

Ezra Klein

This race could go either way. But it’s not likely to break dramatically in one direction or another. Most voters know what they think about Obama. Most voters know what they think about Romney. It’s difficult to imagine the information that would convince a large swath of either group to change their mind.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/10/wonkbook-a-very-very-stable-campaign/

 

Politico (DC)

Obama to donors: Help!

07-10-12

Robin Bravender and Kenneth P. Vogel

After two straight months of getting pummeled by Mitt Romney in the race for cash, President Barack Obama’s campaign is stepping up pressure on donors and bundlers to find new money.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78319.html#ixzz20EZJOxCB 

 

CNN (NAT)

House Republicans launch all-out assault on health care law

07-10-12

CNN Wire Staff

House Republicans launched an all-out assault Tuesday against President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law, holding a series of committee hearings and other events ahead of a planned vote Wednesday on repealing the measure.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/10/politics/house-health-care/index.html

 

The Hill (DC)

GOP: Vulnerable Democrats will back healthcare law repeal vote

07-10-12

Elise Viebeck and Russell Berman

House Republicans are predicting several more Democrats will join them Wednesday for the chamber’s second vote to repeal the healthcare law. Only three Democrats voted for repeal after the GOP took control of the House last year, but Republicans are confident they can add to this number on Wednesday in spite of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the law is constitutional. 

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/politics-elections/236867-gop-vulnerable-dems-will-back-healthcare-law-repeal

 

New York Times (NAT)

Parties’ Tactics Eroding Unity Left and Right

07-09-12

Mark Landler and Jonathan Weisman

President Obama and Congressional Republicans pressed ahead on Monday with politically charged proposals on tax cuts and health care, in competing efforts to frame the election-year debate. But each risked opening fissures in their own ranks, as lawmakers played up alternatives to the aggressive approaches of their leaders.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/us/politics/in-framing-touchy-election-issues-party-leaders-take-risks.html?ref=politics

 

The Guardian (UK)

Obama's Bush tax cut proposal hits Republican roadblock

07-10-12

Ana Marie Cox

The Republican Congress won't even let a vote on Obama's plan come to the floor. Obama could propose raising taxes on the rich to Roosevelt-era levels (91%!) and he wouldn't lessen his chances of passing such a bill. The chances that his proposal will make it through in any recognizable form are approximately zero. We might as well be discussing moon colonies. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/10/obama-bush-tax-cut-proposal-republican-roadblock

 

The Huffington Post (NAT)

Are We Now a One-Party System?

07-09-12

Pearl Korn

Today, some 1,300 federal lobbyists are out there plying their trade, influencing legislators and writing bills that shred regulations and gut our cherished safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that helped make America great among the world's nations. Members of Congress leave office to become lobbyists and lobbyists come in to become members of Congress and Presidential Cabinets -- a dizzying merry-go-round of corruption so blatant it astounds.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pearl-korn/are-we-now-a-one-party-sy_b_1657719.html?utm_hp_ref=social-security

 

The New York Times (NAT)

Bank Scandal Turns Spotlight to Regulators

07-10-12

Ben Protess and Mark Scott

Politicians in both London and Washington are questioning whether regulators allowed banks to report false rates in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis and afterward. On Monday, Congress stepped into the fray, requesting information about the role of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to people close to the matter. The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday also announced it was looking into the issue.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/libor-scandal-intensifies-spotlight-on-bank-regulators/?hp