Critics call Obama’s proposed $250 payments ‘pandering’
October 16th, 2009From Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Washington Post:
President Obama’s proposal this week of a $250 emergency payment to seniors and people with disabilities drew fire from critics, who saw it as an attempt to buy political support at a time when Social Security recipients are learning that they won’t get an increase in their benefit checks for the first time in decades.
Critics said Obama’s plan, which would cost at least $13 billion, is inappropriate and unjustifiable at a time when the U.S. faces soaring deficits. Obama did not say how the payments would be financed.
“It makes no sense, it’s political pandering,” said Brian M. Riedl, budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “This is how budget deficits grow — a few billion here, a few billion there.”
Jeffrey A. Miron, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, called the payments “outrageous.”
“Sending checks to seniors is a blatant attempt to buy their support for Obamacare, which promises to cut Medicare spending substantially,” Miron wrote in a blog.
From an editorial in the Kansas City Star: “Lobbying for a special $250 payment looks a lot like pandering to the senior voting bloc.”
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October 17th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Both the CATO Institute and the Heritage Foundation have annual budgets of over twenty-million dollars. I would not be surprised if they and their donors lunch tabs were $250 for one meal. The average SSI federal payment for individuals with developmental disabilities is $674.
The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration recommended that the Obama Administration make the $250 recovery payment to people who receive Social Security and Social Security Income benefits.
According to a Fox News story: “by law, cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which is negative this year… Social Security payments, however, cannot go down. The $250 payments would be equal to about a 2 percent increase for the average Social Security recipient… The average monthly Social Security payment for all Social Security recipients is $1,094.”
For individuals receiving SSI checks, the $250 would translate to a higher percentage increase, so those with the least income would benefit the most.
In 2008, the COLA increase for Social Security recipients was 2.3 percent.
Those who participate in and contribute to the CATO Institute and Heritage Foundation are successful advocates for themselve and their businesses. They are proud to be involved in their own endeavors and their names and accomplishments are public record.
Advocates for people with developmental disabilities and social service organizations in my community are having brown bag lunches trying to figure out how to support elderly and disabled adults who are struggling through this economy. They do deserve our respect and gratitude.
October 17th, 2009 at 9:20 am
While I don’t believe every time the government helps people, the country is becoming a socialist one, I think $250 will help very little in weathering the economic hit people are taking by not getting an increase in their checks. Unfortunately, the money President Bush gave to everyone a couple of years ago (remember when everyone got about $300) didn’t help boost the economy as he had hoped even though it was nice to get. I’m sure this will be nice to get for those who do, but it won’t help a whole lot with no cost of living increase in their checks. It is very tough economically out there and those most vulnerable are our disabled community and elderly. I, myself, want my government to help our neediest. I also want our individual citizens to help, not just the government and not just our churches.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Excuse me? “Elitist organizations”?
How do you figure that? Just because they aren’t liberals, they are somehow automatically ‘elitist’? You don’t have to be sitting in a country club to see that this idea is just ridiculous.
How in the world is a one time, $250 payment going to make things better for the elderly and disabled? How is burdening taxpayers with another $13 BILLION program useful to anyone?
Obama needs to remember that socialism is all well and good … until you run out of other people’s money.
October 16th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
How dare these elitist organizations disregard and dismiss the very real difficulties of our older or disabled citizens! They can criticize our President from the comfort of their country clubs, completely unconcerned about the lives of individuals in their own communities who worked hard all their lives and never expected or asked for the indulgences these complainers take for granted.
Seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes deserve the consideration and support President Obama’s emergency payment symbolizes.
It’s about time we had someone looking out for our neighbors who are enduring a disproportionate share of the burden that these selfish, greedy, wealthy have brought upon all of us.