1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

Reject the flat-rate COLA proposal for Social Security. This scheme, recently elevated by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and endorsed by the Washington Post editorial board, would strip inflation protection from 80% of beneficiaries. It is a benefit cut dressed up in budget-speak, and you should oppose it. Under the current system, the 2026 COLA was 2.8%, giving the average retiree an extra $57.90 per month. Under the flat-rate proposal, that same retiree would have received just $34.20 — covering only a 1.7% inflation rate and costing them $285 over the year. The damage compounds over time: a retiree who started collecting in 1998 would face a $4,600 annual shortfall by age 93, with cumulative losses of $77,900. A woman receiving the average female retired worker benefit would fall below the poverty line at 93. A man disabled at 36 would fall below it by 64. Twenty percent of adults 65 and older already rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income. Nearly 60% of adults 75 and older have no retirement savings at all. Social Security's COLA is the only inflation protection most of them have. Cutting it would push the oldest and most vulnerable Americans into poverty. Vote no on any legislation advancing this proposal.