Dayton Paper's 'Seniors Fear' Story Likely All Too Typical
If there's a reason why Dayton Daily News staff writer Drew Simon wrote his Tuesday morning story ("Seniors fear losing Social Security checks") other than to scare the elderly, I don't know what it is.
Nowhere in his report did Simon say who was the first person to invalidly raise the specter of Social Security checks not going out on August 2 (it was President Barack Obama, in case you missed it). Nowhere did he mention that the likelihood is extremely remote, and that if it happens it would only be because the Obama Treasury Department decided to let it happen. Messy items like that distract from the main purpose. Oh, but Simon did get an apparatchik from AARP who also should and probably does know better to chime in on his behalf.
Here are a few paragraphs from Simon's stench:
Seniors fear losing Social Security checks
One Dayton woman wonders how she will survive without it.Trudy Steineman of Dayton receives $1,078 each month from Social Security, which represents about half of her monthly income.
Should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling by next week and the government halts the distribution of Social Security checks, she wonders how she will survive.
“I wouldn’t be able to live,” said Steineman, who moved in with her youngest son Matt in December. “I have medical bills I’m trying to pay off.”
The 61-year-old Dayton retiree said she suffered two seizures and has back problems. Workers’ compensation contributes to the other half of her monthly income.
... More than 2 million Ohio seniors would be affected if Social Security checks are halted Aug. 2, according to Kathy Keller, associate state director of communications for AARP.
“What we’re doing is making sure that our congressmen and senators know that this is unacceptable,” Keller said. “For about one-third of the Ohioans who get Social Security checks, its 90 percent of their income. Those are the people that are going to be hurt the worst.”
As Dean Clancy at RedState explained: "... since those checks only cost $50 billion, compared to $170-200 billion coming in, there will obviously be sufficient funds to mail them." Of course, you can't rule out the Obama administration failing to send them (actually, in most cases, to electronically transfer them) to make a political point.
But that's my point. Simon's fact-free, blame-free, scare-tactic reporting is irresponsible, and conveniently implies that Congress and not President Obama, Tim Geithner, and their merry band of bankrupters will be to blame if the funds don't go out.
One wonders how many times Drew Simon's effort is effectively being duplicated in local papers, web sites, and broadcast outlets around the country. The answer is probably "way too darned many." Oh, and there's hardly a chance in Hades that Simon would have ignored what President Obama said if a Republican or conservative president had said it.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Comments
The msm are no longer reporting the news...
Submitted by 26CX on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:26pm.
They're advocates for a cause.
“For about one-third of
Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:33pm.
“For about one-third of the Ohioans who get Social Security checks, its 90 percent of their income. Those are the people that are going to be hurt the worst.”
And to make his point, President Obama will make sure that those who will be hurt the worst ARE hurt.
It's all for a larger cause.
Yesterday on Mark Levin's show ...
Submitted by Fredy on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:38pm.
There was a discussion regarding social security payments, It turns out that regardless of the debt ceiling, there is money for Social Security checks OUTSIDE of ANY monthly government revenues!
The social security trust fund is holding ~2.4 Trillion in US Treasuries. All they need to do is to cash some in and send out checks. The debt at the treasury goes down as they return the money from existing notes, then the treasury can issue new notes and they will still be under the current debt ceiling.
There are existing laws dictating the distribution of this money. There is no legal way for the treasury to either stop the SS administration from doing it or to grab any of those treasury notes for other purposes.
EVERY story regarding the non-payment of social security checks has been either a foolish mistake or a deliberate lie! One could argue this author was mistaken. It is not reasonable to think that Geitner or Obama are not aware.
Social Security payments
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:41pm.
The GOP needs to blare this news, that if SS payments and military pay doesn't go out it's by the choice of OBAMA. And then cite what they are paying for, foreign aide, Congressional pay, etc.
The GOP better start yelling, and I mean yelling, these facts.
Actually, he has no say...
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 9:09am.
as to whether the payments go out or not. The payments are required by the Constitution.
almostacowboy
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 9:11am.
Good to know, but I'm not sure Obama is willing to let a little thing like the Constitution get in his way. He hasn't yet.
There's a big difference
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:39pm.
With regards to the social security checks, I have a minor problem with what's been said.
To my understanding, given that I have a few relatives that actually rely on these social security checks, there's no reason to hold these checks back at all. To say that the Obama Treasury decided to let it happen that the checks didn't come out wouldn't be correct, because again, to my understanding, there were processes in place that should there be some sort of "default" (even though it's an artificial date created to instill an unnecessary fear), the checks would still go out.
To say that they would not be able to mail the checks out is like saying that they can tell someone to stop breathing because they exhale CO2(and they actually are trying to do that).
Which means that if the checks do not go out, the federal government, particularly this bogus potus, is criminally impeding a process that will negatively affect people that have obligations to be met by this government. In other words, it's extortion when none need to happen.
I refuse to accept the terms that give the benefit of the doubt to a group of thugs that are in the WH, such as saying the fed gov't failed to mail the checks, when it's more accurate to say the fed gov't prevented the checks from being mailed out.
-Jon
DDN
Submitted by mang on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 11:46pm.
I live in suburban Dayton and the DDN certainly has a liberal bent. They had a story some time ago about political candidates and they couldn't resist talking about the current Treasurer's "controversial racist" campaign ads, which were not controversial nor the least bit racist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anlr0-zde_I&lc=gTzFMJuxvcRu_abSLWcxl038kr...). The democrat incumbent didn't have anything of substance to defend himself, so he and his cronies just did what democrats typically do: they manufactured a "controversy" by throwing the race card. Might as well call the DDN the Democrat Daily News.
Effing AARP
Submitted by AGreer on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 12:32am.
They pushed ObamaCare's robbing of $500 billion (a half trillion) from Medicare.
Are they kidding ???
That's not the only place, believe me . . .
Submitted by pylgrym on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 1:02pm.
The local CBS affiliate had this this morning:
"While lawmakers scramble for a solution to the country's debt crisis, local families are caught in the crossfire of the debate.
Keith Tillman, 78, counts on his Social Security check, and he's not alone.
On August 3, millions of Americans, including more than a million in Alabama, fear the system they paid into will not have the money to pay them back."
http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article/families-fear-debt-default/1208484/J...
Maybe the elderly are not so dumb
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 1:40pm.
Maybe the elderly are a lot smarter then these idiots give them credit for. I am a 65 year old on social security and medicare (by law). I know there is money in the federal coffers to pay social security as well as the interest on the debt, military pay, medicare and medicaid. If these things are not paid it will be because Obama CHOOSES not to. If he would rather pay cronies than pay the elderly and military, it will be so obvious to everyone that he and the democRATs will be history in the 2012 election. They will lose in such a landslide they will be embarressed.
I wish I could agree that it will be obvious
Submitted by Tom Blumer on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 2:17pm.
He'll say "the Republicans made me do it," and the press will treat it as a fact.
New Media can overcome that, but it will be really tough.