General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Social Security belongs to the American people. It is not Obama's to bargain with. [View all]eridani
(51,907 posts)--poverty? If you really gave a bloody goddam about these people, you'd insist that Congress just adjust the initial benefits calculation upward right now, which is an adjustment to the current practice alreasy favoring lower income people. This process has NO FUCKING RELATIONSHIP to chained CPI and could be done at any time. Besides which, the additional pittance will damned well NOT lift the lowest quintile above real poverty.
You and the Census Bureau do not live in the real world. You believe in the idiotic fantasy that if you take a bare bones rice and beans budget and multiply its cost times three, that this reflects life in the real world. In our world, we have rent, utilities and medicine to worry about, which in your world do not exist.
And this stupid fantasy is somehow worth pushing the second and third quintiles into REAL poverty. The fourth and fifth quintiles won't (unless something catastrophic happens) be poor--they will merely be stripped of discretionary income. That income helps to maintain demand in an economy which is still a major depression for all but the 1%.