Social Security Cuts Still ‘on the Table’ but Not in Obama’s Budget

[dixiegrrrrl]

The decision to drop so-called “chained CPI” came after Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., and 15 other senators wrote Obama a letter Feb. 14 urging Social Security to be spared in the president’s budget blueprint.

“With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we cannot afford to make life even more difficult for seniors and some of the most vulnerable people in America,” said Sanders, who has railed repeatedly on the Senate floor against cutting benefits due under the law.

Obama had included the proposal, which would shrink the inflation rate used to calculate a host of benefits and tax breaks, as part of an attempted grand bargain on the budget, but Republicans refused White House demands for new revenue to go along with cuts in entitlements.

However, while the proposal will not be in his budget blueprint, Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday that the president’s proposal remains “on the table,” but only as part of a larger package that would shrink tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.

“It’s a principle of fairness,” Earnest said.

http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/sanders-applauds-obama-for-dropping-social-security-cuts-from-budget/

[Autumn]

1. The elderly on a limited income should suffer so the wealthy and corporation

can pay a few bucks more in taxes. Yeah that fucking makes a lot of sense coming from a fucking republican but it fucking sucks that a democratic president thinks “It’s a principle of fairness,”

[woo me with science]

4. +10000

[joshcryer]

7. It actually comes with a poverty exception.

Bringing some 4-5 million elderly seniors out of poverty.

Not advocating, but that's a reason it won't pass.

[woo me with science]

2. There is NO EXCUSE

for any Social Security cuts, on any table.

There is NO EXCUSE for massive, secret, predatory "trade" agreements.

There is NO EXCUSE for repeating Republican lies linking Social Security to the deficit.

There is NO EXCUSE for cementing Republican narratives about budget-cutting as a solution rather than a scam to starve the economy and impose austerity.

There is NO EXCUSE.

The Third Way con game does not work anymore. Corporate politicians cannot successfully seek praise anymore for hurting us less than Republicans. They can no longer expect praise for token bones and minutiae when those minutiae are dwarfed and rendered useless by an overwhelmingly corporate, predatory direction on MAJOR policies.

We demand a party that works FOR us on MAJOR POLICY.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

5. Let's tax capital letters

For the children

[neverforget]

9. Let's promote Republican ideas

for the wealthy

[jsr]

3. Recommend

[pa28]

6. Maybe raising the cap should go on the table instead.

That's what Obama campaigned on twice but never mentions once he's back in the Washington bubble.

[progressoid]

8. Well isn't that special.