"Many of what would be described as the liberal left of Congress have weighed in against using the chained CPI to calculate cost of living increases in Social Security benefits.
We had an election,
and the voters sent a message to Congress to focus on jobs and fairness
— not cutting benefits for people who have worked all their lives
and are now making ends meet on fixed incomes.
The formula we use to adjust cost-of-living changes for seniors
needs to reflect the real costs they face, not the budgetary fantasies of Washington.
Sen. Jeff Merkley
...You will hear virtually nobody claim that chained CPI represents a more accurate way of determining the cost of living for senior citizens on Social Security...
The only benefit to chained CPI is that it saves the government money at the expense of senior citizens.
...It’s a back-door way of lowering the benefit.
...Despite these changes, [Nancy] Pelosi said she could convince her caucus to get behind such a plan, if need be.
“Do you think you could sell it to your caucus?”
MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell asked Pelosi in an interview on Tuesday.
“I do,” replied Pelosi,
adding, “Yes, the Democrats will stick with the president...
...This is almost the entire income source for almost half of seniors, and for 3/4 of widows or unmarried women.
...White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called this a “technical fix” to better calculate inflation.
Bullsiht.
...The goal isn’t to properly measure inflation, it’s to save money for the federal government.
...Chained-CPI’s role in correcting inflation measurement error is helpful in distracting people from its role in cutting Social Security benefits. Politicians who are unwilling or unable to offer a persuasive political or policy rationale for cutting Social Security benefits are instead hiding behind a technocratic rationale.
We’re not “cutting benefits,” we’re “correcting our inflation measure.”
A similar dynamic is behind the popularity of raising the retirement age, or the Medicare eligibility age...
The Administration won’t even stand up and own the fact that chained CPI also is a regressive tax increase that would break their promise to hold harmless anyone making $250,000 or less from additional taxation.
...the White House isn’t counting the $60 billion in new revenue that the Treasury would collect if Congress indexed tax brackets to chained CPI.
...the combination of technocracy and cruelty is depressing to behold."
David Dayen
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