If it ain't one thing, it's anotha.

What a year, what a ride it's been so far. Thank you, President Obama, for proposing to talk about poverty in the State of the Union Address. I am grateful someone sees the reduction in the quality of life of so many Americans.

Our landlord in tax credit housing kindly wrote residents, to say Denver's economic recovery is faster and better, than in the rest of the country. Thus the landlord is raising the rent. We wonder whether this is correct and legal, because the rules say our rent is premised on property values in this in this section of Denver, which have not increased.

Because this is  LIHTP, "low income" housing, Denver's fortunate recovery would have little or no impact upon residents here. Nonetheless up goes the rent. No amount of soft soap will soften the blow in this segregated, poorly managed apartment complex. Yep. Livin' the dream in Denver.

My recovery, like that of so many elders, has involved an increase in my Social Security retirement, by 1.7%. Before I had a chance to go on a spending spree, my SNAP (food stamp) benefits were cut in the exact amount of the Cost of Living Adjustment. My Medicare insurer dropped me from my insurance plan, because the State of Colorado declared me no longer eligible for Qualified Medical Beneficiary under Medicaid -- my income is, apparently, too high ... by $44 a month. Of course it will now cost me a $20 to $60 copay, to see a physician and an additional unknown copay for each prescription drug. Until last week I still had SNAP benefits. However I missed a reporting deadline, while trying to access energy assistance. Arriving at the checkout lane in the grocery store, my payment was declined. Once I arrived home on that humiliating day, I got the notice of denial.

As Gilda Radner would say, "I'm depressed, my face broke out, I'm nauseated, I'm constipated, my cheeks swell, my gums are bleeding, my sinuses are clogged, I got heartburn and I got gas."

So ... how's by you?