Month: October 2011

ACLU releases documents alleging sexual abuse of female detainees

“The fact that these women sought sanctuary in the United States — only to find abuse at the hands of officials they thought would protect them — is wholly inconsistent with America’s self-proclaimed reputation as a beacon of human rights,” Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU of Texas http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/aclu-sexual-abuse-detainees.html ACLU: The ACLU has released … Read more

Social Security benefits will increase 2.8 percent in 2019, the largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in seven years.

The COLA, announced Thursday, Oct. 11, will increase the average Social Security retirement benefit by $39 a month or roughly $468 a year. The average single retired Social Security recipient is expected to receive $1,422 in December 2018 before increasing to $1,461 a month later. The COLA affects household budgets for about 1 in 5 Americans, … Read more

How cuts to Social Security Administration will hurt you

Advocates for older Americans are watching closely to see how the committee’s work might lead to retirement benefit cuts via a higher Social Security retirement age, smaller cost-of-living adjustments or higher Medicare eligibility ages. Meanwhile, a separate starve-the-beast exercise goes mostly unnoticed: a big squeeze on the administrative budget of the Social Security Administration (SSA). … Read more

Western US hit with ‘smishing’ bank scam

New Text Scam Hits Oregon, Washington and Several Others. The scam targets Wells Fargo account owners in a bid to get your personal information and account numbers. Cyber-thieves have launched a major effort to steal bank account and credit card account information. The attack uses automated telephone calls and bogus text message alerts. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44846369/ns/business-consumer_news/#.TpSCl94UqdA