Republican or Democrat: Express your OUTRAGE about this >>

[protectionist]

Part of the problem with the low increase in SS COLA is the increase in the Medicare Part A and B deduction that they will take out. The fact is that the US Gov't cannot afford to keep pace with inflation for the entitlement programs, we are already seeing deficits of approx $2 trillion and that is just not sustainable. Both programs are out of control.

It isn't the Social Security that is out of control, it is th inflation that is out of control. One way to control it is with rent control to keep rent reasonable, & help renters & business owners & stockholders) Why are we allowing all of America's $$$$$ to be funneled into the pockets of one small group (landlords)

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

It isn't the Social Security that is out of control, it is th inflation that is out of control. One way to control it is with rent control to keep rent reasonable, & help renters & business owners & stockholders) Why are we allowing all of America's $$$$$ to be funneled into the pockets of one small group (landlords)

Rent control is stupid and counterproductive.

 

[Seymour Flops]

Where do you get this oddball idea about "live off the sweat of others". I'm talking about Social Security, which I paid into for 50 years. MY sweat, not "others".

That money was spent almost as fast as it was taken in. The money for your checks comes from the money that current. Social security payers, we're putting in, so it is the sweat of others.

Social security is a Ponzi pyramid scheme. The people paying in now are the real losers.Because sooner or later, the system will collapse.

I'm also talking about my VA pension, which I served in the military fir 6 years for.

Six years and you got a pension? i was in for eleven years and did not get a pension.I just got a severance check.

Are you here you don't mean disability?

As for rents, it is improper to let a relatively small group of greed freaks control the lives of 112 million Americans, gouging them out of all their available money, in addition to destroying millions of US businesses, large & small, by wiping out the disposable $$$ people have to buy the things those businesses are trying to sell.

That is why I like the idea of government run group homes. They're very efficient, and I think you would enjoy living. You'd have lots of people similarly situated to commiserate with.

Then the people who own desirable rental properties could rent them out two people who can't afford them without fear of complaining from people who cannot afford them.

If you're worried about not having any money at all, then maybe it should be turn over your social security check, but get a fifty dollar per week allowance for cigarettes, beer and whatnot.

And if I had not bothered to plan for my retirement, understanding the unreliability of government checks. I would be happy to have a situation like that.Rather than stress out about rending increases.

As a matter of fact, due to the fact that women live so much longer than men, there would probably be a 5 to 1 ratio female to male in a building like that. You be surrounded by hotties! Well farmer hotties anyway.

If the Social Security increases were adequate, that would take care of the skyrocketing rents problem, but wouldn't it be better to fix the cause rather than stick band aids on ?

What do you think is the cause?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

1. Where do you get this oddball idea about "live off the sweat of others". I'm talking about Social Security, which I paid into for 50 years. MY sweat, not "others".

I'm also talking about my VA pension, which I served in the military fir 6 years for.

As for rents, it is improper to let a relatively small group of greed freaks control the lives of 112 million Americans, gouging them out of all their available money, in addition to destroying millions of US businesses, large & small, by wiping out the disposable $$$ people have to buy the things those businesses are trying to sell.

If the Social Security increases were adequate, that would take care of the skyrocketing rents problem, but wouldn't it be better to fix the cause rather than stick band aids on ?

2. Like what!! Like everything. Clothing, pet food, veterinarians, home electronics, furniture, musical instruments, etc.

So you are opposed to Social Security ? How abot VA pensions ? VA healthcare

I'm also talking about my VA pension, which I served in the military fir 6 years for.

How do you qualify for a "VA pension" after serving 6 years? Link?

 

[task0778]

It isn't the Social Security that is out of control, it is th inflation that is out of control. One way to control it is with rent control to keep rent reasonable, & help renters & business owners & stockholders) Why are we allowing all of America's $$$$$ to be funneled into the pockets of one small group (landlords)

Rent control has been tried before and hasn't worked out well for anybody. It is a form of price control, and when you suppress the price of anything (including housing), you get less of it than you otherwise would. That's because investments in building new housing becomes less profitable and more risky, and also because landlords will reduce their property maintenance if they can't raise the rent.

 

[protectionist]

That money was spent almost as fast as it was taken in. The money for your checks comes from the money that current. Social security payers, we're putting in, so it is the sweat of others.

Social security is a Ponzi pyramid scheme. The people paying in now are the real losers. Because sooner or later, the system will collapse.

Six years and you got a pension? i was in for eleven years and did not get a pension.

I just got a severance check.

Are you here you don't mean disability?

That is why I like the idea of government run group homes. They're very efficient, and I think you would enjoy living. You'd have lots of people similarly situated to commiserate with.

Then the people who own desirable rental properties could rent them out two people who can't afford them without fear of complaining from people who cannot afford them.

If you're worried about not having any money at all, then maybe it should be turn over your social security check, but get a fifty dollar per week allowance for cigarettes, beer and whatnot.

And if I had not bothered to plan for my retirement, understanding the unreliability of government checks. I would be happy to have a situation like that. Rather than stress out about rending increases.

As a matter of fact, due to the fact that women live so much longer than men, there would probably be a 5 to 1 ratio female to male in a building like that. You be surrounded by hotties! Well farmer hotties anyway.

What do you think is the cause?

The cause is allowing landlords to bludgeon us with rent increases of 10-15% while simultaneously giving us 2.8% COLA increases.

If you're a veteran over 65, you are entitled to a pension. If yo are under 65 you can collect disability if you have a service-connected one.

And don't give me this crap about sweat of others. From the sound of your posts, I find it suspicious if you've ever sweated on any kind of work at all.

I quit cigarettes in 1969. Quit beer in 1987.

As for govt run homes, I live in a building now which is semi-subsidized by the govt,, and the owners still hit us with high rent increases every year.

Turn over a Social Security check of $1000-$2000/month to get a fifty dollar per week allowance ? Are you feeling OK ?

 

[protectionist]

Rent control has been tried before and hasn't worked out well for anybody. It is a form of price control, and when you suppress the price of anything (including housing), you get less of it than you otherwise would. That's because investments in building new housing becomes less profitable and more risky, and also because landlords will reduce their property maintenance if they can't raise the rent.

This is all landlord propganda bullshit.
There are MILES & MILES of buildings, across 5 boroughs, that are in great shape now, and don't look a bit different than they did 70 or 80 years ago - including the building and the whole street that I was raised in.

Never debate something you know nothing about, and the other person is an expert on that subject.
The building I was raised in, in the Fort George neighborhood of upper Manhattan (New York City) was built in 1908.
And I lived in it from 1946 to 1967 (visited it until 1977) and under rent control the entire time. Good condition - then & now.. Same with dozens of other buildings throughout the neighborhood. All rent controlled, no shortages, no buildings abandoned. Nothing destroyed. Everything now as it was 75 years ago. Now fully occupied, landlords making decent profits all along.

This is a recent picture of the street (Ellwood St - 197 St) that I grew up in, in the 1940s & 50s. If this picture were taken then, it wouldn't look one iota different than it looks right here in the 2020s.

 

[Rawley]

I'm 35, own a home and have a great pension plan. Life is good.

What are you wasting time here for? You're young, get back to work and make more money.

 

[martybegan]

Please stay on topic - the cheapskate Social Security Admin.

Social security isn't supposed to be your only retirement, it's supposed to supplement your retirement.

 

[task0778]

This is all landlord propganda bullshit.
There are MILES & MILES of buildings, across 5 boroughs, that are in great shape now, and don't look a bit different than they did 70 or 80 years ago - including the building and the whole street that I was raised in.

Never debate something you know nothing about, and the other person is an expert on that subject.
The building I was raised in, in the Fort George neighborhood of upper Manhattan (New York City) was built in 1908.
And I lived in it from 1946 to 1967 (visited it until 1977) and under rent control the entire time. Good condition - then & now.. Same with dozens of other buildings throughout the neighborhood. All rent controlled, no shortages, no buildings abandoned. Nothing destroyed. Everything now as it was 75 years ago. Now fully occupied, landlords making decent profits all along.

View attachment 1192379

This is a recent picture of the street (Ellwood St - 197 St) that I grew up in, in the 1940s & 50s. If this picture were taken then, it wouldn't look one iota different than it looks right here in the 2020s.

Maybe you oughta learn a few things yourself:

How rent control harms housing​

• Reduced housing supply and upkeep: In San Francisco, rent control led to a 15% reduction in the number of available rental units between 1979 and 1994 as landlords converted properties to condos or sold them. Nationwide, 61% of housing providers have deferred or expect to defer maintenance and improvements due to rent control limiting revenue to cover rising repair and upkeep costs.

Rent control implications and policy alternatives

Seven states currently have rent control laws, and 20 states introduced bills related to rent control in 2024.

reason.org

While rent control appears to alleviate the situation of tenants living in the regulated dwellings, multiple other effects emerge. Rent control leads to the redistribution of income. Apart from an evident and sometimes intended effect of reducing the revenues of landlords, it can also lead to rent increases for dwellings that are not subject to control. Thus, tenants living in such dwellings pay more, which reduces their welfare. However, even tenants in the controlled dwellings can suffer from rent control, as maintenance of such dwellings can be reduced, leading to a decreased housing quality. Rent control can also negatively affect the overall supply of housing or, in particular, the supply of rental housing, which can adversely affect many market participants: both tenants and homeowners.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051137724000020

The empirical literature on rent control is large and points in the same direction. Kholodilin (2024) reviewed more than a hundred studies and found consistent patterns across cities and decades. Rent control reduces the supply of rental housing, distorts the allocation of space, and leads to visible deterioration in building quality. Rents in uncontrolled units rise as demand shifts toward the parts of the market still available. Residential construction slows, and mobility declines as tenants hold on to regulated units. Rent control transfers wealth to a group of incumbent tenants who happen to hold onto their regulated units, but the gains to these lucky occupants do not offset the costs imposed on those who search for housing and find nothing available.

Rent Control - FEE

As 2026 looms, it brings with it an anniversary worth noticing: eighty years since Milton Friedman and George Stigler published Roofs or Ceilings?, the very

fee.org

 

[Seymour Flops]

The cause is allowing landlords to bludgeon us with rent increases of 10-15% while simultaneously giving us 2.8% COLA increases.

How does one connect to the other? The SS administration isnt who is raising your rent.

If you're a veteran over 65, you are entitled to a pension. If yo are under 65 you can collect disability if you have a service-connected one.

Learn something new every day! Ilooked it up and you are correct. Well, good for you, you're getting a little extra then.

And don't give me this crap about sweat of others. From the sound of your posts, I find it suspicious if you've ever sweated on any kind of work at all.

I sweated plenty buddy. Isweated in the army, and I sweated at ups. i sweated in a pet food warehouse while I was putting myself through college.

But none of that really matters. what if I really had never sweated a day in my life? it would be nobody's business, because i'm not asking anyone to provide me my living. I enjoy the fact that I take care of myself.

I quit cigarettes in 1969. Quit beer in 1987.

Good for you, use the 50 per week for
Cokes and moon pies or gifts for grandchildren.Whatever you like.

As for govt run homes, I live in a building now which is semi-subsidized by the govt,, and the owners still hit us with high rent increases every year.

That's why we should go the fulmonte, and have you simply lived in a government home at no cost, other than giving up your social security. no ripped to increased to worry about ever. no more stress about how large our how small your cola will be.

Turn over a Social Security check of $1000-$2000/month to get a fifty dollar per week allowance ? Are you feeling OK ?

But your rent and your food would be paid for so why would you need more money than that? You came on the board with a problem and I offered a solution.

Or keep your social security but don't complain when money gets tight. I got news for you, pal. Money got tight for almost everyone during the four disastrous years of the Autopen Administration.

 

[protectionist]

Social security isn't supposed to be your only retirement, it's supposed to supplement your retirement.

Who said so ?

 

[martybegan]

Who said so ?

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/soci...ur-only-retirement-income-warns-kevin-oleary/

Experts say Social Security should not be the only source of retirement income

Plenty of more links where that came from.

 

[protectionist]

Maybe you oughta learn a few things yourself:

How rent control harms housing​

• Reduced housing supply and upkeep: In San Francisco, rent control led to a 15% reduction in the number of available rental units between 1979 and 1994 as landlords converted properties to condos or sold them. Nationwide, 61% of housing providers have deferred or expect to defer maintenance and improvements due to rent control limiting revenue to cover rising repair and upkeep costs.

Rent control implications and policy alternatives

Seven states currently have rent control laws, and 20 states introduced bills related to rent control in 2024.

reason.org

While rent control appears to alleviate the situation of tenants living in the regulated dwellings, multiple other effects emerge. Rent control leads to the redistribution of income. Apart from an evident and sometimes intended effect of reducing the revenues of landlords, it can also lead to rent increases for dwellings that are not subject to control. Thus, tenants living in such dwellings pay more, which reduces their welfare. However, even tenants in the controlled dwellings can suffer from rent control, as maintenance of such dwellings can be reduced, leading to a decreased housing quality. Rent control can also negatively affect the overall supply of housing or, in particular, the supply of rental housing, which can adversely affect many market participants: both tenants and homeowners.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051137724000020

The empirical literature on rent control is large and points in the same direction. Kholodilin (2024) reviewed more than a hundred studies and found consistent patterns across cities and decades. Rent control reduces the supply of rental housing, distorts the allocation of space, and leads to visible deterioration in building quality. Rents in uncontrolled units rise as demand shifts toward the parts of the market still available. Residential construction slows, and mobility declines as tenants hold on to regulated units. Rent control transfers wealth to a group of incumbent tenants who happen to hold onto their regulated units, but the gains to these lucky occupants do not offset the costs imposed on those who search for housing and find nothing available.

Rent Control - FEE

As 2026 looms, it brings with it an anniversary worth noticing: eighty years since Milton Friedman and George Stigler published Roofs or Ceilings?, the very

fee.org

All these are the standard old lines spoken by (if not paid for) by landlords, and their mouthpieces. There could be 100 more posts in this thread saying the same thing, all put to rest by Post # 27, and 100 years of New York rent control behind it. Ho hum.

So what's your take on >>
1. the devastation to businesses (large & small) from skyrocketing rents ?
2. The absurd use of the false 2.8% definition of inflation (to set COLA), when it's actually 10-15% ?

 

[martybegan]

All these are the standard old lines spoken by (if not paid for) by landlords, and their mouthpieces. There could be 100 more posts in this thread saying the same thing, all put to rest by Post # 27, and 100 years of New York rent control behind it. Ho hum.

So what's your take on >>
1. the devastation to businesses (large & small) from skyrocketing rents ?
2. The absurd use of the false 2.8% definition of inflation (to set COLA), when it's actually 10-15% ?

When you control one portion of a market to create below market costs, you inflate the costs of the rest of the market.

 

[protectionist]

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/soci...ur-only-retirement-income-warns-kevin-oleary/

Experts say Social Security should not be the only source of retirement income

Plenty of more links where that came from.

Maybe, maybe not, but the reality is, is that for many (if not most) retirees, IT IS.

Government leaders need to recognize that. Period.

PS - for may retirees (myself included) Our other sources of income are diminished (if not wrecked alltogether) by skyrocketing rents.
And I'm not talking about small rent increases. The apartment I lived in 5 years ago was $600/month. That same apartment is now $1,500-1,800/month. This is the common thing.

 

[toobfreak]

Today I received a Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) notification. My yearly Social Security DD (direct deposit) just went up an incredible, pitiful $31/month (2.8%) This is at time when the whole country knows that housing rents (112 Million renters in America) have been skyrocketing.

Face facts: the government just cannot afford to pay you enough to offset all of the inflation they've caused.

 

[martybegan]

Maybe, maybe not, but the reality is, is that for many (if not most) retirees, IT IS.

Government leaders need to recognize that. Period.

PS - for may retirees (myself included) Our other sources of income are diminished (if not wrecked alltogether) by skyrocketing rents.
And I'm not talking about small rent increases. The apartment I lived in 5 years ago was $600/month. That same apartment is now $1,500-1,800/month. This is the common thing.

Social security isn't the answer, government isn't the answer.

Why should I pay more for other people's poor choices?

I started contributing to my 401k when I was 22, never less than 10% of my salary.

I don't get a pension, so I knew that will be my retirement. Hell when I started people kept saying social security would be dead before I retired.

 

[protectionist]

How does one connect to the other? The SS administration isnt who is raising your rent.

They connect by how much money is in your pocket. Major subtraction from the rent increases, together with minor additions form the SS.

Learn something new every day! Ilooked it up and you are correct. Well, good for you, you're getting a little extra then.

I sweated plenty buddy. Isweated in the army, and I sweated at ups. i sweated in a pet food warehouse while I was putting myself through college.

But none of that really matters. what if I really had never sweated a day in my life? it would be nobody's business, because i'm not asking anyone to provide me my living. I enjoy the fact that I take care of myself.

How old are you ?

Good for you, use the 50 per week for
Cokes and moon pies or gifts for grandchildren.Whatever you like.

That's why we should go the fulmonte, and have you simply lived in a government home at no cost, other than giving up your social security. no ripped to increased to worry about ever. no more stress about how large our how small your cola will be.

But your rent and your food would be paid for so why would you need more money than that? You came on the board with a problem and I offered a solution.

I don't know what you're talking about, when you say "government home"
I also already answered your question about "need more money"

Or keep your social security but don't complain when money gets tight. I got news for you, pal. Money got tight for almost everyone during the four disastrous years of the Autopen Administration.

You thinks that's news for me ? See the last paragraph of Post # 36. And bear in mind those astronomical rents are still just as astronomical as they were in 2023/2024. Haven't come down one dime.

 

[protectionist]

Social security isn't the answer, government isn't the answer.

Why should I pay more for other people's poor choices?

I started contributing to my 401k when I was 22, never less than 10% of my salary.

I don't get a pension, so I knew that will be my retirement. Hell when I started people kept saying social security would be dead before I retired.

You should because you may need those payments yourself, sooner or later. Lots of people say no to that. In time, they find out different.