Awkward: Obama Admits Buying Off Seniors

Published January 22, 2010 9:05pm ET



An 83-year-old woman at Obama’s Ohio town hall today asked him why seniors on Social Security didn’t get a COLA increase this year. The reason was, of course, because deflation meant the cost of living actually went down, so a COLA wasn’t needed.

But Barack Obama needed senior support on Obamacare, so back in October, he sent out a senior stimulus— $250 per Social Security recipient coming to a total of $13 billion. He didn’t get their support (as we now know), but the checks went out, supported by some Republicans and criticized by deficit hawks and many conservatives.

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