"They'll continue to struggle to make it harder for many in our community"

I a href=”http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/31185729.html”saw on the local news /a last night that Social Security benefits are going up 5.8%, rather than the typical 2.5%. What struck me is that some of the seniors were upset about it. Why? They might be pushed into a higher tax bracket or have to pay more for subsidized housing:br /br /blockquoteWe spoke to several seniors who say this could end up costing them more money.br /br /Nancy Walker, 87, lives in subsidized housing.br /br /The additional $63 a month in Social Security will cause her to lose benefits.br /br /”Means i’m gonna pay more for rent for one thing,” Grace Lindsey says.br /br /It will cost her rent to increase because her income’s going up, her food stamps will decrease and she may not continue to receive 20% off Medicaid.br /br /”They’ll continue to struggle make it harder for many in our community,” Walker told Volunteer TV News.br /br /The yearly adjustment in Social Security checks is linked to government inflation figures.br /br /But advocacy groups say it’s far short of what retirees need to keep up with rising living costs.br /br /Charles Stevens is retired from the Navy.br /br /He says the extra monthly income will put him into another tax bracket.br /br /”It means we’ve got to pay more taxes, but we’re grateful for what we can get,” Stevens says./blockquotebr /br /Have you noticed with government handouts and “entitlements” you can’t win? If they pay too little, people complain, but when they go up, they do the same…br /br /Update: Jason at Countercolumn a href=”http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/2008/10/social-security-cola-increases-and.html”has further thoughts /aon Social Security increases.