the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 27, 2025
It’s that time of year again for the Social Security Administration to announce the amount of the Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA, that Social Security recipients can expect to see next year. After a delay due to the ongoing federal budget shutdown, they managed to announce it will be 2.8%, which for the average recipient will come to about $672 more for the year.
A lot of the news media report that fact by itself. As if those on Social Security should be relieved that the increase might actually keep pace with inflation.
If you look a little deeper, though, you’ll see that the Medicare Trustees expect Medicare Part B premiums to increase by about $258 for next year. That will take a pretty big chunk out of the COLA. Some may not be aware of that increase, as it is taken out of people’s Social Security checks.
And that’s no accident, by the way. This pretty much happens every year, because the cost of Medicare is not included in the Consumer Price Index that they use to determine the amount of COLA for Social Security, even though pretty much everyone on Social Security pays for Medicare.
To a rational person that might seem completely nuts. But in reality, it’s a deliberate way to protect Social Security from inflation in the long run. To make us eat the increase.