The latest “authentic” statistics show that 59 percent of senior citizen use email every day. That still leaves almost half of us being harassed by robot calls on the telephone.
We are learning to be quick about hanging up the telephone, but for the email recipient, it may not be as easy and junk mail will slip right through – sometimes even opened. This could be dangerous to your computer and for you. Treat those unrecognizable senders of email just like a robot call – delete them.
Meanwhile, the beautiful leaves and colors of autumn have given us some secondary light – for a while. Into this welcome season comes some unwelcome news. The state of Maine has dropped some seniors from the list for whom the Part B Medicare premium was being paid. This represents $100 a month we’ll have to come up with. Maybe I am the only one who got this unwelcome notice from the Social Security Administration.
In the same week, we learned there is no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for 2016 and we can adjust our food budget accordingly. Food stamps? I bet most people think senior citizens automatically get food stamps. Not so. You have to apply, and no senior I know receives enough to go shopping for a week. In fact, a year or so ago when I qualified for $15 a month, that amount was adjusted (love that word) to $12 and is now $0.
Some may tout the state’s boom in the economy, and the “comeback” in the job market, and it might be true for a certain segment of the population. Not, however, for most senior citizens – many are unable to find a part-time job that can be worked in with medical appointments and transportation cost.
For all the committees and investigative reports on the status of seniors, I for one feel the information our lawmakers have is woefully sparse. And I haven’t even mentioned the decades-long affordable housing situation. Using that term (affordable housing) must conjure up the same image as “single parent family” did at one time. No one wants to build it, but it’s what the market demands. What gives? My response has been and is still, what’s the alternative to affordable – unaffordable? What image does that present?
Our leaders in Augusta, all the way to Washington, D. C., need to look in the mirror, look at their fellow lawmakers and realize none is getting younger. And they’ll live a long time. Maybe that realization will help them face reality.
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
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