The U.S. has spent roughly $171 billion in cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security over the past two years.
The cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security that kicked in January 2024 is 3.2 percent for Social Security benefits and SSI payments. That comes out to about $59 per month on average per beneficiary, according to AARP.
With roughly 71 million Americans collecting Social Security, between pension payments and Supplemental Security Income recipients, that comes out to about $4.2 billion per month. Over twelve months, that comes out to $50 billion.
The previous year, the Social Security Administration announced an eye-popping 8.7 percent increase in benefit checks for seniors. That came out to $145 per month on average, for about 70.3 million beneficiaries. That adds up to about $10.1 billion per month, or $121 billion for the year.
For perspective, the current argument in Congress is about roughly $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.
Upon taking office in early 2021, the Biden administration and Congressional Democrats passed a $2 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” a $625 billion “infrastructure” bill, and a $745 billion “Inflation Reduction Act.” That added up to more than $3.3 trillion in new federal spending in a short time, dumped into a U.S. economy that was already recovering from Covid — far too much money chasing too few goods, creating an inflationary cycle and turning into a chain reaction of bad news for our budget, deficit, and debt.
We have endured runaway inflation for a long stretch. (The year-to-year inflation rate is down, but few Americans feel like their home, cars, groceries, or gas are all that affordable.) To deal with that inflation, the Social Security Administration had to make sizeable increases to the cost-of-living adjustment.
Up on Capitol Hill, we see furious, tooth-and-nail fights over restocking Iron Dome missiles, alleviating a $19 billion backlog of promised arms sales to Taiwan, and resupplying a Ukrainian army that has destroyed an estimated 8,800 Russian military vehicles since the start of the war.
But most lawmakers just shrug, or barely even notice, as the cost of maintaining Social Security increases by roughly the cost of this foreign-aid package. We are penny wise and pound foolish.