Social Security

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Social Security, Medicare Woes Unchanged

Programs bound for insolvency, annual status report says

(Newser) - Social Security and Medicare still face financial problems down the road, but the situation became no worse last year, trustees for the programs said today. The trustees predict that Social Security will become insolvent in 2041, Medicare in 2019. True to form, Republicans sounded alarms about the issue while Democrats...

McCain Outlines More Specific Fiscal Stance

Candidate looks to cut taxes, project fiscal responsibility

(Newser) - How would John McCain run the economy, really? In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the candidate tried to answer that question, positioning himself as a fiscally responsible defender of the Bush tax cuts. But the candidate’s tax proposals don’t quite add up, the Journal notes, and...

Government Typos 'Kill' Thousands
Government Typos 'Kill' Thousands
Mar 1, 2008 9:08 AM CST

Government Typos 'Kill' Thousands

People very much alive struggle to convince Social Security they're alive

(Newser) - It's not easy being dead—just ask Laura Todd. The Tennessee woman is one of an estimated 12,000 people a year the government declares dead—often because of a typo in the Social Security database—when they're still very much alive, MSNBC reports. The error can create a financial...

Bush Legacy of Debt May Stymie Successor

He will unveil record $3T budget as deficit soars

(Newser) - The next president may inherit a US government so deeply in debt it could lose its Triple-A credit rating for the first time since Moody's Investors Service began grading securities 90 years ago, warns the Wall Street Journal. The White House is preparing to unveil a record $3 trillion budget...

Realism Trumps Boldness in Bush Address

Short of time and support, president scales down initiatives

(Newser) - In his last State of the Union address President Bush dispensed with the grand narratives and far-reaching proposals of previous years, contenting himself to repackaging earlier projects, the Washington Post observes. Gone was the boldness—even defiance—of transforming the Social Security system or overhauling immigration law; instead, last night...

US to You: $600 Check's in Mail
US to You: $600 Check's in Mail
UPDATED
Jan 24, 2008 10:39 AM CST

US to You: $600 Check's in Mail

Bipartisan compromise would put $600 in your pocket

(Newser) - Congress today announced an economic stimulus package that would put a $600 check in every American taxpayer's mailbox by early summer, sources tell CNN, and a likely $300 per child. The refunds are "there to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and to turn this economy around,"...

First Boomer, First Check
First Boomer, First Check
Jan 18, 2008 2:06 PM CST

First Boomer, First Check

Watershed moment as first Baby Boomer starts collecting Social Security

(Newser) - The first Baby Boomer will collect her—and her generation's—first Social Security check next month, and she can expect a lot of attention, reports AARP The Magazine. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born at 12:00:01 on January 1, 1946, and her big move spotlights the way her generation will...

Social Security Debit Cards in the Works

Eliminating checks will save government money, lessen security worries

(Newser) - A new Social Security debit card, intended to replace paper checks for the millions of seniors who don’t have bank accounts, will be available by this spring, the Treasury Department said today. It's the latest phase in a shift from fraud-prone paper payments to safer, cheaper electronic ones, the...

Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce
Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce
OPINION
Nov 26, 2007 8:44 PM CST

Marriage and State Should Get a Divorce

Laws out of sync with modern love, writes marriage historian

(Newser) - Modern love has snubbed its nose at the state, writes Stephanie Coontz in an op ed piece in the New York Times, with 40% of US children now from unmarried parents. So it's time for the law to follow suit, and get out of the marrying business. Marriage licenses—a...

Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals
Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals
Nov 15, 2007 8:41 PM CST

Clinton Strikes Back at Rivals

Senator accuses Obama, Edwards of distorting her record

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton accused her main Democratic rivals of twisting her words and slinging mud during a testy debate in Las Vegas tonight. "When somebody starts throwing mud, at least we can hope it's accurate and not right out of the Republican playbook," she said at one point. Barack...

Gen Xers Aren't Saving for Retirement

Too many still living paycheck to paycheck, one expert warns

(Newser) - Aging Gen Xers are too saddled with costs and debt to save for retirement, MSNBC reports. In fact, 62% of Gen Xers—those born roughly from 1965 to 1980—said they still live paycheck to paycheck, according to a Charles Schwab survey. And they’re headed for trouble: The fund...

Social Security's 2.3% Hike Most Stingy Since '04

Increases don't keep up with rising medical costs, critics say

(Newser) - Social Security benefits will rise 2.3% in 2008—or an average of $24 monthly—netting the 54 million recipients their smallest increase in four years. The cost of living adjustment, now $1,079 per month for the average retiree, is based on the third-quarter change in consumer prices, the...

First Boomer Applies for Social Security

Ex-teacher, approaching 62nd birthday, files online

(Newser) - The baby boom elephant moved a little further along the demographic boa constrictor today when the first boomer applied for Social Security benefits. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born at 12:00:01 a.m. on January 1, 1946, is a retired teacher and, a balanced-budget activist tells Bloomberg, "the first drop...

Judge Blocks Crackdown on Immigrant Workers

Nixes plan to track Social Security numbers

(Newser) - In a major blow to the Bush Administration, a federal judge has blocked a controversial program to find illegal immigrants in the workplace by tracking discrepancies in their Social Security data. A US district judge ruled the crackdown by the Department of Homeland Security would "subject employers to greater...

Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency
Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency
Oct 10, 2007 10:12 AM CDT

Clinton Promises Centrist Presidency

Says past partisan battles better equip her for uniting role

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton fought back today against opponents who call her a polarizing force, telling the Washington Post she's uniquely equipped to forge a centrist coalition. “You can't just wake up and say, ‘Let's all just hold hands.’” But, “You've got to demonstrate that you're not...

Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate
Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate
Oct 10, 2007 5:27 AM CDT

Solid Fred Joins Heated Debate

Giuliani, Romney have sharp exchanges

(Newser) - In the first debate of his nascent quest for the White House, Fred Thompson stuck to a traditional Republican agenda as the gloves of rivals Mitt Romney and Rudolph Giuliani came off in some of the sharpest clashes so far. The LA Times reports that Thompson, a former senator, appeared...

Obama Shifts Strategy, Takes Aim at Iowa

Falling behind Clinton in polls, Illinois senator steps up campaign

(Newser) - Barack Obama will skip Senate voting this week to get in some quality time with voters in Iowa on a trip his camp is calling the "Judgement and Experience Tour." This surge in campaigning is likely to be the first of several as the Illinois senator tries to...

Social Security Fund Faces $13.6 Trillion Shortfall

Only taxes or slashed benefits can save program

(Newser) - Slashing benefits or hiking taxes—or both—is the only way to make the Social Security system solvent, reports a Treasury Department briefing paper. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned that faster economic growth alone won't solve the money problems of  Social Security, which faces a $13.6 trillion shortfall in...

Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals
Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals
Aug 14, 2007 8:42 PM CDT

Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals

Upped enforcement promises crisis for some

(Newser) - Bush is vowing to enforce old immigration laws after all, now that comprehensive reform has croaked on the Senate floor. He promises to crack down on workers who don't have valid Social Security numbers in particular, but bosses parry that there can be good reasons for numerical snafus with the...

GAO Warns of Decline & Fall .... of America

US problems are the same that destroyed Roman Empire, chief declares

(Newser) - America's dire state resembles that of the Rome just before its fall, the head of the General Accountability Office has warned in a grim new report. "Declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military, and fiscal irresponsibility," could lead to disaster here at...

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