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No glitter in golden years

The Spokesman-Review

In response to “Elders feeling squeeze” (Jan. 2), letter writer Bittner hit the nail on the head. I receive $14,820 a year in Social Security and $3,989 a year in retirement from Tacoma General – $18,809 a year total. Approximately $1,565 a month. Therefore I need to work at age 76.

The Internal Revenue Service believes the most I can make, before paying taxes on my SS benefits, is $24,000. I’m a state worker and “involuntary” deductions include SS, Medicare and Medicaid taxes. Didn’t we seniors pay taxes through the years to entitle us to receive these benefits when we retired?

Before I get my SS check, $96 is taken for Medicare and $40 for the prescription drug Plan D (which I never use).

Our “representatives” need to go out into the real world and see the number of elderly still working. At Kmart, I asked the cashier what her age was – 77. Lost her job at a mortgage company that “went under,” and “I can’t live on Social Security.”

And speaking about jobs, there are none because they’re being outsourced. Check the labels on clothes, crafts, books, puzzles, crochet hooks, etc., etc. Most made in China. Some made with American materials?

Ruth Green

Spokane



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