Social Security and Veteran Benefits Increase by 0.3 percent for 2017 -- First Increase in 4 Years.

October 18, 2016

Social Security and Veteran's benefits are increasing by a mere 0.3% for 2017...a $4 per month increase. Social Security recipients will not see that $4 however, because their Medicare premium increase will take it.

Social Security: fortune.com...

Veteran's Benefits: www.militarytimes.com...

On the bright side, this is the first year out of the past 4 that there has been ANY Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). President Obama is apparently doing a great job of keeping inflation in check, is he not?

What about benefits that the government pays to those who are poor (i.e. Welfare Benefits)... Do those increase annually using the same COLA formula? I have no idea.

-CareWeMust

a reply to: carewemust

We pay for people to fight and yet refuse to help them after we use them up.

Disgusting.

Shows the sad state of affairs for the US.

originally posted by: Iconic
a reply to: carewemust

We pay for people to fight and yet refuse to help them after we use them up.

Disgusting.

Playing devils advocate here, so...

They choose to do that job and get paid for it. Paid to kill people, so they should be aware of what they are likely to see and suffer and cause others to suffer.

Why should they get extra help for something they chose to do? It's not like they are defending the country or anything, is it.

However, social security should be increased by inflation every year for everyone, otherwise the poor just get poorer and we all know what happens when people have no money, can't eat or heat their homes etc.

a reply to: carewemust

Election year.

Oh, the newest air craft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, costing $12.9 billion (including a $2.5 billion cost overrun) is up and running.

breakingdefense.c... om/2013/05/sen-mccain-slams-2-5b-carrier-cost-increase-navy-struggles-to-fund-ssbn-x-destroyers/

Veteran benefits are weak. Such a small percentage even make it to 20 years of service...meh...should just give those you make it free healthcare and no Federal taxes for the rest of their life. The pension is also a joke. I served 20 years and when I hear the word "benefits" I find it amusing. Very odd system they have for people that made uncommon sacrifices.

Meanwhile, D.C. wants to axe their pensions like McCain who is also a Veteran and reduce the one they have now. Really sad. I lost all respect for him after he pushed it. At some point the pension is going away. The VA will go away. It will take a while but it's on the horizon. Hillary and Bill also hate the military. Bill said himself, he "loathes" the military. All these stories of Hillary showing disrespect to her agents, no respect for police. She has a heart of hate for anyone who protects the people.

originally posted by: Iconic
a reply to: carewemust

We pay for people to fight and yet refuse to help them after we use them up.

Disgusting.

Yep. It's a story that's as old as the country.

a reply to: Nexttimemaybe

Actually there is a lot of vets still alive that didn't choose to be Soldiers et al...

They were conscripted.

originally posted by: Nexttimemaybe

originally posted by: Iconic
a reply to: carewemust

We pay for people to fight and yet refuse to help them after we use them up.

Disgusting.

Playing devils advocate here, so...

They choose to do that job and get paid for it. Paid to kill people, so they should be aware of what they are likely to see and suffer and cause others to suffer.

Why should they get extra help for something they chose to do? It's not like they are defending the country or anything, is it.

The US allows people to sign up for the military right at age 18. Sometimes even 17 with a wavier and parent's permission. The brain still has at least another few years of development to go. Heck the government doesn't even allow these kids to drink alcohol but it still considers them mentally developed enough to sign their life away to the government.

Do you honestly think these kids have the correct facts and mental acuity to make a decision like this? No. The truth is the government is taking advantage of a standard young person's immortality complex that they have around that time of age. Plus you couple that with their lack of world experiences and the confusing media narrative between the two partisan media outlets and it is hard for a young person straight out of high school to make an educated decision there. Especially since you don't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to be in the military.

And that's without mentioning all the bull# that you go through when you realize how badly the recruiter lied to you to get you to sign up.

Mr. Devil's Advocate, you sound EXTREMELY ignorant about this matter and I suggest you do some further research about this because what you said sounds like just standard media hyperbole and not you playing Devil's Advocate.

However, social security should be increased by inflation every year for everyone, otherwise the poor just get poorer and we all know what happens when people have no money, can't eat or heat their homes etc.

Old people deserve benefits but not the military... Are you at retirement age or something?

The biggest question is what is the military actually doing today?

Politics is claiming the military is acting in defense of the US while it is attempting to control the world. That's not a reasonable defense plan.

What a mess from the support Saddam to kill Saddam. It was only about US interest in the region.

a reply to: Nexttimemaybe

why should they get extra help? because that was part of the agreement,part of the contract they signed when they enlisted. They agreed to be trained to kill people, be sent anywhere to kill people and even die,in exchange for that the government promised to train them,feed them,house them,pay them,provide medical care,provide care and benefits if they became disabled while doing their jobs.

It`s the same as when you accept a civilian job,the employer lets you know what your job duties will entail and the benefits that he is willing to offer,if you agree to those terms then he hires you.
if you were promised 2 weeks paid vacation a year and your employer later decided not to honor that promise wouldn`t you feel that you were lied to and that they weren`t living up to the employment contract that you both agreed to?

veterans had a contract with the government, the vets faithfully honored their part of the contract the government and the people of the U.S. need to honor their part.
You can`t try to change the terms of the contract after the vets fulfilled their part of it, merely because you think it costs too much money to honor your part of the contract.
if the government feels that it`s getting to expensive to honor their part of the contract then they better stop attacking every country that they disagree with and there won`t be a need for so many troops who will become veterans.

More bad news for seniors: Medicare Part B premiums, which are usually deducted from Social Security payments, are expected to increase next year to the point in which they will probably wipe out the entire COLA.

Don't you just LOVE this snip from LBJ since he created medicare.

One government program is paying for another government program and it gets taken out before you ever get 'paid' a cent.

Most people on social security on the average should be making around $100 more than they are.

Because there was no cola increase.

What an effing scam.

Because people are told to supplement that healthcare with PRIVATE insurance.

a reply to: carewemust

HA!!!!!
What they do NOT tell you is that Medicare premiums will more than eat up those paltry increases!
And then sum...it's actually a negative for those on Social Security.

The even more bitter pill: Many current Medicare beneficiaries won’t be able to spend any of that extra money. Instead, they’ll likely have to send their COLA straight back to Uncle Sam to cover higher Medicare Part B premiums.

www.jsonline.com...

originally posted by: neo96
Most people on social security on the average should be making around $100 more than they are.

Because there was no cola increase.

More. Dollars today are worth about half what they were worth in 2001 going by purchasing power. If you go by 2000 dollars, disability payments should be $1100 today opposed to the $700 they currently are.

Just like all other issues of wealth inequality and wage stagnation in the US it goes back to the issue with how we're computing CPI.