Spiking costs trump COLAs

Rising housing, food and health care costs for New York City‘s senior citizens are outpacing Social Security adjustments, according to a new study released today by Representative Anthony Weiner, co-chair of the Bi-partisan Congressional Caucus on the Middle Class.
Weiner, whose district spans neighborhoods in south-central Queens and Brooklyn, stood with City Council Finance Committee Chair David Weprin and legislators from Brooklyn in front of City Hall on Sunday, October 19, to illustrate the inequity.
“Social Security cost of living allowances (COLAs), which are designed to help seniors with these rising costs, simply have not kept pace,” Weiner said. Using a bar chart, he pointed out the ominous math.
According to the figures, since last year: Medicare prescription drug premiums have jumped 12 percent; rents for rent stabilized apartments have increased by as much as 8.5 percent, according to the Rent Guidelines Board and food prices increased 7.3% – the biggest increase in any 12-month period since 1990, Weiner said.
COLAs were increased by 5.8 percent this past year - the largest increase in 25 years, he admitted. But prices in New York City have risen by more than 20 percent over the past 5 years, according to the Consumer Price Index, Weiner pointed out.
The prospective mayoral candidate, who was the youngest person ever to serve in the City Council when he was elected in 1991 at age 27, rose to Congress in 1998.
“While many New Yorkers are struggling with rising prices, our senior citizens are taking it on the chin,” he said.
According to figures, there are close to 300,000 seniors in Queens. More than 182,000 New York City seniors earn under $11,000 a year, and depend heavily on their social security check as their sole source of income.
The average Social Security income in New York City is only $13,505, according to figures.
To address the regional differences in costs for seniors, Weiner has introduced the “COLA Fairness Act” in each Congress during his three terms and plans to reintroduce legislation in the 111th Congress next year.
His bill calls for determining COLAs based on regions, so that seniors in expensive areas, such as New York City, aren’t “punished.”
If enacted, Weiner’s legislation would provide New York seniors with a two percent boost in Social Security benefits over five years.
“The last thing New York City seniors should have to worry about after spending a lifetime working, paying taxes, and playing by the rules is affording food or housing,” Weiner declared.