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Yesterday, Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown was one of twenty U.S. Senators who delivered a letter to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell asking for his support of a $250 cost-of-living-adjustment for more than 50 million seniors and disabled Americans who are facing a tough winter with the prospect of a second straight year with no increase in Social Security benefits.

On Friday, Senator Harry Reid said he intends to ask the Senate to increase the payments when Congress reconvenes in November. The President has also asked Congress to make the adjustment.

The move comes at a time when debate is set to begin on the extension of the Bush tax cuts. The tax cuts, which would add approximately $700 billion a year to the National Debt and go straight to the pockets of the top 2 percent of American earners. The cost-of-living-adjustment, on the other hand, would put money in the pockets of families that desperately need it while costing only $13 billion. A fraction of the tax cuts.

What would the cost-of-living-adjustment do for a state like Ohio?

The Senate Finance Committee projects that the over 2 million Social Security recipients in the Buckeye State would pump over $530 million back into the state economy. A half a billion dollars in Ohio alone! All while helping seniors pay for not only prescription drugs, but rent/mortgage, heating, food, clothing, and other necessities.

Where do Ohio's GOP Congressional candidates stand on this cost-of-living-adjustment? Why, with times so tough, are the priorities so screwed up as to favor the wealthiest 2 percent while the people trying to keep the lights on are cast aside?

Cross-posted at OhioDaily.

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