It looks like the proposed $250 Social Security stimulus check which was announced by President Obama late last year is unfortunately not going to be sent out.
On March 3, the Senate voted down the proposal for a $250 bonus check by a score of 50-47.
The reason that the plan was voted down was because of the cost. It was estimated that sending out the $250 checks to Social Security recipients as well as SSI recipients would have cost about $14 billion dollars. Considering the current deficit is at record levels, the Senate decided that some cuts had to be made. The other reason is that the Social Security payments are indexed to inflation which is why they were increase 5.8% last year, so to give a bonus when inflation is low, defeats the purpose of the indexing.
Just last week Senator Bunning held up another important vote on extending long term unemployment benefits in a rather bizarre one-man show of fiscal restraint.
Will Social Security Payments Be Paid If United States Defaults On Debt?
The government is on pace to run up a record $1.6 trillion deficit this year because of various stimulus spending including $66 billion dollars on various unemployment extension benefits.
The $250 Social Security payment was being considered to make up for the fact that the Social Security payout did not have a cost-of-living increase this year because of low inflation.
The $250 check was paid out last year to Social Security recipients, SSI recipients and a few other groups as well.
Is there any chance of another $250 stimulus check this year?
This Bill is dead in the water but that doesn’t mean a similar Bill couldn’t be created. I personally doubt that there will be another check this year but if the cost-of-living increase for 2011 is zero or close to zero percent then I think the odds would be quite good that another $250 bonus check would be approved.
How many senior citizens does this effect?
There are about 55 million senior citizens receiving Social Security who would have been eligible for this bonus payment. Although the check amount is not huge, it will be interesting to see what effect, if any this will have on future elections. It was widely expected that this stimulus payment would be paid out by March of 2010 and there will be an awful lot of disappointed, and possibly angry senior citizens who might be thinking that they have been short-changed $250 by this vote.
67 replies on “Senate Rejects $250 Stimulus Check For Social Security And SSI”
Hello Mary! Yes, I know what “activism” is especially since I’m a child of the 60’s. I applaud you for thinking that the government cares, really cares about WE the voting units. I appreciate the SSI funds I get, that are paid by other citizens who are earning enough money to pay taxes. That is about half of the working class people and businesses in our great land. I take the little bit of money left over after rent and living expenses and I buy electronic parts to build the electronic products I have designed. When I spent 30 days in the CICU, with one foot in the grave, I decided that I not only wanted to survive, but I wanted to flourish. I used my 2009 Stimulus check to buy microcontrollers and analog-to-digital converters. That money did help to stimulate the electronics section of the economy. I believe in Cash Flow and if I got another $250, I would do the same. Soon, I might be selling my 3 products and I hope to rejoin the half of Americans who make enough money to pay taxes.
I am on Social Security. Where can I get a list of the Democrats that voted against the Social Security Stimulus Check, so I can make sure I vote against then next election
I figure since i am not getting any increase, I am going to get my monies worth this year in medical procedures that I had been putting off. So far in 2 months I have incurred over $8,000.00 just in the costs Medicare is paying to a hospital.. I have no out of pocket, as my benefit amount is so low. Medicaid picks up whatever is owed. Have not even seen the doctors charges yet. Oh well. I think I am going to get one of those Hoveraround or Jazzy scooters this year as well.
I am not surprised at all that there is nothing for us senior citizens who have worked very hard all of these years and been forced to pay our earned money into the soc. security system. I had to take retirement at 62 due to an illness and am receiving less than I would have, if I’d retired at 66. But, I had no choice. I don’t receive assistance and live on a very tight budget. $250 would have helped me to catch up on some bills, after a very hard winter. I’m giving a lot of thought to why our system is seemingly beginning to fail. Out-sourcing should be absolutely stopped. Our doors should close for at least 10-20 years to people coming into our country. Send illegals back to where they came from and do it quickly. Let our country and it’s real citizens and our economy recover.
IT IS CLEAR THAT PRES. OBAMA HAS NOT PAID A BILL OR HAS GONE SHOPPING THIS YEAR. “NO RISE IN THE COST OF LIVING?”GET OUT AND PAY SOME BILLS. EVERYTHING HAS GONE UP EXCEPT SOCIAL SECURITY. ANOTHER LIE CHALKED UP TO THE ADMINISTRATION. BILLIONS ON BAILOUTS BUT NOTHING FOR THE PRIVATE CITIZEN. I HOPE THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED THIS ADMINISTRATION ARE HAPPY.. THEY ARE A SAD BUNCH. I HOPE NOV. IS A WAKENING CALL TO ALL.
I retired in 1988 and am drawing $1080.00 per month ,I had to sell my home for what I owed on it and move in with my daughter ,but after 22 years on social security, I feel the government has done well for me ,this 250.dollars would have been nice , but I will have to do what my father always told me ,,do the best you can with what you got ..
so I wont complain about the government s failure to pass a bonus payment ,maybe next time…
HM – I don’t have the answer your ask for, but it’s easy to take care of these people. Don’t vote for ANY of them. Most specially the creep at the top and Reid and Pelosi.
The whole idea of the “No Cost of Living” is a sham. My Medicare drug co-pay was $1.10 in 2009. It jumped to $2.50 in 2010. Medicare caused my cost to live to increase this year. I certainly do not have more income this year. My benefit amount places me BELOW the poverty level. If not for Food Stamps, not sure what I would do.
no increase for 3 years.Politicians thinks its time for us to suffer.this the way its got to be. I remember when the state of California had a 347 dollar check program from ( Renters Assistance) allowing bonus check every year. but the whole time Gov. Arnold was in office there was no money from the state for that. Gov Jerry Brown is going to cut 12 billion dollars from California budget cutting medical. 10 doctors visits a year cap and 5 dollar copay. emergency room copay 50.00 , Daycare for Mental or Retarded and we do not use that term no more, people will be eliminated for those 27000 people,
Some times this is the way its got to be even if its not fair. 3 millions people with out jobs. Jerry brown in California told is we need to take a spoonful of our medicine now. as long as the war is going on in the world and problems the stock market cant go up and put people back to work. as long as Google remains at 600 dollars the economy may not get better. for this many years Google has remained at 500 to 600 per stock while every body else stock is going down this is not good news. as long as this happens that money will not shift to other market and it will stay the same. but that means other company cant grow and hire new jobs. I would like Microsoft Bing to take the lead in the search engine because they are better for the economy. as long as people are not employed things are going to stay the same. 2 friends of mine said they never want to come back to California ever again. programs are being cut left and right. it really hurts.
Look at the Bright side pay off your credit cards. stay home more. small town people can take walks and relax. take a spoonful of your medicine now. you will have more money later. then you can buy 200 dollars worth of groceries. better food to eat and stay healthy. I went to Winco today and all I had was 30 dollars I got ( 3 pounds of Frozen Chicken ($6.00 ) 5 peaces. weeks worth,,, also ( 5 oranges 2.50 ), Loaf of bread 2.00 , mixed Frozen vegetables 1.50 24.00 dollars total. 1 peace of chicken a day tho it will only last a week. so this means chicken would have to be every other day. stay away from Cash advance because if you borrow 255. dollars from 2 places x 2 that’s 500 dollars plus interest of 50 dollars x 2 that’s 100 dollars in interest so you got to pay back 600 dollars ouch vicious cycles leave u with out no money. suffer now is the only way u will ever learn. we all need to Budget. and if credit cards go over your head with interest I would go to Consumer credit counselor witch I did and got it lower in interest with this program that has been great . if you feel u need cell phone just remember that 40 dollars or more a month.
Since it appears that the government does not think costs to live have increased, and continue to allow many of us to live BELOW the poverty level, I have my own way to get through things.
I stopped paying all my credit cards. Let them sue me. I have nothing, and since Social Security cannot be garnished, I am judgement proof. I am also incurring loads of medical bills due to what I feel is stress. Weekly trips to the emergency room for Migraine headaches. I am sure this is brought on my living BELOW the poverty level. I stopped driving.. I now call an ambulence everytime I need to see the ER Docs.
It would seem not giving me a cost of living increase is certainly costing them alot more in one way or the other. Any medical bills not paid by Medicare will just go unpaid. not my problem anymore. I have realized that being poor does have its advantages. At my age, who cares about my credit reports when all my bills are turned over to collection agencies. I care as much as the governmemt cares about me…..ZERO!
I am on ssi and i can’t hardly make it with my rent,lights.water,gas i can’t sometimes get my medicene and i am a heart patience and have asthama and i can use this $250.00 it will help me a whole lots. please help us that is on ss,ssi ,vet. and retired we need help the cost of living is bad the lights is going up and everything else to u are right i would like see them live on what they give us they could make it
i heard they were talking about a stimuls check for people on social security and ssi in 2012…… i don’t know how true this is, but it would surely be good for us that are on social security, we are getting a raise next year its about damn time don’t you think? and a whole 3.6% im not complaining but would like for it to be more. i surely could use an 250.00 next year but obama isnt going to let us get it , we need more help being on a fixed income is EXTREMELY hard, i would like to see the higher ups try and live off of what we get a month, they couldn’t do it. please mr president give us another 250.00 we need it
i did get mine 2010 socail security stimuls check i been call social secrity they say they will look into but still check i twices last year an twices still no help could help me get mine 2010 stimul check because social security is give me a run around
were mine 2010 stimuls check from social security
hello well we get are social security chech in march 3 of 2012