Reply #18

Note the context. What he is talking about here is his willingness to put austerity and a chained CPI on the table, with a gratuitous smearing of those who opposed his unconscionable offers as "absolutist."



So tired of hearing rhetoric like this from a Democratic President.

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One in Six Seniors Lives in Poverty, New Analysis Finds
http://www.ncoa.org/press-room/press-release/one-in-six-seniors-lives-in.html

January 24, 2011
ken.schwartz@ncoa.org

Washington, DC – One in six older Americans lives below the federal poverty line, according to a new government analysis which almost doubles the number of very poor seniors compared to the standard estimate.

At 16%, the proportion of seniors living in poverty is also higher than the proportion of all Americans in poverty. The plight of poor women is particularly striking: 43% of Hispanic women who live alone, and 34% of black women who live alone, live in poverty, according to Supplemental Poverty Measure Research, an alternative calculation from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Supplemental Poverty Measure is a U.S. Census research tool that considers previously overlooked costs like out-of-pocket medical expenses and taxes that can create economic stress for seniors on fixed incomes.

“Too often, the struggles of elder poverty are invisible to policymakers and the public, yet millions are suffering and millions more are living on the edge of a financial crisis,” said Sandra Nathan, PhD, Senior Vice President of Economic Security at the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the leading nonprofit service and advocacy organization for older Americans. “Many seniors desperately need help assessing and navigating the options available to assist them in getting on a pathway to economic security, to meet their basic needs, survive an emergency, and afford medical care,” Nathan added.

With the first Boomers turning 65 this year, and savings, investments, and housing values still reeling from the economic downturn, the number of seniors who are struggling to make ends meet is likely to continue to grow.