Pages

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I love FactCheck.org.

A dear friend of mine works at the VA call center in St Louis. They receive many calls each day from veterans who are upset that, for the first time since 1975, there will be no increase in the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). They rant, they rave, they blame the current administration. My dear friend, along with another girlfriend, agrees with this.

I do not.

As I've stated previously, I hate chatting about politics. The first time my friend brought this up, I sat in silence, as I usually do when she and my other girlfriend start talking about politics, and just absorbed it all. They both voted for John McCain. I voted for our current president, but having a weak grasp of these things, I just sit there uncomfortably and try to fade into the background.

But when I read this article from FactCheck.org, I couldn't help myself. I e-mailed the link to my call center friend. She brought up the whole COLA thing again the other day when the three of us were having lunch (which I have to say was DELICIOUS...cheese-stuffed chicken burgers with a side of spicy chicken tortilla soup, both healthy recipes that I'll post later), and I mentioned the article link. She seemed to vaguely recall getting, and said she would look for it later. I tried to remember what the article said about COLA being linked to oil prices, but I knew was fudging, and they both just ignored me and blamed the current administration.

So I decided to share the article with anyone who might be concerned about this year's COLA and may be inclined to blame Congress. For once, it's not really their fault.

BUT...if you are just itching for a scapegoat, look to former President Richard Nixon, a Republican, who signed into effect the law that make COLA possible. Baaaa-zing!!

Disclaimer: I do tend to have slight Democratic leanings whenever I am struck by the desire to educate myself on a political issue, but on the whole I try to keep an open and unbiased attitude towards these things. It's why I love FactCheck.org.

No comments: