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  • Category Congressional Corner Page 7

    Terry: Anchors are used in many settings — for example, by sellers of goods and services (e.g. home renovation estimates). They are also used in public policy discussions. When someone at the local, state, or federal level suggests a policy or piece of legislation, that opening proposal becomes the anchor around which people negotiate. Other options get far less attention - or may not even enter our minds. Be wary when making a decision in which someone else has created a choice that seems in his or her favor but may not necessarily be in yours. Never make a decision without considering other options. .Help! My Insulin Costs Skyrocketed. Health Plan Blames Covid-19! .The President ordered a payroll tax deferral, not a cut, meaning the taxes will not be collected for a while but they will still be due at a later date. However, some observers have suggested that rather than give employees the additional money and then try to collect it back from them at the end of the year, employers will simply hold onto the money so that the employees would never see it in their paychecks. … Continued

  • Legislative Update September 2011 Advisor

    As for job hunting tips, my book has a chapter called "Six Rules for Job Hunting." I discuss how to package yourself as the solution to an employer's problems, how to keep your skill set fresh and relevant, 21st Century networking techniques, and several other key strategies. .TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1795 and H.R. 2305 this week, and we look forward to helping build additional support for them in the coming months. .In addition, if any efforts to transition to private accounts based Social Security succeed TSCL fears that, among other things, a new Notch could be created in the transition. Also, TSCL members generally believe that such approaches could further drain the Social Security Trust Fund. Finally, it is thought that a private accounts venture would be at least partially financed by cutting the benefits of current or soon-to-be retirees. Because TSCL believes that Social Security was developed and implemented to be a safety net, insurance and pension system, it strongly opposes changes to the current system which entail private accounts. … Continued

The bill would limit price increases in drugs covered by Medicare Part D plans to the rate of inflation or drug makers would be forced to pay a penalty in the form of a rebate. "Since Social Security benefits only grow at the rate of inflation, it would help level the playing field if the cost of prescription medications were required to be adjusted in like fashion," Johnson notes. Research on typical retiree costs conducted by Johnson has found that from 2000 to 2019, annual cost – of – living adjustments (COLAs) increased Social Security benefits by 50 percent but spending on prescription drugs grew five times faster — 253 percent — over the same period. .Increasing the payroll tax cap. Under current law, the 12.4 percent payroll tax is applied only to the first 7,200 in earned annual income. Individuals earning more than that pay nothing in Social Security taxes on the rest of their earnings. Several proposals now before Congress would modify this policy so that higher income workers contribute more fairly to the program. .IMPORTANT: We Need Your Help .Social Security has a .8 trillion surplus, enough to pay full benefits for 18 years, but income inequality has hurt Social Security's finances by leaving most of the wealthiest Americans' earnings above the cutoff point for the payroll tax which funds it. A Wall Street CEO who makes million per year pays no more in payroll tax than someone earning 8,500. If we had the same level of economic equality we enjoyed in 1983, the retirement trust fund would have another .1 trillion in it today. .What happens when Congress waits too long to address a Social Security funding crisis? Deeper benefit cuts, sudden tax increases, and glitches in the implementation of reforms that can lead to significant benefit inequities between people close to each other in age. Consider the case of the Social Security Notch that led to the most significant benefit inequities in the history of the program. The Notch affects seniors born from 1917 through 1926 and other seniors having similar work histories and earnings. .As TSCL supporters know, it is a particularly important issue for older people, who rely on medications to manage the medical problems associated with advancing age. However, drug makers remain adamantly opposed to government efforts to curb prices. .This week, The Senior Citizens League's legislative team hand-delivered nearly eight hundred petitions to leaders in the Senate. The petitions urged lawmakers to support legislation that would boost Social Security benefits while strengthening the financing of the program by adopting the Social Security Expansion Act (S. 427). .Nutritious food through the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP). .Signatures on the Notch Victim Constituent Petition are also helping to convince more lawmakers than ever to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act."