AARP Screams Bloody Murder, Warns Against Changing CPI Definition And Cuts To Social Security

[stockholmer]

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/aarp-screams-blood-murder-warns-against-changing-cpi-definition-and-cuts-social-security-pur

While it is unclear what precisely has given Obama confidence to announce that his meeting with congressional leaders on deficit reduction and the debt limit was "very constructive" http://imarketnews.com/node/33347 one thing is very likely: it involved the change of the definition of CPI. As we reported some time ago, http://www.zerohedge.com/article/americas-latest-proposal-deal-its-insolvency-and-pursue-stealth-dollar-devaluation-change-cp one of the serious proposal to deal with the deficit situation is to make a revolutionary actuarial adjustment and change the way the actual definition of inflation.

As we reported: "Lawmakers are considering changing how the Consumer Price Index is calculated, a move that could save perhaps $220 billion and represent significant progress in the ongoing federal debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks. According to congressional aides familiar with the discussions, the proposal would shift how the Consumer Price Index is calculated to reflect how people tend to change spending patterns when prices increase. For example, consumers tend to drive less when gas prices increase dramatically.

Such a move is widely seen by economists as resulting in a slower rise in inflation." Today the WSJ's Damian Paletta follows up on this ludicrous yet serious proposal: "One proposal in the budget talks that is getting a serious look from all sides would switch the government’s way of measuring inflation and delivering a big impact on tax, spending, and entitlement programs. How big? It could save roughly $300 billion over 10 years. That big. The idea of using this different measure of inflation, known as a “chained” consumer price index, has won support from numerous deficit-reduction commissions as well as many liberal and conservative economists."

Yet reminding everyone that there is no such thing as a free lunch in finance, the "biggest savings—an estimated $112 billion—would be from slowing the growth in the cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries." Sure enough someone is unhappy. Enter the AARP which is already screaming, justifiably, bloody murder should the administration proceed with what will be an outright slashing of Social Security obligations. "AARP will not accept any cuts to Social Security as part of a deal to pay the nation’s bills,” said Rand. “Social Security did not cause the deficit, and it should not be cut to reduce a deficit it did not cause." Did Obama's war with America's seniors just enter Defcon 1?

snip

[Rex]

1. AARP is a day late and a dollar short.

[Skittles]

4. yup

they've caved too much too to be taken seriously

[leveymg]

2. Now we know why there was the bad-mouthing campaign against AARP a week ago. They didn't go along

when this deal was first floated behind closed doors in Washington.

AARP also opposed the Clintonite's efforts to privatize the SS Trust fund a decade ago.

At least there's one group who we can still trust, and it isn't the center-right, neoliberal wing of the Democratic Party.

[cliffordu]

3. Yep - Fuck with grannie's SS and get ready to find out how tough

you have to be to live this long......

[librechik]

5. I was sure this sort of thing would happen--how dare they bring SS into the deficit discussion??

do they think we are idiots (Yes) Not going to change anything, though we are no longer a representative democracy and the owners of theis country will make all the decisons from now on (or rather from about 30 years ago on...)

[tularetom]

6. That gigantic sucking sound

is AARP's credibility.

[theophilus]

8. If they are on the correct side of this issue then that is all the credibility they need, imo. n/t

[tularetom]

9. Well, they may be on the correct side THIS week

but a couple of weeks ago they weren't.

They were for cutting SS before they were against it.

AARP is a big ass insurance company. They really don't care about SS, all they want to do is sell insurance. If they can make us old farts think they give a rats ass about us, maybe we'll buy their crappy insurance.

'Eff 'em.

[chill_wind]

7. And they will have company in the rest of the country in very large numbers

Six in ten Americans said it was more important to leave Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched than to make cuts as a way to reduce the deficit.


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