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My extra checks are in the computer desk, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of soda I'd been drinking..Since the start of the first CPI in 1940, the BLS has made changes to how it calculates price inflation - most recently announcing changes to how they collect price data. A new paper reports that the BLS has undertaken several pilot projects in an attempt to supplement and/or replace its traditional field collection of price data with "alternative sources." If that sounds suspicious, you have good reason to ask questions. The BLS Handbook of Methods lists more than 21 changes that economists have made to how they calculate the CPI since 198In most cases the so-called "improvements" tend to slow the measured rate of inflation. That means the growth in COLAs is cut and Social Security benefits grow more slowly over time. In short, this boils down to an erosion in the buying power of your Social Security benefits when, in reality, prices are actually going up..This week, the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance the nomination of Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, one subcommittee held a hearing on strengthening the Social Security program, and The Senior Citizens League saw one key bill gain support..These provisions are outdated and unfair to many seniors, and it's time to repeal them. Workers who paid into Social Security and their spouses should not be penalized and lose earned benefits for working in public service and the private sector. If you paid into Social Security, this is your money, not a government entitlement or subsidy..TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will find a solution before the end of this month, since a government shutdown could negatively impact Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. We will continue to keep an eye on the evolving negotiations, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website..Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced S. 2023 on September 10, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Finance..As to the details of how healthcare reform will affect you and your husband, stay tuned. Government officials and community organizations are gearing up for consumer information and assistance efforts that will surround this fall's open enrollment period starting in October. A major poll conducted earlier this year indicates that much of the public remains confused about the status of the health law. Check coming issues of The Social Security and Medicare Advisor for how the new healthcare law will affect seniors younger than Medicare age..The Social Security COLA was intended to protect the buying power of older Americans who for the most part, are no longer in the workforce. The majority of retirees depend on Social Security for at least half of their income, meaning that Social Security benefits tend to be spent immediately on essentials like housing, food and healthcare returning billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year..The system, however, isn't estimated to be able to pay scheduled benefits in full for that long. The Social Security Trustees estimate that the Trust Funds will become fully insolvent by the end of 203When Trustees use the term insolvent that means the point at which all the extra revenues that were borrowed, now totaling more than .6 trillion, have run out, and there are no more IOUs held by the Trust Fund. Some people believe that, when the Trust Funds are exhausted, Social Security will be completely unable to pay benefits. But that's not the case.