Are elderly people gaining, earning, receiving enough money to survive on social security?
Let's talk about that for a moment.
There are millions of seniors in this country
who are trying to make it on 12 to 13 thousand dollars a year.
My question is, and please comment on it.
Tell me what you think.
Can somebody 80, 85 years of age
make it
and live in dignity on 12 or 13 thousand dollars a year, social security?
Comments? What do you think?
Alright, who wants to say something on it?
Alright.
Drug companies charge too much. Your name is?
Connie.
Connie makes the point that the drug companies charge too much.
How many people agree with Connie?
[Applause]
I'm going to get to that in a minute Connie. Yes?
You make less than 12.
Could we get a microphone to, you got a mic right there?
Hold it for one sec. What is your name?
Ann? Alright, hold the mic right close to you.
Hold it. Let's get that mic on. Is it on?
I make less than $10,000 a year on social security.
If you divide that out, I get $4.70 an hour on a 160 hour a month job.
That's just slightly over $9,000 a year.
Is that your major source of income?
That is my only source of income.
$10,000 a year? Yeah. Alright.
Because I took the jobs that had no pensions. Had no benefits.
They were the ones that I could leave at the door and go home.
Ann, hold that mic close to your mouth. Yep.
And a lot of women do that.
So that, in the end, we are the ones living without.
Ann, I don't want to, you know
Thank you for what you've said. Now I don't want to, you know
You got media here and everybody else. I don't want you to
you know, say anything you don't want to say.
But let me ask you this question. Give Ann that microphone.
What is it like
Hold that mic close to your mouth. What is like, what does it mean to try to live on $10,000 a year?
Well, you don't go out. You don't buy new clothes. You wear shoes for 3 or 4 years.
You don't buy presents for your grandkids.
You end up going, "Okay".
I moved, it's winter, so I moved everything into my dining room and my kitchen
So that I can shut off the rest of the house and not heat it.
You have a hard time heating the house.
Even with energy assistance, you don't make it.
Right, okay.
The agencies are not giving enough funding to cover any gaps.
Right. Thank you very much, Ann.
[Applause]
See, Ann's story, and Ann I want you know this.
That story is replicated in Vermont. And it's all over the country and we don't talk about it.
Alright, I'd like other people who might want to talk about it.
Excuse me, can we get a mic over there please?
Oh, you got one over there? Okay.
What I want to know is what is happening to their money? Why are these people working all these years to get nothing in the end?
Okay. I'll get to that in a minute. Okay?
I want to hear what it is like, if people know people or themselves
What is it like to live on $12,000 or $10,000 a year social security. Other thoughts?
Yeah, we got a mic right here.
Hold that..hold that mic close to you please.
I've been living on probably less than that for a long time because of disabilities.
And it's so hard to do anything to pay your bills. You're ashamed all the time.
And I could completely understand how she feels when you can't buy presents for your children.
It's really, really, really hard.
I worked 3, 4, 5 jobs sometimes. Always minimum wage.
I have a degree. Divorced, and
I'm waiting for disability to come through so my parents have to support me.
It's just hard.
Thank you. Thank you.
[Applause]
It is not easy for people to stand up and say that.
But the truth is that until millions of people who are experiencing exactly what you guys are experiencing do say that, we don't make change.
So I thank you for saying, and for telling us what's going on in your lives because the truth is
You can't make it on $12,000. You can't live in dignity on $10,000 or less.
And millions of people today are in that position.