THIS’LL ENHANCE HIS POPULARITY WITH SENIOR CITIZENS: Millions face shrinking Social Security payments. “Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise. The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won’t be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn’t happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.” Not that I’m against this, but I suspect it’s causing heartburn in the White House.