ELLEN GOODMAN is wrong in her Oct. 23 op-ed “The $250 donation to elders.’’ The issue is not whether the federal government should be supporting seniors in need as opposed to impoverished kids. We should, as a wealthy nation, get our priorities right and do both. While we should be ashamed that the United States has the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world, we should also make sure that no senior goes cold or hungry this winter. One way to do that is to raise revenue by eliminating the huge tax breaks and tax havens that large corporations and the wealthy are taking advantage of.
In the midst of the most severe fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, millions of seniors have seen a decline in their financial situation. According to a National Academy of Sciences formula, the poverty rate among Americans 65 and older is an astounding 18.7 percent, nearly double the official poverty rate. Further, a record-breaking number of senior citizens are filing for bankruptcy.
Seniors deserve a fair increase in benefits to keep up with the increased costs they are paying in health care, prescription drugs, and other basic needs. But, unless Congress acts soon, for the first time since 1975 seniors will not be receiving a cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security benefits in the coming year.
President Obama understands that we cannot allow this to happen. He should be commended for calling on Congress to provide this one-time $250 emergency payment.
Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont Washington 
