Dear Editor:
I was pleasantly surprised to read a letter in a Hudson County newspaper by the Mayor and Freeholder of Union City, Brian P. Stack concerning the miniscule 1.4 percent annual cost of living increase in Social Security this coming year for our older citizens and the simultaneous rise in their Medicaid premiums.
The baby boomer generation, currently facing the senior curve in our road, had better be prepared to “work until we drop” if this trend continues unless our pensions or 401 Ks puts in a six figure income bracket. I was recently informed that I could not collect full Social Security benefits until age sixty six and others I know were given the demarcation of sixty seven and eight.
I often fantasize how beneficial and benevolent it would be if the dearth of empty, high priced rentals for young transients in Hudson County could be better put to use for non-transient seniors and architecturally reconfigured for middle income and working families who will care enough to stay, vote and serve to make this community their urban home.
I commend Mayor Stack for standing up for those of us facing the prospect of the not so “golden years”. All too soon, the greater part of our population, will be challenged by health, housing and nutrition issues at their most basic levels. Let’s hope there’s enough Food Stamps to go around!
Jean Forest