SSI recipients have had their benefits adjusted for years to allow for assistance from others, such as food, housing etc. No longer. The new rule eliminates food from the calculation which can reduce benefits by up to one-third.
A recently introduced bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would change the way the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is calculated for Social Security recipients. Currently the COLA is determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) from the prior year. CPI-W considers the cost of food, consumer goods, housing, health…
Summer 2021 Newsletter STILL STANDING…AND PRACTICING I published the first issue of Social Security & You in Spring of 1993. Some years I’ve published more issues than others. The most recent issue was dated Spring 2019: over 2 years ago. The world was a much different place then. Especially for me. Read the full newsletter…
Spring 2019 Newsletter An Opioid Story I’ve changed his name. Let’s call him Gerald. He was a laborer. And by that I don’t mean that he just did physical work. He was a card-carrying member the Labor’s Union local. And that meant a lot to him. I represented him for Social Security disability and Michigan…
According to the global marketing firm, Euromonitor, Int’l., the nation with the highest per capita liquor consumption rate is South Korea at 13.7 shots per week. Russia is a distant second at 6.3 shots per week, however, the most popular liquor in South Korea is Soju, which is only 20% alcohol, as opposed to 40% (80 proof) for vodka.
Other nations rounding out the top 5 are Thailand, Poland and Japan. The United States, including Michigan, ranked 10th at 3.3 shots per week.
Many Social Security disability (SSDI) & SSI claimants have alcohol problems and it is not unusual for Michigan residents with health issues to self-medicate with alcohol & street drugs.