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Editorial
Comparing apples to apples
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Two of the purposes of the media are to inform and educate. More and more lately, we have seen parts of the media distort facts to inflame the public. Both ends of the political spectrum are guilty. The public then loses trust in both their leaders and the media responsible for monitoring them.
Opinion pages give writers the opportunity to discuss their viewpoint and provide facts and analysis to support their position. Sometimes opinion columns are advocacy in nature. Sometimes they are adversarial. They should always be based on truth. When they are not, it is unfair to the subject of the opinion piece, but more importantly, it is unfair to the reader.
It seems that a clarification of some points made in Dick Trail's column last week concerning Congressional pay raises is in order. In the column published Dec. 29, 2009, Trail stated that the U.S. Senate had voted itself a $5,300 raise, while at the same time increasing Medicare premiums to senior citizens and voting not to give social security cost-of-living increases in 2010 and 2011.
Congressional Pay Increases:
The truth is that early in 2009, Congress voted to stop an automatic 2010 pay increase for members. Congress established legislation more than 20 years ago that provided an automatic pay raise for members each year. The increase is dictated by the Employment Cost Index, which is computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Employment Cost Index measures changes in employment costs, including wages, bonuses, and benefits.
Lawmakers, led by Democrat leadership, decided that the state of the U.S. economy was such that the raises should not be implemented for 2010. An increase of approximately $5,300 (3.14 percent) was implemented in January 2009. Rank-and-file lawmakers earned $174,000 in 2009 and that wage will remain the same through 2010.
A subject left to future opinion pieces is whether or not Congressional pay should increase automatically if the Employment Cost Index increases.
Social Security COLA Increases:
While Mr. Trail was correct that Social Security benefits will not automatically increase in 2010, it was not because Congress voted to give no increase. Changes to Social Security payments are based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. From the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009, the CPI did not increase, hence no cost-of-living-adjustment in Social Security for 2010. Under the same formula, there was a 5.8 percent increase beginning in January 2009, the largest increase since 1982.
The COLA provision was enacted by Congress as part of the 1972 Social Security Amendments. Prior to enactment, increases in Social Security benefits had to be enacted by Congress on an ad hoc basis, making them subject to the political whims of politicians. The automatic COLA for Social Security took the matter out of the hands of politicians, just as the automatic congressional pay increase legislation did.
The Social Security cost of living increase for 2011 has not yet been set. It will be determined later this year by comparing the CPI from the third quarter 2009 to the third quarter of 2010.
Medicare Premiums:
As Mr. Trail wrote, Medicare premiums did increase for 2010. Part A premiums went from $244 to $254 per month (or from $443 to $461 for people who are not otherwise eligible for premium-free hospital insurance). Part B premiums stayed the same ($96.40 per month) except for recipients whose incomes are above $85,000 (single) and $170,000 (married couple). Mr. Trail stated that his Medicare premiums went up $285.60 for the 2-years, which is the equivalent of about $11.90 per month.
Apples to Apples:
So, to restate Mr. Trail's points, comparing apples to apples and using facts: U.S. Senate members received an additional $5,300 in 2009, a 3.14 percent increase in salary. Social Security recipients received a 5.8 percent increase in the same time period. Neither group will receive an increase in 2010. 2011 increases have yet to be set for both groups. Medicare premiums went up from $10 to $18 per month in 2010. Medicare premiums are yet to be set for 2011.