Democrats Hoping To Pass $250 Social Security Payment: Can America Afford It?

On Monday, the House will meet to vote on whether 58 million Social Security recipients should receive a one-time $250 check this year. The bill, which is fervently being pushed by Democrats, is meant to make up for the fact that Social Security did not receive a cost of living increase for 2010 and they won't be getting a raise for 2011, either, even though experts can hardly say that the cost of living hasn't increased quite a bit since then.

Advocates of the bill claim that this will help stimulate the economy. AARP Senior Vice President Drew Nannis said of the bill, "This relief will put money in the pockets of millions of older Americans struggling to make ends meet -- money likely to be injected directly into our fragile economy."

Indeed, it's hard for anyone with grandparents or older friends to argue with how much this bill is needed. This writer has seen how much her grandparents have struggled to afford just basic living, cutting back where they can, to afford the increase in the price of just about everything. Where this writer was able to go out and get a second job, what were her grandparents to do? One has kidney/back problems and the other has knee/heart problems. While selling a kidney on the black market may sound like a great option when it comes down to keeping a house, who's really going to pay to get this writer's grandfather's kidney? Though, don't think she hasn't suggested it before.

Still, the reality of the matter is that the nation is still severely in debt and struggling to dig itself out of the hole, so where is this $14 billion for the bill going to come from? While it may be necessary, it's also important to think about the ramifications of shelling out money and weigh the two.

Earlier this year another bill similar to this one was proposed to make up for the fact that there was no cost of living raise last year and it was defeated. Even if this bill does miraculously make it past the House, it will certainly face quite a struggle to pass.

Do you think this bill is a good idea? Or are you hoping it gets shot down? Does it really stand much of a hope in passing at all?