Good news! President Obama is calling for a $250 payment to seniors.

This news comes on the eve of an announcement by the Social Security Administration stating that there will be no "cost of living" this year. By law, increases in Social Security payments are tied to the cost of living, or COLA. Since there is no inflation this year, there will be no increase in Social Security benefits. This would be the first year since 1975 with no increase.

Continue reading Good news! President Obama wants a $250 payment to seniors

Good news! President Obama wants a $250 payment to seniors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Attention seniors! You may not be receiving your cost of living adjustment (COLA) this year.

We must understand that the COLA increase is based on the Consumer Price Index (excluding food and energy) This is called the "Core CPI." The Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy, actually rose 1.5% on an annual basis.

About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security. Since 1975 Social Security payments have increased based on the cost of living adjustment.

Continue reading Attention seniors! Your Social Security payment could shrink next year

Attention seniors! Your Social Security payment could shrink next year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walter Cronkite is coming back. I know you've been holding your breath since he retired in 1981, but it's OK. He is expected to take a job as an anchor on a cable network called Retirement Living TV. Florence Henderson is also on the network. Sounds like a recipe for a ratings blockbuster.

The network celebrated its one-year anniversary last week, and only has coverage on DIRECTV Group Inc.'s (NYSE: DTV) network for 8 hours a day. It is also broadcast on Comcast Corp.'s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) CN8 for 4 hours.

Retirement Living bills itself as "the new voice of a generation underserved by the media industry. We hope to change not only the way you watch TV, but the way you live your life."

But the question is whether seniors really want to watch "old people TV". My grandmother likes to watch CNN and E! to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip -- makes her feel young. In a society with such an emphasis on youth, are Florence Henderson and Walter Cronkite really a good way to attract seniors?

So far the network has failed to catch on big, and I don't expect it will.

Walter Cronkite lands on a network for old people originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.