(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette
President Obama formerly released his budget for 2014. As, expected it contained the cuts to Social Security and Medicare that have are an anathema to the left. As has been pointed out before on this site, these proposals for the sake a few dollars in revenue increases and a paltry $50 billion investment for infrastructure improvement. That is bad policy and even worse politics. If you don’t believe that, well here is a sample of the criticism from the right:
Americans for Tax Reform, the advocacy group that asks lawmakers to sign a formal “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” said Tuesday that chained CPI violates the pledge.
“Chained CPI as a stand-alone measure (that is, not paired with tax relief of equal or greater size) is a tax increase and a Taxpayer Protection Pledge violation,” the group said in a blog post.
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, leader of the organization, criticized the policy via Twitter on Wednesday. “Chained CPI is a very large tax hike over time,” Norquist wrote. “Hence Democrat interest in same.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates (pdf) that chained CPI would reduce Social Security spending by $127 billion and increase tax revenue by $123 billion over 10 years.
When asked Friday if chained CPI represents a tax hike on the middle class, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “I’m not disputing that.“
Can you hear the political ads attacking Democrats with this? So much for electoral victory in 2014, Obama just sold that prospect for what? Trying to make the point that Republicans are intransigent? American already know that. A few dollars of revenue from tax reforms that will be changed the first chance the Republicans get, like the debt ceiling hostage situation? We seen this scene played out how many times with Obama caving to Republican demands because some vague fear about the economy.
Predictably the left is outraged and there are threats from left wing organizations to primary any Democrat who votes for chained CPI.
Warren joins lawmakers in criticizing Obama budget
A coalition of prominent Democrats, including many from New England, slammed President Obama’s $3.8 trillion budget blueprint Wednesday for its proposed changes to the Social Security payment formula and Medicare, opening a widening rift between the president and members of his own party.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said she was shocked by Obama’s proposal to recalculate the cost of living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries by linking it to a different version of the Consumer Price Index, known as the “chained CPI.” [..]
“In short, ‘chained CPI’ is just a fancy way to say ‘cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled, and orphans,'” Warren fired off in an e-mail to supporters. She related the experience of her brother, David Herring, a military veteran and former small business owner who lives on monthly Social Security checks of $1,100. “Our Social Security system is critical to protecting middle-class families,” she wrote, “and we cannot allow it to be dismantled inch by inch.” [..]
Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts called “chained CPI” an abbreviation for “Cutting People’s Income, a wrong-headed change that would go back on the promise we make to our senior citizens.”
“Tea Party Republicans may have pushed the president into many of these difficult decisions, but it still does not make this budget right nor fair, especially for those Americans who need help the most,” Markey said.
MSNBC’s All In host Chris Hayes discussed the chained CPI with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jonathan Alter, Heather McGhee, and Mattie Duppler, Americans for Tax Reform.
Transcript for this video can be read here
This a direct attack by a Democratic president on our earned benefits. Time to start calling and don’t stop until this deal is dead and buried.
The White House switchboard is 202-456-1414.
The comments line is 202-456-1111.
h/t Susie Madrak at Crooks and Liars
3 comments
Author
Obama formed the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, on February 18, 2010. [Co-Chairmen: Sen. Alan Simpson (with his buddy, Pete Peterson spending tons of money to push on attempts to destroy Social Security). Former Republican Senator from Wyoming. Erskine Bowles, Chief of Staff to President Clinton; Executive Director: Bruce Reed, Chief Domestic Policy Adviser to President Clinton.]
Obama put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid cuts “on the table,” first On July 7, 2011, in the budget negotiations. And, those Trust Funds have been on the table from then and continuously to this day, in budget talks, debt deficit talks and any “cliff” type negotiations (which we know to be BS). As you know these Trust Funds had no business ever being a part of any of those negotiations, since Social Security has not contributed a dime to the deficit and I’ve even heard that Medicare, in fact, operates in the black.
Of course, reality is that no cuts need to be made at all to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Lifting the cap from $113,000 to, say, $400,000 would fund the Trust Funds for a long, long time, or the cap could be lifted altogether. Can’t say where I read it, but I read somewhere that demands have been made on the Trust Funds to see to it that they are funded for the next 75 years . . . . the same exact thing that was demanded of the U.S. Post Office about two years or more ago. Absurd demands!
Further,
[Of interest, The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch)shows how Americans view areas to increase spending, not decrease spending in this
chart.]
President Obama wants to cut Social Security benefits. And Medicare benefits.
Send an unambiguous message to your representative and senators: If you vote to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits, I will oppose your re-election.
Click on picture!
And this is disgusting:
Here’s a list of those Congresspersons who have NOT signed the pledge. WE NEED TO WATCH THIS IN ORDER TO VOTE OUT ANY OF THEM THAT DID NOT SIGN!
Sorry for the length!
Thanks for staying on top of this machiavellian effort by our government, TMC!
A blind man who didn’t see it coming should fire his seeing eye dog for gross incompetence.
Elizabeth Warren is a wondrous addition to the Senate but I can’t believe she is shocked at all.
Best, Terry