By far, the biggest accomplishment by Congress this year has been the passage of legislation to raise the government’s debt ceiling. Although defaulting on the U.S. Government’s debts would have had drastic consequences on the entire economy, seniors would have faced the impact as much, or maybe even more, than many others. A government default would have endangered Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans’ benefits but would also have had devastating consequences on the stock market, which so many seniors rely on for a big part of their retirement income.
However, while the drama on that issue is over for now, it will be repeated in two years. We believe it is foolish and irresponsible to use the threat of default as a political tool. Seniors deserve better than that from our members of Congress.
There is a budget process that Congress goes through every year. That is the place to debate and deal with the issue of government spending.
