skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New Study Highlights Social Security’s $16B Impact in CT

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 2, 2013   

HARTFORD, Conn. - The government shutdown is on, but that didn't stop local AARP volunteers from delivering new study results to local congressional offices, detailing Social Security's $16 billion impact on the state's economy.

The study should give lawmakers pause before they'd support tying cost-of-living increases to the Chained CPI, said Nora Duncan, director of AARP Connecticut. Chained CPI considers product substitutions made by consumers and other changes in their spending habits. The net impact, she said, would be smaller benefit checks and a reduction in the program's positive economic punch.

"Each dollar paid to Social Security beneficiaries in Connecticut generates nearly $2 in spending by individuals and businesses," she said, "adding about $16.3 billion in total economic output to the Connecticut economy."

The government shutdown made it somewhat challenging for the volunteers to contact all the local congressional offices, but they managed to deliver the study results to some of them - along with petitions signed by 45,000 local AARP members concerned about the future of Social Security.

Social Security benefits helped local workers find or keep more than 100,000 jobs in 2012, according to the report. Duncun said the sectors of Connecticut's economy that saw the greatest impact include food service, retail, health care and real estate.

"Everybody needs to feed themselves, we all need to shop for something; and we all have health-care expenses," she said, "especially those on Social Security."

Duncan said AARP funded the study to raise the level of debate in Washington beyond just budget-cutting - to include the $1 trillion-plus impact Social Security has on the nation's economy.

"The benefits are not being talked about anywhere in Washington, that we can see," she said. "Social Security does not contribute to the deficit at all, and therefore it should be treated entirely separately from the debate on the deficit and the budget."

She said AARP is calling for a national conversation about the future of Social Security - so those who paid into the system have a voice in the debate.

The study is online at states.aarp.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021