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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMr. President, do "OUR DEAL--NOT YOURS!" Clear Messages from the Progressive Democratic Community
Obama's Deficit Proposal: Cut Social Security BenefitsIndexing Social Security benefits to chained consumer price index means a cut for all beneficiaries
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
More reactions today on Twitter from progressives:
Enacting a chained CPI would cut #SocialSecurity benefits by $112 billion over 10 years. #budget #fiscalcliff
Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 18, 2012
Chained CPI explained: Old folks can sub cat food for turkey, so no need to capture turkey price inflation in the index
Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) December 18, 2012
These politicians ran on avoiding cuts to benefits for people over 55, but "chained CPI hits everyone's benefits." - Soc. Sec. Works ExDir
Ari Melber (@AriMelber) December 18, 2012
If Obama-Boehner push through chained CPI deal, progressives should demand BLS construct full elderly index to know true rate of inflation.
Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13) December 18, 2012
Joe Biden promised there would be no changes in Social Security if Obama won. Now there are cuts being planned. pccc.me/YhoN3D #P2
Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) December 18, 2012
#ChainedCPI =a benefit cut pure & simple. With higher premiums seniors will have even less for their daily expenses #p2 youtube.com/watch?feature=
Jan Schakowsky (@janschakowsky) December 18, 2012
Call it chained CPI,but it's a cut in Social Security's earned benefits ...Bumping Up To Premium Catfood tinyurl.com/c3qboov via @ourfuture
Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) December 18, 2012
The Chained CPI: A Painful Cut in Social Security Benefits and a Stealth Tax Hike goo.gl/fb/dYcdY
CEPR (@ceprdc) December 13, 2012
More than 60% of elderly get 50% of their income from social security. Avg less than 1400/mo. WH thinks this $ should get cut.
Sam Seder (@SamSeder) December 18, 2012
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/18-5
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Social Security: Will Obama Cave?
Robert Kuttner
December 18, 2012
The deal between the White House and congressional Republicans includes changes to the cost-of-living formula that amount to needless cuts for seniors.
nce again, President Obama seems to be on the verge of folding a winning hand.
Widely leaked reports indicate that the president and House Speaker John Boehner are making a fiscal deal that includes hiking tax rates back to the pre-Bush levels with a threshold of $400,000 rather than the original $250,000, and cutting present Social Security benefits.
Obama, the reports say, will now settle for as little as $1.2 trillion in tax increases on the rich rather than the $1.6 trillion that he had originally sought. The difference, in effect, will come out of the pockets of workers, retirees, the young, and the poor.
Especially foolish is the cut in Social Security benefits, disguised as a change in the cost-of-living adjustment formula. Before getting to the arcane details of the formula, heres the bottom line. The proposed change will save only $122 billion over ten years, but it will significantly cut benefits for the elderly.
Because the cut is in the form of a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the longer you live, the more is the total cut. On average, the cut is about 3 percent a year, but if you live twenty years after you start drawing benefits (the average), that adds up to over ten thousand dollars.
http://prospect.org/article/social-security-will-obama-cave
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Published on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 by Campaign for America's Future Blog
This Is Not Americas Deal
by Richard Eskow
Do Our Deal, Not Yours
Its naive for members of either party to think they can sign a deal which overrides the voters and defies their values without paying a steep political price. (And Democrats have more to lose on that score than Republicans.) A deal like this would also reinforce the belief that leaders of both parties are beholden to the wealthy and corporations, not the people. It would suggest that the publics values and concerns vanish once you cross the Beltway.
It would send a clear message back to the American people: Were not listening.
Democrats should tell the truth: Boehner and Republicans are demanding unpopular and damaging cuts to programs most Americans want and need by holding our economy hostage for proposals that voters rejected. Theyve also created an artificial crisis, a ticking policy device called the fiscal cliff meant to instill panic so that people will accept policies that are unfair, unwise, unpopular, and unnecessary.
The President can show the nation what real leadership looks like by refusing to panic. He can represent voters by demanding that Congress address our real crises instead crises of un- and under-employment, of wage stagnation and wealth inequity, of crumbling infrastructure, increased poverty, and unaffordable education.
Read the polls and election results and the voters message is clear: We didnt vote for this deal. We dont want it. In two words: No deal.
http://blog.ourfuture.org/20121218/this-is-not-americas-deal-2
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)the corporate oligarchs.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)And that is exactly what they have crafted. They are trying to show the bankers, bailed out with our tax dollars, that they can make cuts and are fiscally responsible. They are saying. "See we can cut the poorest of the poor to pay back money we loaned you to loan back to us".
This is Obama's Austerity package. In the midst of a never ending recession, we will make the weakest, the most impoverished, suffer just to ensure banksters get interest on the dollars we gave them to give to us.
And as everyone in Europe can easily see, austerity causes double dip recessions. So, what do you think is going to happen as all theses cuts and tax increases hit the middle class in the US? Why another deeper, longer recession.
Instead of putting people to work this stupid fiscal cliff is an austerity package that will ensure fewer and fewer jobs. But Jamie Diamond loves it.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)regularly into social security.
go ahead, cut social service spending and we will follow europe and japan into recession. so is china going to pull the world out of depression on its own?
yeah, keep building those empty cities, china! the world is depending on you to buy lots of concrete!
KoKo
(84,711 posts)here and in the EuroZone. The Bankers need the money to shore up Wall Street and the failed banks that are still in business. It's bonuses for them and shoring up their balances by given savers almost 0% return on the money they keep in banks for safety and hurting retirees who need income to supplement SS income that they contributed to their whole lives. So give those retirees no interest on savings in CD's to supplement and now tell them to eat Cat Food if they can't afford the chicken on sale at WalMart. That's the "chained CPI" at work.
No Compromise
(373 posts)kentuck
(111,103 posts)But the Raw Deal.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)KoKo
(84,711 posts)The Raw Deal.... Devil is in details and the compromises in the back room.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)RomneyLies
(3,333 posts)If asked last week if I approved of the job Obama was doing my answer would have been yes.
Today it would be HELL NO!
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)WorseBeforeBetter
(11,441 posts)sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)Some of them have not yet responded to the thousands of calls they have received asking what they intend to do if they get to vote on this.
If they are against it, they should find it easy to respond. And the only acceptable answer is 'no'.
The fact that so many of them are so silent is not a good sign.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)Last edited Wed Dec 19, 2012, 05:03 PM - Edit history (1)
along with Republicans" but, it's important to think of the country and get a deal.
It was all about compromise, compromise. But, pointing out that Dems wouldn't be happy says that the proposal if agreed sure will include something...and since he thinks that those of us who don't want "entitlements" touched are as fringe as the Tea Party then I suspect it will be in the deal unless the Progressive Communtiy keeps after his advisors.
It has been good to see the Progressive Community and even some in the Business Community pushing back against touching our Safety Net.
We just cross our fingers and hope and those who have Senators or good Dem House Members can try to pressure them. Alas...I'm now without either because of Gerrymandering of my House Rep who was a good Dem. My Blue Dog and Chamber of Commerce/Alec Controlled Repug would just send me a "form letter" as they've done in the past.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)KoKo
(84,711 posts)I hoped folks would bother.
Poll_Blind
(23,864 posts)PB