Social Security Payments to Shrink for First Time in a Generation

Would the Health Care Bill be more likely to pass muster when things like this affect the senior population? A slight of hand from the government.... lakotahope

WASHINGTON -- Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.

The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.

By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.

"I will promise you, they count on that COLA," said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "To some people, it might not be a big deal. But to seniors, especially with their health care costs, it is a big deal."

Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels.

Advocates say older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care, where costs rise faster than inflation. Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income.

"For many elderly, they don't feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still going up," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP. "Anyone who has savings and investments has seen some serious losses."

About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.

More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security Administration.

Millions of people with Medicare Part B coverage for doctors' visits also have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments. Part B premiums are expected to rise as well. But under the law, the increase cannot be larger than the increase in Social Security benefits for most recipients.

There is no such hold-harmless provision for drug premiums.

China Acquires Swiss Oil Producer

Geneva-based oil and gas producer Addax Petroleum Corp was purchased by China's largest oil refiner. Addax primarily deals in projects located in Africa and the Middle East. For the past decade China has been increasing its presence on the African continent. Many business deals and a large influx of Chinese into this region is a symptom of acquisition in Africa's infrastructure. What would be the overall problem of long term, maybe permanent Chinese influence in this area? China will own the world one day and we will wonder what we did wrong.... China already owns the largest share of America's debt and this will likely continue to increase. Especially, with Obama's planned stimulus debt of 1.3 trillion dollars or more. How will America pay for this HUGE burden in the long run--increased taxes is the only way..... lakotahope
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BEIJING, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - Sinopec Group, China's largest oil refiner, has taken over Geneva-based oil and gas producer Addax Petroleum Corp., the Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

According to the agency, the Sinopec group purchased the Swiss oil company for around $7.2 billion. Sinopec said it paid $47.80 per share for 157.6 million Addax shares.

Sinopec have not confirmed the deal, however.

The deal would be the largest overseas takeover deal by a Chinese oil company.

Addax is an international oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Africa and the Middle East.

Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter for the British May Be Revised

The F35, Joint Strike Fighter has been ordered to replace Britain's aging Harrier fleet. The replacement aircraft are the STOVL variety and it looks like they may be replaced for the standard variety of F35. The Pentagon had been depending on selling the F35 and allowing joint production with the U.S.A.'s allies as a means to get everyone on board for a universal fighter. A fighter that may indeed make money for our defense contractors. Earlier in the year, Obama scrapped plans to produce more F22 Raptors in favor of the cheaper and more "combat theater" versatile JSF..... lakotahope
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British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has been given some $824 million in taxpayer's money to develop the highly complex jump jet engine enabling vertical takeoff and landing for the so-called STOVL Joint Strike Fighter. The plane would have succeeded the Harrier Jump Jet, which goes out of service in 2015. by Staff Writers
London (UPI) Aug 12, 2009
Britain may drop the short-takeoff and vertical-landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter in favor of the conventional model to be used on its two planned aircraft carriers.

The decision would waste taxpayer's money and could result in job losses, British newspaper Daily Telegraph writes. The decision to drop the jump jet model could be announced this fall, the newspaper writes, citing unnamed sources from the British Defense Ministry.

London plans to build two new aircraft carriers and wants to equip them with Joint Strike Fighters. British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has been given some $824 million in taxpayer's money to develop the highly complex jump jet engine enabling vertical takeoff and landing for the so-called STOVL Joint Strike Fighter. The plane would have succeeded the Harrier Jump Jet, which goes out of service in 2015.

"We have to take an immensely important decision," Quentin Davies, the British procurement minister, told the newspaper. "The testing and evaluation phase has been ongoing of the first three aircraft. We have to take a decision as to which version of aircraft we shall be agreeing and we shall be focusing on this situation in the coming months."

If that model is indeed dropped, Rolls-Royce could lose hundreds of jobs and more than $8 billion in orders, the daily writes.

Military officials favor the conventional model, which takes off from a carrier runway, because it has a longer flight range and can carry more bombs. The so-called CV Joint Strike Fighter is also $25 million cheaper, playing into the cards of a Defense Ministry trying to slash costs because of budget constraints.

But as the first carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, is already under construction, a later turnaround regarding its planes would mean that the ships would have to be redesigned, with additional costs involved.

The ministry did not dismiss or confirm the report.

"To maximize the flexibility that the carriers will offer over their service life, they are being built to an adaptable design that can operate both STOVL and CV type aircraft," it said in a statement. "(The carriers) are designed around the operation of the STOVL Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, and this remains our preferred solution to meet the UK's Carrier Strike requirement along with the Queen Elizabeth Class of carriers and the Maritime Airborne Surveillance Capability."