Transportation On Shaky GroundThis week, two new cosponsors Reps. David Cicilline and Steve Cohen signed on to the SAVE Benefits Act, which was recently introduced by Rep. Alan Grayson in the House. If signed into law, the bill would give Social Security beneficiaries a 3.9 percent COLA next year instead of the zero COLA they are expected to receive. It would cover the cost of the emergency COLA and extend the solvency of the Trust Funds by closing a loophole that allows corporations to deduct bonuses for CEOs from their taxes..That estimate appears to be one prepared by the Social Security's Chief Actuary who projected in 2003 that a totalization agreement with Mexico would have a negligible long-range cost to Social Security. The Social Security Administration estimated that costs to the U.S. Social Security system would average about 0 million per year over the first five years. In 2003 the Government Accountability Office evaluated that cost estimate and sharply criticized it, saying that "the cost of such an agreement is highly uncertain." The GAO reported that SSA's estimate failed to account for the large number of Mexicans who are or have worked in this country without legal authorization..Your persistent support in signing petitions, sending email, and letters to your Members of Congress have helped build the highest level of co-sponsorship in more than ten years. … Continued
Your Safety How We Keep You SafeDr. Redfield also told Congress this week that the CDC is developing a test that can check for seasonal influenza and COVID-19 infections at the same time..What do you think about ways to strengthen the COLA? Take our 2019 Social Security survey at.."Many food companies decrease the size of their containers, while keeping the same price," Joe said in his comments about price increases that he's observed. "Cost increases get masked when container sizes shrink." For example, after last year's hurricanes, a major orange shortage nationwide led to shrinking orange juice bottles. "Brands that originally sold in 64 oz containers, downsized to 59 oz and then to 52 oz - a 20 percent reduction in what our orange juice money buys today," Joe says. … Continued