Seniors Falling Into Poverty at Alarming Rates
- Author: Jeffrey Simmons
- Posted: 2024-08-05
Since the economy nearly collapsed in 2020 on the back of the COVID pandemic, millions upon millions of Americans have lost much of their wealth. The middle class has all but evaporated, and those who used to live comfortable lives are now barely hanging on, about to fall into poverty. Not only were 80% of America's small businesses forced to shut down, but now the nation is dealing with record high inflation, which has led to high fuel and food prices, along with other increased expenses. Though out of all Americans who are suffering, perhaps no one has been hit as hard as seniors. You would be hard-pressed to find articles about seniors suffering via the mainstream media. Admitting what has happened to seniors would be admitting the government has failed them, and the only purpose for corporate media's existence today is to run interference for politicians. But you cannot avoid these facts if you look into the situation. According to data from the US Census Bureau, over 10% of seniors are now living below the poverty line, with over 50% of seniors barely staying above it due to the fact they're still working and drawing SSI.
In only the past year, well over one million more seniors have fallen into poverty. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with how seniors live their lives or spend their money. The seniors here haven't done one single thing differently on their end. It's that the economy is truly that weak. It's no wonder that the government doesn't bring this up, and the mainstream media never touches the story. While they're both busy trying to paint Joe Biden's economy as historically strong, the data tell a completely different story. It's impossible to argue that the administration's policies have helped strengthen the American economy when there are another few thousand seniors falling into poverty every single day. These are the Americans that everyone should be fighting to care for.
Senior benefits and retirement packages on the private end of the spectrum have taken a huge hit. Wall Street is the weakest it has been in generations, and once you couple that with inflation, it is estimated that the majority of all seniors have far less money and capital available at their disposal now. On the public end of the spectrum, the government has not kept up with cost of living (COL) increases. Ironically enough, the government has loaded up a whole lot more money into Social Security. Though rather than this money being available to seniors, it's being handed out to undocumented immigrants so they can stay in hotels and have new smartphones. Seniors are ignored and swept under the rug.
No Room on the Docket for Seniors
It's a very odd thing to watch all of these campaign ads pouring out this time of year. It's very close to the midterm elections for Congress, and so the ads are coming fast and thick, with each party blaming the other for all of America's problems. Many of the Democrats are running ads claiming that Republicans have gutted Social Security for seniors. Republicans in turn run ads claiming that it's the Democrats' fault. The truth is that neither party cares about doing anything for seniors, but they sure do want old people to lend them some votes. Every single day in Congress, when politicians are actually there, they're busy trying to pass some form of legislation. America's government passes more laws than any other country on the planet. Every day they're signing something new into law, but it's never anything for the benefit of seniors.
Currently, America's Congress is working on a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, after already giving them more than that in total. They're also planning to increase aid to Israel, Scandinavian countries, some Middle Eastern countries, and they're even floating around the idea about paying even more money into NATO and the United Nations. All told, the government is pushing close to spending a trillion US dollars on foreign nations, yet they haven't offered a single extra penny to America's seniors who are suffering due to the problems that America's government created in the first place with its reckless spending.
No senior should have to face such blatant disrespect. If you don't like the direction of this government, let your voice be heard. Critics of the government suggest that now is the time to call your local representative and apply pressure.
