Iowa Senator Gets a Tearful Earful

The August recess gives Capitol Hill lawmakers a chance to hear from their constituents back home, and sometimes that earful is downright heartbreaking.

An anguished woman wept at the North Senior Center in Des Moines, Iowa, as she explained how a proposal to change the method of calculating cost-of-living increases for Social Security would leave her nowhere to cut in her precarious budget.

Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat who opposes the "chained CPI" proposal, heard this from Sheryl Tenicat:

"I have $624 a month, that's what I'm living on. Ninety-nine [dollars] of that goes to Medicare Part D and B. After I get my check, in two weeks, it's gone. I have nothing. I live on what I eat here. And I just do not want my cost of living cut because I've paid in since I was 16 to the government. I'm looking for work in my retirement years so that I can exist. I do own my house, but I don't know how long that will go because I have property taxes to pay."

 

Also of Interest

• Chained CPI for Social Security Not More Accurate for Seniors
• Another (Disabled) Senator Heads for the Exit
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

See the  AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more