No Cola For Ssd Maybe Va Comp

[calnight]

I just read today in the SF cronicle that there wil be no cola for ssd and I believe for VA comp. The article said due to low inflation that there will be no cola for ssd and ss It said nothing about VA comp but guess since there is nothing for ssd then this will be the same for va comp. Also said that there will be no cola for the next 2 years and medicade or medicare will go up to 119.00 a month. Now dont take this for word just what I read today in the SF cronicle.

[tagandbag]

I DO NOT WANT TO COMMENT, BECAUSE WHAT I WANT TO SAY, WILL BE POLITICAL AND I CAN'T HANDLE IT ANY MORE.

t&b

[calnight]

If you live in california you already got the tax increase. As of april 1 the sales tax went up 1% and the car tax or registration doubled also. So depending what county you live in california some countys such as LA the sales tax is around 10% were I live it is now 8% and now my car registration is over 600 bucks a year. Lets not forget that california has one of the highest income taxes. And property taxes. I hate california good old arnold the terminator is a idiot. Never move to california unless you like to be taxed to death. The only reason I stay is for my wifes job.

[iraqx2]

All us Disabled Veterans need our own island to live in. And every first of the month, we can take a ferry to pick up supplies, goodies, and booze to bring back. It would be a peaceful and productive community.

[71M10]

Pete...try not to look at this as politics, but as the plain and simple truth.

The rate of inflation is on the rise thanks solely to the bailouts of the current and former administrations, and because of the recent omnibus spending (budget) bill, which contains more spending than all other budget bills in the history of this country combined. These are facts. However, our COLA increase is not tied to inflation, but instead to the actual costs of goods and services as indexed by the government every year. The costs of goods and services are trending slowly downward due to supply and demand economics. That means there will be no COLA raise, because it is perceived that the cost of living is less than that of last year.

Now, due to new programs of the current administration, we are ALL looking at huge tax increases. This does not mean that you or your spouse will have to pay higher income taxes. Those will stay the same. The promised cut to 95% of Americans, which equaled $400 for the average taxpayer, is now off the table. The controlling party in Congress voted not to renew this bill. This, again, is not politics, but it is fact. So, your income taxes will stay the same, but you will be paying higher taxes elsewhere. If you smoke, and many disabled veterans do, you will be paying exorbitant taxes on your cigarettes. The tax on alcohol will be going up. Thanks to proposed "green" programs, your electric bill will increase by up to 50% + over the next two years. There is a proposal to increase the federal gasoline tax, as well as a proposal to add a new "per mile" tax to all automobile owners.

Lastly, while many of the things that we buy at the store will see a price decrease, many states are having to increase their sales tax rates in order to make ends meet. This is in spite of billions of dollars of taxpayer money that was given to them with a mandate to change unemployment laws (again...fact, not politics). So, in actuality, the total cost of that loaf of bread will increase over the next year even though the sticker price has been reduced. You can also expect that property tax rates will be increased. This has already happened in many areas. The states are also beginning to raise their own gas tax rates, as well.

So, even though the cost of living will decrease on paper, your actual out of pocket cost of living will increase by a substantial margin. The crux of this matter has everything to do with the fiscal policies of the current ruling party, but there is nothing that can be done about that at this point. The people asked for this, and the deserve every damn heartache that they get in return. The part of this problem that is staring us in the face, however, has nothing to do with what political affiliation you belong to. This affects republican, democrats, independents, libertarians, greens, and anyone else. If you are a disabled veteran, or if you have to survive off of SSDI, then this affects you. You need to contact your congressman and senators and let them know that all of these new tax increases need to be taken into consideration when the annual COLA package is discussed. We will need a COLA increase more than ever by next fiscal year, when these new policies become entrenched and take effect.

So, you can lock it up if you need to, Pete, but I don't think anyone can say that I went political on this post.

Rental I agree with much of what you are saying but I do challenge "the recent omnibus spending (budget) bill, which contains more spending than all other budget bills in the history of this country combined. These are facts." I think in your exuberance you mis-stated your point. I would find it hard to believe the Omnibus spending bill is larger than all other budgets combined. If it is factual I would love to see the math on this one.

Best regards,

Tyler

Edited May 5, 2009 by 71M10

[purple]

I vote for the island idea.

[Quint7]

I agree that the COLA system is flawed as you can't take a small snippet of the economy and accurately figure out how much "inflation" is. That is the same as using the Dow Jones Industrial Average to reflect the actualy economic picture of our country. It only mesaures 30 large companies and these companies are sometimes added or removed as Dow Jones seems fit, yet the media focus on that day after day.

As for taxes in the various states going up, I have to say that since I live in (according to our local media) one of the highest taxed counties in the country when ALL taxes/fees are figured in, I kinda look at some of the other states and have a hard time understanding peoples complaints. My check (VA or otherwise) goes much less further than most southern or midwesterners checks do. We also have almost 0% public power in NY state (gas or electric) which means that our rates are constantly rising to appease shareholders. And nowhere else in the country does removing well over 100 inches of snow each winter fall completely on the local gov't. Anywhere else would get federal funds but because we are "supposed" to get that much snow we pay to remove it ourselves (Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse). If the rest of the country were expected to "pre-pay" their taxes to cover the inevitable earthquakes, floods,hurricanes, etc. then everyone else would be paying taxes a lot more in line with what we do here.

My point is, the rest of you are unfortunately catching up to us NY'ers with your taxes. While that might be bad (I agree it is), the one thing to be thankful for is that nobody in gov't has decided to rate the "value" of your % based on location. Just compare the new GI Bill rates around the country. Some kids will rate $10000 a year and others $4000 because they live in different states and it is based on the cost of a public college education. Same with military housing rates, they vary by location. If the gov't decided to use those types of formulas on all of us there would be massive disparities in what we each receive on the 1st.

The only political thing I can say is that all of the members of congress going back to..... well I will just say WAY back...... are at fault. To lay the blame on Obama, Bush 2, Clinton, etc. is just not the way to view it. Both sides had control of congress at certain times and did nothing of consequence. Remember it is not the DEFICIT you should worry about, as companies sometimes finish the year in the red, it is the total of all of those deficit years.... the true national DEBT. As off today (I checked 5 different sites), the total and complete national debt is over 11 TRILLION dollars! And that is just the federal gov't. The stimulus is just a drop in the bucket.