Posted on 07/08/2011 4:41:50 AM PDT by blam
The Sneaky Way They Plan on Cutting Social Security Benefits
July 8, 2011
Talk of changing the way the CPI is calculated is now part of on going talks on how to deal with the debt expansion. Reuters explains bluntly what is going on:
President Barack Obama and lawmakers are considering cutting Social Security and increasing revenue by changing the way the government measures inflation.
Four senior congressional aides said lawmakers are discussing using an alternative yardstick to gauge inflation, known as the “chained consumer price index,” to determine annual cost-of-living adjustments for millions of Americans. How much of an impact will the change in the method of calculating CPI have on Social Security?
It could result in cutting Social Security by $112 billion over 10 years, raising taxes by $60 billion and cutting pension and veterans’ disability payments by $24 billion, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
According to Reuters:
Advocates say the change is needed because the government’s current measure of inflation overstates how quickly prices rise. Got that? In May, the annualized core CPI came in at 2.4% and the government debt negotiators think this is too high a number.
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma goes one better, he says:
There hasn’t been any economist anywhere that says we shouldn’t do that, [change the way inflation is measured] Earth to Couburn, start with John Williams at Shadow Stats, if you are looking for some one who thinks the CPI measure has been manipulated downward enough already and read up on the last manipulation of the CPI, which was inspired by President Richard Nixon.
Coburn continues with this outrageous remark:
We need a CPI that truly reflects what’s happening in the economy, not what’s good for the politicians.
Bottom line: D.C. politicians are attempting every way possible to raise revenue and cut expenditures, even if it is on the back of the elderly. They will lie and say things with a straight face, even if a quick trip to the supermarket confirms the absurdity of the statements made by politicians like Coburn.
Agree!
I’ve been saying for years that this would be the case. In fact, I don’t see how any of these massive entitlement programs can ever function in the long run without this sort of approach.
No, you just have to work hard, plan well, and save for your retirement. It’s not a complicated concept.
Actually WE have no choice
Socialist Insecurity has always been a Ponzi scheme.
They haven't because of the way the CPI is calculated (no consideration for the increase in the cost of Food or Fuel) and some (including many R's) are saying the rate of inflation has been OVER estimated?
Glad to see so many of our Freepers such as Wolfie are independently wealthy and will not have to worry about their retirement or, apparently supporting a widowed 90 year old Mother who relies on SS for income (and who because as a single Mom raising 3 children COULD NOT PUT ANY MONEY ASIDE, MORON) as some of us do and who while we/they help out, could not afford to support their family as well as their elderly parent (completely) at the same time
Such compassion!
Well social security is the best deal for those who pay in the least. The less you “invest” the better the return.
“Actually WE have no choice”
This is true, if by “we” you mean “everyone”.
The notion that an employee's pay would have automatically been 6% higher absent the employer's SS contribution is quite a stretch.
More likely the amount of the employer contribution would have simply increased the employer's pre-tax income.
Your Social Security dollars were frittered away over the decades by politicians.
and you don’t “rob” the people who have payed into S.S. their whole life.
Ever heard the saying "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"?
Those people who claim they are being "robbed" had decades in which to vote out the bastards (Republicans and Democrats) in power who were frittering away their money.
They didn't.
What you reap you will sow.
The problem now is that those people who claim they are being "robbed" are trying to make their children and grandchildren pay for their sins.
Too bad their children and grandchildren are engulfed in debt and a stagnant, uncompetitive economy.
That's not even counting the children and grandchildren who were aborted over the years.
How about converting the EPA, FCC, and 95% of all fedgov agencies into 7 person advisory councils to congress. Close ALL their buildings, auction them off. Enforcement for LAWS set forth by congress (not rules set forth by agencies) are enforced by federal agents and marshals.
Where has this guy been, its been going on for 20 years.
Old people have younger ones to take care of them by and large. Let them work or live with them.
Social security was never meant to be a primary support mechanism for anyone.
We need to return to the time when retirement was not even in the dictionary.
Don't forget, you put in x and your employer(s) put in x also. That's 2x plus interest.
If your employer wasn't mugged by the Government for your x, he could have paid it to you. You were worth it, right?
Sins? What sins might those be?
If you’re close to retirement age, you’ll get your fair share and then some. But math is math and there aren’t enough workers to sustain SS benefits at their current levels and a bad economy with no job creation only makes it worse.
There’s no way to balance the budget, let alone tackle the debt without major reforms in both SS and Medicare - and yes, there will have to be cuts in benefits down the road. People 55 and above need not worry.
Younger people are slowly adjusting to the fact that SS will look very different for them when they reach their 60’s and in fact, may not be there at all. My 30 something children realize this and are making their own plans.
Again, the math doesn’t lie. We need a President who will look us in the eye and tell us the truth about these programs - charts would help. But Obama and Democrats need to demagogue the issue for political gain. They’ll never tell the truth.
Polls show that most people are in denial and truly believe that other areas of government can be cut enough to keep SS and Medicare solvent. The truth is, they can’t. Those two programs are green headed monsters that are sucking the lifeblood out of the budget and our children’s futures.
Do some research and you’ll see. A good place to start is:
http://market-ticker.org/cgi-mt/akcs-www?forum=Market-Ticker
Their failures to manage their own government.
While reading the first 30 or so comments, I understand why the Social Security debate is so toxic, the issue will NEVER be solved and will implode MUCH sooner than later.
I’m 44 years old, working since I’m 16, I expect not to see a dime of SS and will probably will die at my job(retirement for everyone will in the future, be considered an historic anomaly; IMHO).
Stay healthy my friends because the coming economic storm is going to kill what’s left of Social Security.
Randita, as a twenty-something, here's **my** expectation:
1. Social Security won't be there at all.
2. Some beneficiaries will vote for me to pay even higher taxes to pay their benefits.
Does this seem like an appropriate set of expectations?
I wish they would quit using this blatant LIE. They are not cutting ANYONE”S Social Security Benefits. NOBODY ANYWHERE will recieve LESS than they do now. This will just effect the amount of the annual INCREASE people recieve.
And, I ask this, How many PRIVATE pension plans give yearly ‘Cost of Living’ increases?
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