Stimulating Social Security Recipients

Deep within the 400 plus pages of President Obama’s stimulus bill (page 336 to be exact) is a section titled “Economic Recovery Payments to Certain Individuals.” This section authorizes most recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to receive a $250 one-time recovery payment that the Administration says will “inject more than $13 Billion into Economy.”

$250 is $250 – nothing to shake a stick at, especially for some older Americans who may have lost considerable portions of their retirement savings in the market. But, as Mrs. Obama noted when criticizing President Bush’s $600 tax relief check, you really cannot do a whole lot with that amount of money.

However, when considered in the aggregate and after accounting for the millions in administrative costs authorized to carry out this section, these one time payments will cost the American taxpayer close to $14 billion.

Instead of using this money to shore up the Social Security system, or paying back some of the monies Uncle Sam has "borrowed" from the trust fund in recent years, this provision simply continues the recent trend in Washington of opting for short-term spending solutions instead of putting the country on stable footing for the long haul.