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During the August break an old and ugly threat to Social Security and Medicare surfaced once again. The Congressional Budget Office released its forecast of future federal government deficits. It said that deficits are expected to climb to over trillion in fiscal year2020, which begins this October And they will keep going up in the years after that..Don't expect much growth in Social Security benefits next year. According to consumer price index data, Social Security and other adjusted benefit payments will probably stay pretty flat. With the Social Security Administration getting ready to announce the 2014 cost-of-living-adjustment on October 16th, the COLA looks like it will be in the vicinity of 1.7%. That would raise average monthly benefits of ,157 by just .70.."In the U.S. arm of the clinical trial, J&J's vaccine was 72% effective, which, in the absence of the mRNA data, 'one would have said this was an absolutely spectacular result,' Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a separate White House briefing. What is more, the immunization was 85% effective at preventing severe disease and, in the trial, all hospitalizations and deaths occurred among people who got the placebo. None of the vaccinated people diagnosed with Covid-19 got sick enough to need hospital care..Reducing the taxation of Social Security benefits by increasing the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits, from ,000 for single filers and ,000 for joint returns, to ,000 and 0,000 respectively..As I turn on the hose, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing..The Social Security COLA was created to protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits received by older and disabled Americans, but the results of this new study show that seniors are failing to keep up with rising costs. In recent years, inflation and COLAs have been at record low levels, averaging just 1.2 percent per year since 20In 2018, Social Security beneficiaries received a COLA of 2 percent, yet most saw no increase at all in their net benefits due to substantially higher Medicare Part B premiums..TSCL is highly concerned about the Totalization Agreement since it would likely add billions in costs to Social Security and drain Social Security benefits from American citizens who retire in the future. The Agreement would also increase exponentially the number of foreign workers claiming Social Security benefits. Social Security law currently allows non-citizens, who at some point obtain work authorization and a valid Social Security number, to claim benefits. Under current policy, Social Security uses all earnings regardless of a workers' legal status at the time the work was performed, to determine entitlement to benefits - including earnings while working illegally in the U.S. Such work could have been done while using an invalid or even fraudulent Social Security number. Several Members of Congress have introduced legislation that would prevent the Totalization Agreement from moving forward and that would give Congress more oversight over Totalization agreements with other nations. In addition, anti-Totalization legislation opposes Social Security benefits going to those who worked in the United States while illegal..Genetic testing is not routinely used by doctors to screen for cancer. Here's how the scam works - The "target" might receive automated phone calls, often multiple times a week, or may be approached in-person by a "recruiter." The recruiter, who may present herself as a "certified Medicare counselor," convinces the target to take a genetic test promising that Medicare pays the full cost. The patient, however, often never receives a report, or the report may be incomprehensible..drives up hospital and other costs for Medicare beneficiaries,