Next for the Obama Administration: Cutting Social Security benefits?

[Karmadillo]

This comes from a cross-posting of a Daily Kos post on the possibility of the Obama Administration going after Social Security. It's long, but worth a read. It reviews in great detail both the statements and actions of Obama as candidate and president and concludes candidate Obama's "soothing words" were meant to mislead. Cuts are what he wants and cuts are what he is going for.

http://www.angrybearblog.com/2010/02/obama-and-social-security.html

<edit>

When Barack Obama does not actually support a plan, he offers vague platitudes but nothing more. Such was his "support" for crucial, progressive, popular ideas about Health Care Reform, supposedly his Administration's signature piece of legislation. In contrast, when Barack Obama has wanted to, he has been relentless and decisive, as he was in September 2008 when he quickly and crucially supported the Wall Street bailout. And just last month, the White House was quick to whip a wavering Senate into line about reconfirming Fed Chair Ben Bernanke with a 50, not 60, vote threshold. More on the significance of that at then end of this article.

So we need to look past Obama's always-perfect rhetoric to see they are just flaccid platitudes or if his actions show firm resolution. When it comes to Social Security, a comparison of what Obama the candidate said and what Obama the President has done show that his pledges to simply increase payroll taxes fall into the category of platitudes, while changing the program, apparently in part by cutting benefits, is clearly a matter of firm resolve. In essence, Obama's reasurance that while he would "convene a meeting" to listen to all sides, what he actually would propose would be a small increase in taxes on those earning over $250,000 who could easily afford it, was all along just a sop or a stalking horse to induce voters to overlook what was hiding in plain sight, namely his desire for a "nonpartisan" or "bipartisan" comission that would recommend cuts in Social Security benefits.

<edit>

In short, only a month into his Administration, Candidate Obama's insistence on tax hikes as the method of long term Social Security budget balancing was replaced by President Obama's embrace of the Diamond-Orszag plan, and a willingness to enforce it by way of a binding commission. That name should be familiar too, because David Orszag is Obama's budget director, whose
long-running project ... has been replacing talk of an “entitlement crisis” with his argument that Social Security requires only modest tax hikes and benefit cuts.

(emphasis mine) Here is a quick partial summary of the "Diamond-Orszag plan":

Our plan makes the painful choices that are necessary—selecting a combination of benefit and revenue changes to restore long-term balance. In doing so, it focuses on three areas which contribute to the actuarial imbalance: improvements in life expectancy, increases in earnings inequality, and the burden of the legacy debt from Social Security’s early history.

.... For younger workers with average earnings, our proposal involves a gradual reduction in benefits from those scheduled under current law. For example, the reduction in benefits for a 45-year old average earner is less than 1 percent; for a 35-year-old, less than 5 percent; and for a 25-year-old, less than 9 percent. Reductions are smaller for lower earners, and larger for higher ones.
(emphasis mine)(mine being New Deal Democrat)

<edit>

In Conclusion, I submit to you that after this long litany of Obama's own words and actions, there can no longer any doubt that Candidate Obama's soothing words were a ruse, but that President Obama is relentlessly pushing forward what he said all along he would do: create a commission to examine changes in Social Security, and then enact them. It is not on process but on substance that Candidate Obama lied. Oh, sure, payroll tax increases might "also" be considered -- tax increases that surely he will 'push forward' with all of the vigor he 'pushed forward' critical elements of Health Care Reform.

No real Democrat is "agnostic" about Social Security. As Obama himself solemnly swore, "On issues as fundamental as how to protect Social Security, a candidate for president" does indeed "owe it to the American people to tell us where they stand," and on the ultimate substance of his stand Candidate Obama lied. So nobody should be surprised if millions of democratic voters become "agnostic" about the re-election of faux "democrats" who do what no Republican has been able to do -- to wantonly gut the program which Candidate Obama rightly called "the cornerstone of the social compact in this country."

more...

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

9. Maybe they're against drivel. n/t

[emulatorloo]

13. What's the matter? Are you not impressed by tea-leaf reading and speculation by yet-another-blooger?

[laughingliberal]

52. That might be credible were it not for the year long debate we just went through

Since July there were those on the left warning about the HCR bill getting pushed to the right. There were those in August alarmed at the President's lack of leadership in trying to get a public option. There were those who saw the signs the administration had dumped it. We had reports at each stage of the process about back room deals with industry to kill the public option and any provisions to lower the drug costs. All the things we saw coming we talked about. And at each stage of warning of the stripping of reform from the bill we were told there was no final bill and we couldn't know what it would be and why were we whining and we were just a bunch of Obama haters and not probably even Democrats and Kucinich is short with a weird wife and we might as well join the teabaggers. Every single alarm that was raised by the left about the gutting of this bill came to pass. I see every indication we're going to be hearing the same arguments to defend the theft of our SS money once the recommendations are out.

[tallahasseedem]

23. So the OP posted this

to get recommends? Drama much?

[laughingliberal]

53. SSDD

Same dismissive, belittling crap we've seen for a year as we tried to warn about the gutting of the HCR bill. I'm sure when the recommendations for gutting SS and privatizing Medicare come out we'll start hearing about that 11th dimension chess, again.

[robinblue]

39. no surprize there.

[Cleita]

2. It's already been done.

We didn't get our cost of living raise this year, never mind, that we got less than we should have been indexed to receive all through the Bush years. But this year we got nada.

[DJ13]

3. And the Admin has mentioned that next year we will probably get nada again

Im stocking up on cat food already.

:mad:

[notadmblnd]

14. have you bought catfood lately? Prices are out of this world

buy real tuna, it's cheaper.

[DJ13]

16. Im down to dry cat food

Even the canned stuff is too expensive!

:popcorn:

[Cleita]

32. Fortunately, my kitty likes the dry food better than the canned.

I hear you. I hope it's your cat you are talking about and not yourself.

[DJ13]

33. I hope it's your cat you are talking about and not yourself.

Not yet, but she's keeping her eyes on me to make sure I dont snag some for myself!

[AsahinaKimi]

40. By the way ..

Some Animal Shelters offer free Cat and Dog foods that are donated by people for those who are having a hard time. I have had to go there in the past to get kitty food. I was lucky to find a bag that lasted me a whole entire two months! I have since become employed, and have given them a donation for that time I got free kitty food. Finding Kitty litter is another thing, however...and I had to get help for that...

[DJ13]

43. Thanks for the tip

Unfortunately we go through a 16lb bag every two days (theres around 20 stray cats around our property), I doubt the shelter could be of much help.

I wish I could find bigger bags that were less expensive per pound, but so far I havent found any.

[AsahinaKimi]

48. Every little bit helps

Check with the local Animal Shelters. Also some times PetCo has foods on sale, if you have one near you. There are also cat rescue organizations that would be able to help as well.

[Donnachaidh]

27. But Congress will get it's yearly raise, without a blip heard about it on the news

They take care of *their own*. And the corporate sponsors.

Disabled or retired -- a great big Fuck You in you January check.

[laughingliberal]

54. Absolutely. No need to tie their increases to CPI. nt

[laughingliberal]

5. That's bad. They aren't likely, however, to abolish the entire programs in the lifetimes of those

already on benefits. I expect they will pushing for the privatization schemes for others, now. That said, the crap of tying the increases to CPI have always been a travesty. They purposely don't count things like housing and transportation in the CPI's in order to mask the fact that neither wages nor SS benefits are keeping up with expenses people in the real world actually have.

[ProSense]

7. Exactly what does that have to do with

President Obama?

How is a COLA calculated?
The Social Security Act specifies a formula for determining each COLA. In general, a COLA is equal to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of one year to the third quarter of the next. If there is no increase, there is no COLA.

COLA Computation
For the December 2009 COLA, we measure the increase (if any) in the average CPI-W from the third calendar quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. These averages are 215.495 and 211.001 for the third calendar quarters of 2008 and 2009, respectively, and are derived from monthly CPI-Ws developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

link

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DJ13]

18. True!

:fistbump:

Sadly some people dont care about others.

(And too often they become politicians.)

[ProSense]

25. Wait,

you're blaming President Obama for SS payments?

Obama Seeks $250 Check for Retirees and Veterans

WASHINGTON — President Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize a second $250 stimulus check to be sent early next year to an estimated 57 million Social Security recipients, veterans and people with disabilities.

In effect, the payment would be in lieu of a cost-of-living increase for Social Security beneficiaries next year. The White House request, and receptive statements from Congressional Democratic leaders, anticipated an announcement on Thursday from the Social Security Administration that there would be no cost-of-living adjustment for 2010 because the inflation rate has been negative as the recession has driven down prices.

[Cleita]

29. It was turned down the last I read. Ain't gonna happen.

http://www.abcsofinvesting.net/will-there-be-a-stimulus-check-in-2010/

The question of whether there will be another stimulus check in 2010 can only be answered by saying that right now there are no plans for such a check. So far there has been no mention of any type of general stimulus check by the government or any of the mainstream press.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a stimulus check this year. Although it’s not all that likely, such a stimulus effort could be announced any time and the checks mailed off within a few months. Given the logistics of creating stimulus checks I would hazard a guess that if there is no announcement from the government regarding a stimulus check by about September of 2010 then it will be very unlikely to happen.

[laughingliberal]

31. The Senate failed to approve it. nt

[treestar]

34. that's a different issue

Presidents must enforce the law including that which was law before they were elected and is not repealed.

If the cost of living does not go up, the benefits don't go up.

If they aren't enough to begin with, that's another issue.

[GentryDixon]

15. You cannot confuse some people with facts.

edited.

[Cleita]

19. The fact is that my cost of living has gone up, rent, utilities, gas, food,

medicine, etc. and my Social Security income hasn't due to some index voodoo that has nothing to do with reality but says there is no rise in the cost of living.

[GentryDixon]

26. I agree their logic is flawed.

My point was how we got to the decision of no COLA. It certainly wasn't something Obama decided on after getting into office. This mechanism was in place long before he sat in the Oval Office,

I am another who did not get a COLA this year.

[Lance_Boyle]

58. Mine has too, and this will be the second year in a row of no raise from my employer.

Maybe I should blame Obama for that, too?

[gulfcoastliberal]

20. Obama's executive order creating this commission to gut SS/medicare has everything to do with Obama.

Too bad you refuse to discuss facts.

[ProSense]

22. Nonsense

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. (Applause.) Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will.

link

[gulfcoastliberal]

24. That has nothing to do with Obama's commission he created to destroy social security & medicare.

red herring

[laughingliberal]

30. +1 nt

[waiting for hope]

41. I wonder if there is a link to

the White House website that says this?

[me b zola]

35. ProSense, do you remember the Biden interview when he called out Cheney?

That was a tipping point for me. Buried in that interview that it seems nobody else payed attention to was Biden saying that they were going to require employers to set up "personal savings accounts" for their employees. I screamed about this when Hillary was supporting this, and I'll not be a hypocrite and support the incremental destruction of social security and transfer of wealth to Wall Street when Obama is doing it. That portion of that interview turned my blood cold and I will not forget it.

Obama is moving us incrementally. But like President Clinton, he is moving us incrementally to rw/corporatist policies. Enough is enough. Demand better from elected Democrats.

[laughingliberal]

4. It's coming and, AFAICS, there's no stopping it

It is the reason that deficit commission exists-to cut SS and Medicare benefits. I fully expect this and I expect we'll see schemes to begin the privatization of both programs. The only, very slim bright spot was the Senate failed to approve the scenario where the commissions recommendations would have to be taken in their entirety and voted up or down. That said, the ability of Congress to debate and amend the recommendations is small comfort after watching this last year on the health care reform debate. If this goes as health care goes, we can expect tax increases to be rejected and benefit cuts and privatization schemes to be enshrined with the President telling us how we have to compromise for bipartisan support.

[dana_b]

6. will that be accepted by the Dems

here as "progress"? Will people actually begin to speak up or will we all be flaccid acceptors(sp) of the inevitable?

I imagine the tea party folks won't care as they probably hate government interference in their retirement. That should actually make them respect Obama and the administration a little more. :sarcasm:

[kenny blankenship]

10. Why don't you come onboard with the President for the Big Win?

Some people have NO team spirit.

[avaistheone1]

45. Be afraid. Be very afraid. That ass Senator Kent Conrad who screwed up health reform is going to

play a key role in reforming Social Security.

In summary, we are screwed.

[laughingliberal]

50. No doubt. He and Judd Gregg were incensed they could not get the Senate to pass a bill

requiring the Congress to take the recommendations in their entirety for an up or down vote only. No debate, no changes, no amendments. That's what they wanted. It's what President Obama wanted. When they couldn't get that through legislation, the President created the commission by EO. At least that way the Congress does not have to swallow it whole.

I can hardly wait to see the spin they will use to, somehow, make this look like good, liberal values when it comes down. I do believe, btw, it is the #1 reason we are seeing the vilifying of the baby boomers right now. They need to make it acceptable to steal the excess money we've been paying in all these years in FICA taxes.

[leftstreet]

8. K&R

[earth mom]

11. Obama's gunning for Social Security no doubt about it. nt

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

17. And Medicare once his "bi-partisan" commission comes out with their "impartial" report......

[jpak]

21. Someone has jumped a shark

:rofl:

[laughingliberal]

28. Lots of people have jumped a shark

but the OP is deadly accurate.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bridgit]

37. That started happening to people I know before Obama went to DC

It seems to have been part of wall he hit going in, as well part the ongoing race to the bottom that Obama is being blamed for today

[MisterP]

38. "if you're against privatizing SS, you're not a real Dem" (preview of the '11 talking points) nt

[laughingliberal]

42. No doubt. I can hardly wait to see the justifications we're going to hear about this when it starts

And that one will be damned personal for me since I've spent my entire working life paying the increased FICA tax Reagan imposed to cover the tax cuts for the rich all these years.

[troubledamerican]

44. Breaking: Kucinich, Sanders agree to privatizing SS: "We can't afford to be extremists"

[Karmadillo]

46. Once we privatize Social Security, we can start fixing it. Look at how the original Social Security

bill was improved over the decades. Oh. Wait. Nevermind.

[Skittles]

47. omg

I hear you Karmadillo

[lunatica]

49. Can anyone wait until Obama actually does something before condemning him?

My disappointment with Obama is that he didn't use the bully pulpit to fight for health care. That was way back months ago. He ended up doing just that. Anyone who says they know what he's going to do it just hoping he does just that. Defeatism is as bad as obstructionism. At least wait to see what he does before hanging him.

[laughingliberal]

55. After what we saw with HCR? You propose we nap & wait til it's too late to sound the alarm

President Obama advocated for Conrad and Gregg's demands for this commission which would have required Congress to vote up or down on the entire package, no debate, no changes. Conrad and Gregg are know to be big advocates for 'entitlement' reform as is President Obama's nominee, for whom he marshalled the entire power of the White House, Ben Bernanke. The Senate (in the very best move they have made in years) defeated it. President Obama was forced to create this commission by EO. He has appointed as head of it Alan Simpson, a know hater of SS and Medicare, and Erskine Bowles, a moderate Democrat from the Clinton administration. Add in Zeke Emanuel working as a health care advisor to the President who is a long time advocate for privatization of Medicare. I think we can surmise what we will see out of this commission. And I think we've already seen the President's support for cutting SS in the hiring choices he made.

If we had not just heard, "Wait til you see the final bill!!!" for a year while we tried to warn about the gutting of HCR reform you might have a point. Now? I wish my predictions had been wrong and I hope they are now but I can't think the bunch he's put in charge of this indicates any good coming out of this for the future of SS and Medicare recipients.

[lunatica]

56. You are putting words I never said into my mouth

I don't "propose we nap & wait til it's too late to sound the alarm". Your argument would be more convincing if you hadn't started it off with that piece of crap hyperbole.

Do you really think that one step forward is bad? Forget that we could have had the perfect health reform bill because that was never going to happen. Not with the health insurance industry pouring millions, if not billions into congressional pockets and anti health care reform advertising and the teabaggers being mobilized by hate and fearmongers into screaming disrupters in every way possible. Do you remember last summer during the Town Hall meetings in Democratic enclaves? And let's not forget the absolute wall of concerted effort on the part of the Republicans to obstruct every single thing the Democrats tried to do and their stated objective of breaking Obama. The opposition and their concerted organization have been phenomenal, strong and narrowly targeted.

Do you think the perfect health care bill was going to have a snow ball's chance in Hell of every passing?

As a Progressive who's been disappointed many many times I can tell you that one step forward is a victory. Would you rather just have one more major defeat? My views and actions have nothing to do with fucking napping!

[laughingliberal]

57. I think the whole argument of waiting til Obama has done something is the same as those who

told us we were alarmists when we saw the HCR bill being stripped of all reform. We were told, "It's not the final bill. You don't know what the President has planned." And we were correct that all the reform was stripped out. I'm not going to debate the merits of the HCR bill. Even the supporters know it is crap compared to what we started out fighting for.

The point here is we have found that waiting to see what Obama is going to do does not serve us well. He has hired many who favor the gutting of SS and Medicare for his team. I think we need to be forewarned. IOW, if we sound the alarm and rally people to oppose it and it doesn't happen, nothing lost. If we don't rally people and this gets done while people are distracted, a lot is lost.

[joe black]

51. Social Security fuckover.

Thanks. no really Ive worked hard all my life I'm 1 fucking year away from SS. I've put in around 285,000 dollars in and he wants to stiff me! Nice, really nice.