21 Apr Obama sells out (again)

Press reports say that in his budget, President Obama plans to propose cutting Social Security and veterans benefits by imposing the “Chained CPI” cut.

Make no mistake: Obama’s seemingly-small proposed change in the Chained Consumer Price Index (the mechanism that allows earned Social Security benefits to keep up with inflation) is cumulative, building year-after-year, and represents a cut in earned Social Security benefits of about 10 per cent for a retiree toward the end of her / his life (about $1,000 per year)–when s/he can least afford it.

As of this writing, about 40 percent of retirees, mostly women, rely on their earned Social Security benefits as their sole source of income as they age.

And know this: as a 100 per cent self-funded program, Social Security has nothing, nada, zero to do with the deficit. Nothing.

This scenario is like Nixon going to China decades ago (i.e., only a Republican could have opened the door to Communist China without being accused of Communist sympathies). And now, only a Democrat could propose such a reduction in SS benefits and not be hooted out of the room as a craven opportunist and an employee of the wealthiest among us.

I hope you will choose to protect the earned Social Security benefits of your kids and the kids of everyone you know: Consider reading the article linked below, think about becoming involved, and maybe even help defeat this cruel, heartless proposal.

Here (new updated link to come)

Elbert “Big Man” Howard
Forestville, CA