Dean Baker: Lying, Cheating and Stealing to Gut Social Security

[Better Believe It]

Lying, Cheating and Stealing to Gut Social Security
Making Social Security More Progressive: The Games They Play in Washington
by Dean Baker
January 19, 2011

One proposal from both Bowles-Simpson and CAP is to change the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) for retirees. They propose using an alternative index for the COLA that they claim is more "accurate."

The reality is that these people have no clue whether their preferred index is more accurate in measuring the rate of inflation experienced by retirees. Their index was not designed for this purpose. What they do know is that their index provides a lower COLA leading to lower benefits. After 10 years the COLA provided by their index will have reduced the benefits for a retiree by roughly 3.0 percent. After 20 years, the decline would be 6.0 percent. This would be a substantial cut in income for many people who are entirely dependent on their Social Security and just getting by now.

If accuracy is the issue, rather than cutting benefits, we could ask the Bureau of Labor Statistics to design a price index that specifically measures the rate of inflation experienced by the elderly. There is little interest in Washington in this exercise because the evidence we have now indicates an elderly index would lead to a higher COLA, not a lower one. So, in the interest of accuracy, let's be clear: The Social Security cutters want to see a lower COLA for Social Security beneficiaries. They do not give a damn about having an accurate one.

.... those who want to cut Social Security must overcome the fact that they have no argument on policy grounds and their scheme faces enormous political opposition. As a result, the Washington insiders have no choice. If they want to cut Social Security they will have to lie, cheat and steal. And the Washington insiders are very good at these tactics.

Read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/19-12

[BrklynLiberal]

1. To say this is depressing is the ultimate understatement....

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Remember the goat in Jurassic Park that was tied to a stake so that he couldn't even run

from the T Rex?

That's us now.

We can't fight back.

And we've got nowhere to run to.

[Laelth]

3. k&r for the truth, however depressing. n/t

-Laelth

[midnight]

4. K&R

[DesertFlower]

5. every time i go to the grocery store i get angry.

we've been told that the price of food has not gone up. well maybe it hasn't gone up much, but the paper products, the cleaning supplies, etc. have gone up and quite a bit.

we're okay, thank goodness, but i wonder how other people are doing. this is the 2nd year there's been no COLA.

it's not just the people on social security i'm concerned about, but those who are on unemployment and those who don't make much.

sorry for the rant.

[Better Believe It]

8. The Senate let the $250 Social Security bonus bill they promised, die.

Remember that?

Anyone recall the Senate leadership with President Obama's support fighting for that in the last Senate session?

It went the way of the Employee Free Choice Act, into the circular trash basket.

[DesertFlower]

9. i did get an extra $250 in 2009.

[Hannah Bell]

6. kr

[rhett o rick]

7. k&r

[pinqy]

10. There is an index for the elderly

If accuracy is the issue, rather than cutting benefits, we could ask the Bureau of Labor Statistics to design a price index that specifically measures the rate of inflation experienced by the elderly. There is little interest in Washington in this exercise because the evidence we have now indicates an elderly index would lead to a higher COLA, not a lower one.

The experimental series CPI-E for Americans aged 62 and older has been calculated since 1987 (reconstructed back to 1982).

[kenny blankenship]

11. We're the people we've been waiting for, remember? Not our current leaders.

They betray us. They think we've "got nowhere to turn to, nowhere to go". They're as wrong as can be.