Grumpy Editor

WILL MONTHLY COLA FOR SENIORS BE LOWER NEXT YEAR?

Now that we’re into June, many seniors are looking ahead to October, wondering if the cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be lower for 2021, notes Grumpy Editor.

As pointed out by MarketWatch’s Paul Brandus:  “Here’s some bad news for the 63 million Americans — nearly one in five — who receive Social Security benefits now: It’s possible that there won’t be much of a cost of living adjustment, if any, for 2021. Why?  Because one major component of the Consumer Price Index — and thus the COLA — is fuel prices (heating oil, gasoline and so forth). These prices have plunged, thanks to the coronavirus-induced economic collapse that we’ve seen over the last few months.” 

The COLA for 2020, announced last October, was 1.6 percent.

 

Brandus points out  millions of senior citizens are heavily dependent on Social Security.

He cites Social Security Administration statistics that show Americans aged 65 and over get one third of their income from Social Security, 50 percent of married couples and 70 percent of unmarried persons rely on Social Security for half or more of their income, and 21 percent of married couples and about 45 percent of unmarried people rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income.

Meanwhile, says Brandus, food costs are rising faster than the overall inflation rate, health care costs continue to soar as well, while pharmaceutical firms rang in 2020 by hiking drug prices an average 5.8 percent. 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

G.E. QUITS BULB BUSINESS.  General Electric is quitting the lightbulb business, with roots dating back to G.E.’s founding 130 years ago when Thomas Edison invented the first incandescent lamp.

 

GRAMMYS TO SALUTE UNSUNG HEROES.  The Grammys, airing June 21 on CBS, with a “Salute to the Unsung Heroes” honoring America’s essential workers, will feature Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Herbie Hancock and Harry Connick, Jr.

 

PRINTING OF 100 AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS TO CEASE.  News Corp. says it will stop printing more than 100 Australian newspapers by the end of this month.  In the move, triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, 36 will be closed outright while the others move solely to the Internet.

 

'DANGEROUS WILDCAT' SHAKES UP LONDON.  Excitement in London with sightings of a “dangerous wildcat” — with markings like that of a cheetah or leopard — on the loose in a tony neighborhood, sends police, including Scotland Yard, into overdrive.  Armed cops and helicopters are dispatched seeking the animal.  Turns out it is an oversided cat, someone’s pet.

 

LAYOFFS AT CBS.  CBS' entertainment and news divisions are going through a round of layoffs as part of restructuring following the merger with Viacom.

 

WOMAN CEO PAY TOPS AP SURVEY.  Lisa Su, with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, is the first woman to top the Associated Press annual survey of CEO compensation at S&P 500 companies.  Her 2019 pay package was valued at $58.5 million.

 

LARGEST OUTDOOR RODEO CANCELED.  Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, marking the first time the event billed as the world’s largest outdoor rodeo has been called off in its 124-year history.

DESPITE MONTHLY PAY HIKE, MORE SENIORS FACING HARD TIMES

 

While seniors receiving Social Security will see monthly payments rise 2.8 percent, or an average of $40 a month starting in January, the number of older Americans filing for bankruptcy has increased, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Most media, focused on other events (mainly out of Washington) have overlooked this situation.

 

Risks associated with aging include less income --- sometimes attributed to vanishing pensions --- increased health care costs and higher charges for goods and services.

 

A Consumer Bankruptcy Project study finds the rate at which Americans 65 and older are filing for bankruptcy has increased two-fold since 2013.

 

While more than 12 percent of bankruptcy filers are now seniors, only about 2 percent were in that category in 1991.

Meanwhile, nearly half of middle-class Americans now face a slide into poverty as they enter retirement, concludes a study by Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, New York.

The think tank says it is being driven by depressed earnings, lower asset values and increased health-care costs teaming to cause 74 percent in that category to plan on working past traditional retirement age. 

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

ARMY VET, 99, TOURS STATES.  With self-financing, Sidney Walton, a 99-year-old World War II Army veteran, is embarked on a 50-state excursion dubbed the No Regrets Tour.  He is making himself available to meet with anyone wishing for a last-chance encounter with one of the dwindling number of World War II veterans.  Last week Walton and his 62-year-old son, Paul, flew from Alaska to Hawaii, 14th state in the tour after visiting Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida and Alaska. Paul tells Stars & Stripes choice of each next destination is dictated by the cheapest flight available. Walton is slated to meet with President Donald Trump when he turns 100 on Feb. 11.

 

COLLEGE-EDUCATED NEWSROOM EARNS LESS.  Pew Research Center reveals  college-educated newsroom employees make less than college-educated workers in other industries and occupations. The median earnings of newsroom employees with a college degree are about $51,000, compared with about $59,000 for all other college-educated workers.

 

TESLA SALES BEAT MERCEDES-BENZ.  Tesla outsells Mercedes-Benz during the third quarter in the U.S. and could outsell BMW in the current quarter, stemming from Tesla’s Model 3 attracting more customers.

 

SCRAMBLED JETS AVOID HURRICANE MICHAEL.  While Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, sustains major damage when Hurricane Michael roared into Florida, the government saves billions of dollars by the commander scrambling the bases's 50 high-tech F-22 fighter jets and sending them to other locations.

 

WWII SAILOR VISITS FORMER SHIP.  Earl Laber, who turns 93 today as one of the last 10 surviving World War II crew members of a Navy ship that is the last of its kind still afloat, visited the USS Slater Friday at its Hudson River dock.  His three sons join him for the tour aboard the ship, now a floating museum docked at the Port of Albany since 1997. 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING.  Governments' plans for dealing with climate change are inadequate, according to a report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC says major cities and entire countries will be flooded unless countries work to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 

WALMART GETS INTO VIDEO.  Vudu, Walmart's video-on-demand service, makes a deal with MGM to create original series based on the movie studio's film and TV catalog. 

 

NETFLIX TO PRODUCE IN N.M.  Netflix plans to open a film and production center in New Mexico, planning to bring $1 billion in production to the state over the next decade while creating up to 1,000 production jobs a year.

 

AIR FORCE FIGHTERS GROUNDED.  A fighter jet crash last month in South Carolina leads to a temporary pause in all F-35 flights.  That affects 250 U.S.-owned jets plus nearly 100 that belong to other nations including Israel and Great Britain.

Social Security COLA for 2019: Likely between 2.8 and 3 percent

Look for a 2019 Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) to be between 2.8 and 3 percent, calculates Grumpy Editor.  

That compares with 2 percent for 2018.

The official tally will be released Oct.11.

A big question is:  Will there be a boost in Medicare Part B premiums, as in 2018, that bites into a COLA increase. Part B covers doctors' visits and outpatient services.

 

Seniors faced with higher costs in vital areas such as health care, utilities, car insurance, groceries and travel will welcome a boost.

 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics averages consumer price indexes from July, August and September to determine next year’s COLA for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS GETS SCANT COVERAGE.   The consumer confidence index reaches an 18-year high, climbing to 138.4 in September from 134.7 in August.  That’s the highest since September, 2000.  Meanwhile, U.S. economy racks up the best performance in nearly four years, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing at a robust annual rate of 4.2 percent in the second quarter.

 

MISINFORMATION IS "CANCER."  New owner of the Los Angeles Times, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, advocates for a change in how people consume news on social media, calling misinformation and how it's spread the "cancer of our time."

 

CADDIE HQ BACK TO DETROIT.  General Motors’ is moving its Cadillac headquarters back to Detroit after four years in New York.  Triggering the move is management wants Cadillac leaders to be closer to vehicle design and engineering.

D.C.'s SHUTDOWN SAGA CONTINUES.  Latest periodic cry of government shutdown ends when Congress last Wednesday approves a $854 billion bill to keep government open through Dec. 7.  So look for more talk about government shutdown in late October.

HALF OF TOP 10 TV SHOWS INVOLVE FOOTBALL.  What moves Americans to TV viewing? Football. With the top 10 shows in the Sept. 10-16 period, five spotlighted football, grabbing first, third, fifth, seventh and eighth spots.  Always high-ranking “60 Minutes” comes in at No. 2.

'DONUTS' DISAPPEARS.  Dunkin’ Donuts is dropping Donuts from its name because of the chain’s increased focus on beverages.  The shorter name takes effect in January.

CHINESE BLOCK U.S. SHIP TO HONG KONG.  While Hong Kong has been a traditional port of call for U.S. Navy ships, the Chinese government denies the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp a visit, causing a fresh U.S.-China chill.

TED TURNER SAYS CURB POLITICS ON CNN.  Ted Turner, CNN founder, says he still occasionally watches the network he started nearly four decades ago, although he thinks it's a little heavy on politics.

MORE AMERICANS AGE 85-PLUS ARE WORKING

Not widely discussed is that about 255,000 Americans, 85-years-old and up, are working, representing 4.4 percent of those in that age bracket, a gain of 2.6 percent from 2006, notes Grumpy Editor.

So what are they doing?

The Washington Post aggregated census data from 2001 to 2016 to get an idea of specific occupations.  “Crossing guards are relatively likely to be age 85 or above,” observes the Post.  “The same goes for musicians, anyone who works in a funeral home, and product demonstrators like those you might find at a warehouse club store.”

Others eye management and sales, which involve less physical activity for seniors. Also driving trucks is attracting attention.

“By sheer numbers, the top job among the 85-plus-year-olds is farmers and ranchers,” the Post adds.  “It's also the one in which the distribution of older workers is most different from the distribution of the rest of the population. That category, which is distinct from farm laborers, houses 3.5 percent of the oldest workers --- but just 0.5 percent of the rest of the population.”

Grumpy Editor points out some folks in that age bracket are inspired to write memoirs.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

BIG BALLOON TO GREET TRUMP IN LONDON.  A high-flying greeting for President Donald Trump on Friday when he visits London will be a 19-foot “Trump baby” balloon, bearing his likeness as a baby with a diaper.  The balloon, bobbing at about 100 feet, will be tethered to the ground in Parliament Square Gardens in London.

NORTH KOREA EYES SUB FOR MISSILE LAUNCH.  North Korea is reportedly developing a submarine capable of launching nuclear ballistic missiles.  Last year the communist nation talked about firing such missiles off the California coast. 

INVADE VENEZUELA?  President Donald Trump is very interested in invading Venezuela, notes Fortune, adding “an AP report details how he has repeatedly raised the issue with aides, who have repeatedly tried to explain how such a move could easily backfire."

MOMENT OF SILENCE IN NEWSROOMS.  U.S. newsrooms observed a moment of silence on Thursday for the five staffers of Maryland’s Capital Gazette who were killed a week earlier in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history.

INTERNS NOW GETTING PAID.  More companies are paying interns, a result of a tight labor market.  This is a switch from employing interns, a pipeline for young talent, free.

NO MORE U.S.-MADE AVON PRODUCTS.  Avon, after a century producing beauty items in the U.S., is selling its last domestic facility (in Morton Grove, Ill.) to a French cosmetics maker.

ELON MUSK SENDS ENGINEERS TO AID THAILAND RESCUE.  Tesla Inc.’s  founder and chief executive Elon Musk dispatches engineers from two of his companies to help rescuers in Thailand free the boys’ soccer team that has been trapped in a cave.

FALSE OFFER ON FREE DISNEYLAND TICKETS.  Disneyland is not giving away free tickets to 500 families to celebrate the park’s anniversary, despite an advertisement circulating on social media. The false offer looks like a coupon and features artwork of Cinderella’s Castle with Disneyland Resorts written to appear like the theme park’s trademark.

POLL BLAMES TRUMP IN MEDIA RELATIONSHIP.   A recent Rasmussen Reports survey finds 51 percent of likely U.S. voters say President Donald Trump is more to blame for his tumultuous relationship with most traditional media outlets, while 42 percent feel it’s the media’s fault.

While seniors’ COLA flat in 2016, illegal teens get $17,613

Social Security recipients, who saw no increase in benefits for 2016, will be interested to learn that President Obama has budgeted $17,613 for each of the estimated 75,000 Central American teens expected to cross illegally into the U.S. this year, Grumpy Editor learned from a Washington Examiner story.

That’s $2,841 more than the average annual Social Security retirement benefit of $14,772.

The Examiner pointed out the total bill to taxpayers is $1.3 billion in benefits to "unaccompanied children," more than double what the federal government spent in 2010, according to an analysis of the administration's programs for illegal minors from the Center for Immigration Studies. 

What’s more, added The Examiner, “the administration is also spending heavily on a program with the United Nations to help the illegal minors avoid the dangerous trip by declaring them refugees and handing them a plane ticket to the U.S. where, once here, they get special legal status.”

Meanwhile, U.S. seniors have been coping with rising costs in rent, medical care, prescription drugs and other items.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Overshadowed by extensive political coverage:  U.S. employers added just 160,000 jobs last month, well below the average gain of 243,000 in the prior six months.  Also missing among top headlines:  The economy expanded at an annual pace of only one percent in the past six months...TV newscasts gave ample coverage to President Obama holding a glass of Flint, Mich., city water, subject of contamination reports for weeks.  Motioning the glass, as in a toast, toward news folks, he then took what looked like a quick sip of the contents --- or did he really take a swig?  Associated Press noted the president "coughing several times during his remarks"...The Chinese surpassed the U.S. in spending on business travel last year with $291.2 billion compared with $290.2 billion spent by their American counterparts, according to a report from the Global Business Travel Association and reported in USA Today...In an international push, look for the Los Angeles Times to build overseas bureaus in Hong Kong, Lagos, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and Seoul...The Justice Department said it no longer will call people “felons” or “convicts” after they are released from prison because it is too hard on them emotionally...The Tampa Tribune was acquired by longtime rival Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times).  Tribune subscribers will now get the Times, making it the country's fifth largest Sunday circulation newspaper...The U.S. lost about 191,000 jobs in the coal mining industry since September 2014 including about 7,000 that were lost in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  That followed a 10 percent drop in coal production last year and the Energy Department predicted a 16 percent decline this year, biggest one-year drop since 1958...NPR reported eight in 10 Americans haven’t figured out what they’re having for dinner by 4 p.m...Officials voted to change the name of Bob Hope Airport (named after the famous comedian since 2003) to Hollywood Burbank Airport in an effort to increase recognition with passengers outside of Southern California...NewsBusters pointed out that in a nearly 20-minute live interview with Hillary Clinton, "MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell spent a mere 17 seconds asking the Democratic frontrunner about the ongoing e-mail scandal."

 

Grumpy Editor noticed CNN has a bad habit of indicating what is on the screen is "live" when it is not.

Related articles

Shhh! China overtakes U.S. as world's No. 1 economy

Obama cites rising seas --- as rivers overflow in Texas

Amazon ranks Seattle as most-read city in the U.S.

Judge jails great grandmother after two dogs run loose

Lost in the week’s heavy news, ranging from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to some key Senate Democrats babbling in an overnight talkathon on climate change (ignoring the coldest U.S. six-month period since 1912) to growing approval of marijuana smoking, was a lack-of-common-sense development reported mainly in the Baltimore area, notes Grumpy Editor.

It was a teeth grinder and a slap to a money-squeezed, cancer-fighting widowed great grandmother with a clean record over her 81 years who was tossed into jail this month by a judge mainly for letting her two small dogs run loose a year ago from her home of 44 years. 

Civil citations were issued to Mary Magdalene Root --- following a neighbor’s photos showing a dog running loose --- that listed dog-at-large, dog license and license violations.  Exercising around Root’s home, on more than 1.5 acres, were her Chihuahua and terrier mix.

Bringing the case to light were the Baltimore Sun and WJZ, CBS’s Channel 13 in Baltimore.  The Drudge Report also noted the action.

The Sun pointed out Root was charged “with failing to pay seven $75 civil citations for three incidents” involving her dogs in 2013. 

The minor pet violations resulted in Root getting slapped with a $7,000 fine or spending nearly a year in jail, reported WJZ. 

“She was booked, fingerprinted and issued a striped jumpsuit… a cell without her cancer medication,” the TV report added.

Root spent two nights in Harford County Detention Center before being released after a person family members characterized as a "stranger" paid $250, the required 10 percent of her bail. 

Vantina Gifford, Root’s daughter, said her mother is resting at home and plans to return to court to fight the charges, according to the Sun.

 

In case you missed these… 

ATTKISSON BIDS FAREWELL TO CBS.  Emmy award winning investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson announced she is leaving CBS.  “It’s not a matter of ‘me’ being on the air, it’s the idea that so few of the incredibly interesting and important original and investigative topics I brought to the table, often exclusively, could find no home at CBS in the past three years or so,” Attkisson told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz.

 

L.A. TIMES FACES COMPETITION.  The Los Angeles Times will get daily print competition starting April 16 with the launch of the Los Angeles Register.  It marks the continued expansion by Freedom Communications Inc., that includes the Orange County Register, Long Beach Register and Riverside’s Press-Enterprise.

 

BEST D.C.-TO-GOTHAM ROUTE.  President Barack Obama hopped aboard Air Force One to New York that included a visit Tuesday to the Gap to pick up sweaters for his two daughters.  He stopped by the retailer because it recently announced it would voluntarily increase wages for employees.

 

WELLS FARGO DEBUTS ONLINE STORIES.  San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. unveiled an online magazine, “Wells Fargo Stories,” with features, photos and videos about employees, customers and communities the bank serves around the U.S.

 

CHICAGO CUBS’ NEW BROADCAST HOME LOOMS.  The rumble in Chicago is the Cubs baseball team could leave TV station WGN, home of play-by-play action since 1925, after the current season and that CBS has expressed interest in rights to carry the games.

 

SEASONED CHINESE FORTUNE COOKIE WRITERS NEEDED?  A message in a fortune cookie had the flavor of "Yogi" Berra, the long-time New York Yankees catcher noted for his quotes, such as the simplistic observation, "It ain't over till it's over.”  Over the weekend, a diner opened a fortune cookie that offered this advice:  “Always remember where you are going and never forget where you’ve been.”

Benghazi night/Obama in White House saga continues; AARP's CEO warns seniors about proposed chained CPI

The much-discussed whereabouts of President Barack Obama on the night the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya was attacked Sept. 11, 2012 popped up again via Roger Ailes, Fox News chairman and CEO, and chairman of Fox Television Stations Group, notes Grumpy Editor.

In receiving a $250,000 award last week from the Bradley Foundation, Ailes’ acceptance speech included reference to the Benghazi attack that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stephens.  

 “I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t even care what the president of the United States was doing that night,” Ailes said. “However, I would like to know what the commander-in-chief was doing that night” --- which yielded applause from the audience.

Meanwhile, a photo, presumably shot on Sept. 11, 2012, resurfaced last week after its first release, without much fanfare, in early January.

The caption read: “Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor, left, updates the President and Vice President on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and Chief of Staff Jack Lew are at right.”  All five are standing.

Strangely, Benghazi or Libya are not mentioned in the caption.  The photo shows Donilon holding a red file folder.  Lew and the president have hands in pockets.

However, details are given on the camera used by official White House photographer Pete Souza: a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

See the photo here.

Obama departed Washington the following morning (Sept. 12) for a Las Vegas fundraiser.

 

'Chained CPI' means less COLA for seniors

The phrase “chained CPI” and what it is all about made its debut --- with little comment from most print and broadcast media --- after President Barack Obama’s budget plan was formally announced on April 10. 

It deals with a proposed change in the formula for the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) that will negatively affect millions of older Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. 

Now, AARP’s CEO is alerting members that if enacted it “means cutting Social Security benefits by $127 billion over the next 10 years.” 

In a message to members of AARP (formerly known as American Association of Retired Persons) Addison Barry Rand warns:  “Can you afford to lose $14,076?,” pointing out “that’s what the cumulative cut in Social Security benefits will be for the average retiree by the time they reach 90.” 

Replacing the traditional consumer price index (CPI), long used in calculating the annual COLA, by chained CPI will cut yearly benefit increases. 

Social Security and SSI recipients grumbled when this year’s COLA barely rose to 1.7 percent, about half of last year’s 3.6 percent.  

The chained CPI “is not fair to you, me or other Americans,” declared Rand in this month’s message.

That caution communication from AARP’s CEO is in contrast to support of ObamaCare at a November, 2009, press conference when Rand proclaimed: “AARP is proud to endorse the Affordable Health Care for America Act."

 

In case you missed these…

Sarah Palin, former vice presidential candidate, returns as a Fox News contributor, appearing today on the channel’s Fox and Friends…Despite a presidential visit and promises of federal assistance, West, Texas, scene of an April 17 fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15, injured hundreds and destroyed nearby properties, was denied funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  FEMA also rejected Gov. Rick Perry’s request for a major disaster declaration for the town…Al Jazeera America schedules its launch for around Aug. 24...the PBS NewsHour nightly newscast is laying off employees for the first time in nearly 20 years and closing its Denver and San Francisco offices…Helen Brush Jenkins, one of the few early female photographers on daily newspapers (at the original Los Angeles Daily News), died in Chicago at age 94. 

‘Chained CPI’ likely to see squeezed seniors grumbling; Associated Press bans use of 'illegal immigrant' term

“Chained CPI” likely will get little comment from most print and broadcast media on Wednesday when President Barack Obama’s budget plan is formally announced, yet, if initiated, the new formula for the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) will negatively affect millions of older Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, notes Grumpy Editor.

The traditional consumer price index (CPI), long used in calculating the annual COLA, would be replaced by “chained CPI” that reduces yearly expected benefit increases. 

More than 60 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments would be further squeezed while facing higher costs for utility, gasoline, food, health-medical and most other bills. 

Recipients growled when this year’s COLA rose a modest 1.7 percent --- about half of last year’s 3.6 percent. 

In switching to a lower “chained CPI,” the Obama administration's thinking is growth of entitlement programs would be slowed. 

It assumes when prices of various items rise, consumers switch to cheaper substitutes, thus lower price tags.

 

AP scratches 'illegal' from Stylebook  

The Associated Press now bans the term, “illegal immigrant.”  In its updated Stylebook, followed by most news gatherers, AP mentions “use illegal only to refer to an action, not a person; illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant.” 

So what is an acceptable variation? 

AP cites “living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission.”  Except in direct quotations, AP adds, “do not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal, illegals or undocumented.” 

News folks who consult dictionaries may become confused.  Among definitions for illegal in one dictionary:  “A person who has entered or attempted to enter a country illegally.” 

What’s Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano think about AP’s identification adjustment?  She tells reporters she didn’t “really get caught up in the vocabulary wars.”

 

In case you missed these… 

As North Korea trumpets its “can-happen-at-any-time” ballistic missile firing, the U.S. Defense Department says the U.S. will deploy a missile-defense system to Guam as a “precautionary move.”  But, in looking closely at the announcement, it will occur “in coming weeks”…Inflation:  The Chicago Tribune raises its single-copy newsstand price by 50 cents to $1.50.  The Sunday edition remains $1.99 a copy…Confusing to subscribers:  The Cleveland Plain Dealer says it will deliver newspapers only three times a week starting this summer, but will continue publishing daily…Red Lobster is dangling an opportunity for its shrimp-eating patrons to appear in TV commercials.  Today is the last day to “tell us about your Endless Shrimp ritual --- who it's with and why you look forward to it all year,” says the restaurant chain. All it takes is 50 to 250 words, a photo and video (two minutes maximum).  No mention of pay --- or endless shrimp on the house for those selected.

Social Security COLA for 2013: a modest 1.7 percent

The 1.7 percent increase in the 2013 cost of living adjustment (COLA) for seniors, announced today, means about 60 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments starting in January will be squeezed in keeping up with bills, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Latest COLA represents about half the 3.6 percent boost for 2012 that came after two years with no raises. 

That translates to an annual average increase since 2009 of only 1.3 percent, hardly enough to keep up with higher costs for utility, gasoline, food, health-medical and most other bills. 

The Social Security COLA is based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) officials compare inflation in the third quarter with the same prior-year period.

Things could get even tighter for many retirees. 

Some of the 2013 increase could be wiped out by higher Medicare premiums --- to be announced later --- that are deducted from Social Security payments. 

Government projections indicate Medicare Part B premiums are expected to rise about $7 a month in 2013 from this year’s $99.90 for most seniors. 

Medicare covers services, such as lab tests, surgeries and doctor visits plus supplies (like wheelchairs and walkers) considered medically necessary to treat a disease or condition. 

The Social Security Administration says most retirees rely on monthly Social Security payments for 90 percent of their income.

Noteworthy this year is that today’s slim COLA for retirees comes exactly three weeks before Election Day.

Early numbers point to lower 2013 COLA for seniors

Seniors looking for a 2013 cost-of-living-adjustment on par with this year’s 3.6 percent COLA may be disappointed, sees Grumpy Editor. 

Media have been quiet on this outlook but the way things are shaping up, Social Security recipients will be lucky to get half that increase starting in January. 

Despite Americans getting hit harder in the wallet, especially with food and energy, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains consumer prices remained steady last month, continuing the long-heard line that “inflation pressures are contained” --- or “tame,” as the media like to describe it. 

Figures from July, August and September will be averaged out to determine the 2013 COLA for about 60 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients. 

BLS figures released last Wednesday show the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 1.3 percent over the last 12 months.  But for July, the index decreased 0.2 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. 

The CPI-W index for the third quarter this year vs. the like quarter last year is the key factor in determining the SS and SSI increase for 2013. 

Seniors can get another hint of the CPI direction with BLS’s release of August figures on Sept. 14.