Do seniors deserve that extra $250?

David Francis of the Christian Science Monitor
says yes.

To seriously answer this question, I'd think you'd have to ask:

• Are they being treated worse by Social Security than other participants? The answer to that is no: receiving a zero COLA when inflation has been negative is much better than receiving a positive COLA that merely keeps up with inflation.
  
• Are seniors suffering more due to the recession than other Americans? Again, I'd say the answer is no: they're not affected by higher unemployment, most low-income seniors have relatively few assets to be affected by financial markets, and their biggest source of income – Social Security – is continuing to pay benefits.
  
• Will the payment to seniors stimulate the economy better than other uses of the money? Probably not – I'd rather focus on job creation – but that's an open question.