House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday thwarted Democratic efforts to award $250 checks to Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase.
President Barack Obama and Democrats have urged approval of the one-time payment, saying seniors barely getting by on their Social Security checks face undue hardships without the COLA increase.
But most Republicans contended that the nation couldn't afford the estimated $14 billion cost of the payment, and that the COLA freezes in 2010 and 2011 come after seniors received a significant boost in 2009.
The measure was brought up under a fast-track procedure in the House that required a two-thirds majority for passage. The 254-153 vote in favor of the bill fell short of that.
We cannot afford this but we can afford vastly more expensive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans?
5 comments:
"We cannot afford this but we can afford vastly more expensive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans"?
Mr hall i was thinking the same thing.
I also wonder why poor people who depend on government benefits vote republican?
But of course, under the Republican theory the tax cuts for the wealthy spur job creation. If you engage in the kind of mass delusion of that nature that has taken hold (i.e., that the tax cuts to the top tier benefit "small businesses"), then just about anything else is unaffordable.
My 85 year old mother (living in Florida on SS) is not going to be happy about this. She is going to point out to me that she voted for John McCain and blame the President--again. It kind of explains how the GOP keeps getting votes. I have given up trying to explain it to her. No doubt her mobile home park corporation will raise her rent another $50 a month in 2011. But the GOP would just say--"eat less; the rich need this to create jobs".
The debate is to continue the tax cuts, so if they continue nothing changes. If we pay everyone $250 that is additional money we don't have being spent.
I like to know why people are SO against people getting to keep their own money, and are SO for giving it to someone else.
We don't have a tax problem in this country, we have a spending problem. I know this is a foreign concept and difficult to grasp but.. there it is.
Funny how certain folks heads nearly explode when the GOP says no to spending.
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