Follow this link to a recent letter to the editor of the Worcester T & G that asked:

Can it be true? Did I just read that the federal government wants to cut Social Security benefits for American retirees …

I remember reading the story, but I apparently did not remember what the headline said.  Here was my response.

William,

You ask if it can be true.  You ask “Did I just read that the federal government wants to cut Social Security benefits for American retirees”

Well, you have been duped again by the Worcester T & G or whatever other media you read.  This may be the impression you got from reading the headline, but you might have gotten a different impression if you had read the whole story.

There is just enough of a hint of truth to the headline that the T&G can claim they weren’t lying, but they are definitely trying to distract you from understanding.

There will be no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) this year because the cost of living has actually dropped due to the recession.  In their wisdom, the lawmakers prevented Social Security from reducing your payment when the COL drops.  They can only raise it when the COL rises.

It turns out that the cost of Medicare is rising.  You know, the thing that Obama is trying to bring under control?  Because Social Security deducts the cost of Medicare from your check, your check will be smaller next year.

If the T & G keeps you in the dark about what is really going on, how will you know what needs to be fixed?

Follow this link to the original article.  The headline on the web site reads, No cost of living hike for Social Security. If this is what appeared in the print addition, then I guess it wasn’t as misleading as I had thought.

The article did go on to say:

Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.

Given the current state of the debate, I knew that the rising cost of Medicare would be used as an excuse to not reform the rising cost of Medicare. Do we live in a topsy-turvy world or what?  As Yakov Smirnoff would say, “Only in America”.