- Reuters
Posted on 12/18/2012 12:53:15 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Stock investors are optimistic that President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are close to a deal that would avert the so-called fiscal cliff. But based on the offers currently on the table, retirees and people preparing for retirement may not be feeling so upbeat. This morning, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and a gazillion other major media outlets are reporting that President Barack Obama’s newest offer, like Boehner’s, embraces the use of the “chained consumer price index,” a formula for calculating inflation that would reduce the growth of Social Security benefits by making annual cost-of-living adjustments smaller. The Times says that the White House believes chained CPI will save the government about $122 billion over 10 years.
As Encore discussed yesterday, opponents of chained CPI argue that it makes an existing problem worse, since many believe that even under the current formula, seniors’ benefits aren’t keeping up with inflation. (Fast-rising Medicare premiums and other health costs are the biggest culprit.) The chained CPI idea has bipartisan backing, but it isn’t popular with voters, with 60% of respondents opposing it in a Washington Post poll. (Not surprisingly, the idea is least popular with voters who are already getting Social Security.) Liberal Democrats are not digging it, either. Anticipating objections, the White House is signaling that they’ll try to mitigate the new formula’s effects on the most vulnerable Social Security recipients. The Times’s Jonathan Weisman is saying that the cuts “would probably not affect wounded veterans and disabled people on Supplemental Security Income.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.marketwatch.com ...
Haaaaa! Take that all you AARP lemmings!
DU up in arms (no pun intended) over this.
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I think people that voted for Obama voted for a republican.....
He should go with the adjusted years to start SS. People understand that they are growing older.
The inflation re SS was false anyway and it is unethical to change it more. Plus the republicans will force democrats to change the SS starting years anyway, might as well lead with that....
That's all right.
Now this is the system that I personally paid into for over 50 years. What a scam. And it's going to be even worse for my kids.
Medicaid should have ALWAYS totally separate from SS/Medicare. It's just plain stealing from OUR investment.
Hmmmmmm . . . . . . . . sounds like the people who have PAID INTO SS against their will all their lives are about to get screwed. So much for so-called “entitlement” programs.
This is yet another reason that government should NEVER have anything to do with social programs. They “giveth” and they “taketh” away the money that they have confiscated from us all our working lives.
“You can’t get smaller than “0”. Thats what seniors got for 2 years in a row. This year we got 1.7%. After they took out the Medicare B increase...I will get $11 a month increase.
That’s all right.
Now this is the system that I personally paid into for over 50 years. What a scam. And it’s going to be even worse for my kids.”
1.7% just who the hell calculated the cost of living increase to be that paltry amount? Gas, food, energy, clothing, INSURANCE.... just name me any of those which only increased 1/7% over the last 2 years.
I know Carter set forth a policy to significantly manipulate the Cost Of Living Increase to a much lower value compared to reality and to my knowledge no president after him has attempted to make the number a realistic reflection of inflation.
So to sum it up, we are seeing an increase much lower than inflation, paid with worthless dollars completely eroded by inflation and a Treasury attempting to print its way out of bankruptcy.
I think Obama put this out as a trial balloon last night in the middle of the night to test the waters.
Today I believe he might be panicking because he it looks like he will absolutely lose the left if he goes for this, even before he's inaugurated in January.
Thus, the reports of a Plan B by Boehner. Boehner and Pelosi might have to come to the rescue as Obama is immobilized.
Ah the old “substitution” scam. It’s a lie, pure and simple. The usual example is that if the price of steak goes up, then people eat less steak and more chicken (*). Abra cadabra, “inflation” is simply defined away!
(*) you should consider your cleverness in shopping for whatever bargains you can get to be a satisfying patriotic duty.
Changes to inflation and unemployment statistics, without exception over the past forty years, always work to make the numbers look a little better.
“President Barack Obama’s newest offer, like Boehner’s, embraces the use of the “chained consumer price index,” a formula for calculating inflation that would reduce the growth of Social Security benefits by making annual cost-of-living adjustments smaller.”
Of course. Fat welfare momma is only stealing $80,000 per year, once you figure in a free house under Section 8, free EBT food, six kids on SS disability pulling in $660 monthly and cash payments for drugs, Cadillac installments and beer and coke for her kid’s six daddies.
More cash needs to be stolen from retirees who paid into the ponzi scheme.
“Changes to inflation and unemployment statistics, without exception over the past forty years, always work to make the numbers look a little better.”
And, in the beginning, the recipients were said to be the ones putting the money in. Then government lied, and later added non-payers to the list of recipients.
Lady Bird once suggested that people should just switch to cheese, but cheese at the time was more than twice the price of ground beef.
Not to be contrarian but I noticed a retired Cop in CA was getting $174,000.00 a year in retirement, at age 53. He left the job with lump of cash for unpaid leave totaling around $480,000.00, so it is not just the welfare queens but the Union thugs as well.
I think the CPI index no longer considers food and energy costs when calculating inflation.
What a crock. There have been only puny COLAS for a number of years now. The arsehole Obama isn’t trimming anything.
Oh, and I am angry that our health insurance is charging us more and paying far less.
Affordable Care Act? My ass.
“Not to be contrarian.”
Be my guest, itsahoot, with your opinion.
“but I noticed a retired Cop in CA was getting $174,000.00 a year in retirement, at age 53.”
I bet the slob weighs 400 lbs +
“He left the job with lump of cash for unpaid leave totaling around $480,000.00.”
Of which city councils, being sovereign units of government, can cancel at any time.
“so it is not just the welfare queens but the Union thugs as well.”
You betcha. I’m in agreement with all you said.
Social security has Been Stripped since Obumbo gave us the Payroll Tax Cut,Those are the Funds that Fund Social Security,it is not an Income tax.
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