From Women's National Law Center, from WH transcript..about Chained CPI.

[madfloridian]

There is no doubt that it is on the table being negotiated as part of fiscal cliff talks. Jay Carney was quite clear about that, and here are his words from the White House trancript.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/18/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-12182012">Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 12/18/2012

Q Yes, Jay, a lot of top Democrats on the Hill, and I think President Obama, spent the campaign season saying, let’s not touch Social Security -- it doesn’t add to the deficit; we can resolve this issue without going to that entitlement program. What is the President’s message to those lawmakers who promised constituents that Social Security would not be touched after the President now has put chain CPI on the table for Republicans?

MR. CARNEY: Well, let’s be clear about one thing: The President didn’t put it on the table. This is something that Republicans want. And it is --

Q But the Republicans --

MR. CARNEY: -- part of his -- if I could please answer Sam’s question, I’d appreciate it. And the President did include it in his counterproposal, his counteroffer, as part of this process, as part of the negotiation process. I would note that this is a technical change -- would be if instated -- to the way that economists calculate inflation, and it would affect every program that has -- that uses the CPI in its calculations. And so it’s not directed at one particular program; it would affect every program that uses CPI. There are also -- as part of the President’s proposals, he would make sure that the most vulnerable were exempted out from this change.

But let’s be clear, this is something that the Republicans have asked for, and as part of an effort to find common ground with the Republicans, the President has agreed to put this in his proposal -- agreed to have this as part of a broad deficit reduction package that includes asking the wealthiest to pay more so that we can achieve the kind of revenue targets that are necessary for a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

One of the most respected contributors at Daily Kos, Joan McCarter aka McJoan has an article posted about the promises supposedly being made to keep the chained CPI from hurting the most needy.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/19/1171976/-The-fallacy-of-protecting-the-most-vulnerable-from-Social-Security-cuts">The fallacy of protecting the 'most vulnerable' from Social Security cuts

The White House has gone to great lengths to stress one thing in response to the backlash against the unforced error of throwing Social Security into the fiscal cliff curb: They'll just reduce benefits for some people on Social Security, not all of them. Here's what Greg Sargent heard from the White House.

However, according to an official familiar with the talks, the White House continues to insist on various ways of softening the blow of “chained CPI” that are supported by progressive economists, though the details are still unclear.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney insists that President Obama's proposal "would protect vulnerable communities including the very elderly when it comes to Social Security recipients."

This does some pretty damaging things, at the outset. First, it pits certain Social Security recipients against others. People on Supplemental Security Income, a program from the disabled, are protected from cuts in benefits, but what about people on Social Security Disability? A 70-year-old won't be protected from the cuts, but an 80-year-old will be? And what about the point that digby makes, as usual brilliantly, that "a vast number of the elderly are barely getting by already." Most of the people on Social Security are exceedingly vulnerable

The National Women's Law Center has several articles on this, and they have done some clear graphics that are self-explanatory.

http://www.nwlc.org/chained-cpi-what-it-and-what-it-means-women">The Chained CPI: What It Is and What It Means For Women






Crossposted at DU3

[Enthusiast]

1. Way to go, Mr. President!

Funny how social security has a dedicated funding mechanism but it is "running out of money" while the military never runs out of money.

[No Elephants]

2. Fucking hysterical.

Cutting Social Security and Medicare kills people. So does war.

I always wondered what tehe endgame was for global warming deniers, how they would make the planet sustain the lives of their kids and grandkids. I guess eliminating people goes a long way toward that, especially people who are in prime child producing years.