Post by Peteetongman on Apr 9, 2013 15:56:57 GMT -5
yeah right:
Currently, Social Security awards an annual Cost Of Living Adjustment tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W. The index measures the cost of a general market basket of goods and services.
Obama is calling for adoption of the "chained CPI," which takes into account changes in consumer buying behavior when prices rise - namely, that they buy cheaper goods. Advocates of the chained CPI often describe it as a minor technical fix aimed at making COLAs more accurate.
The Social Security Administration estimates the chained CPI measure would reduce COLAs by three-tenths of a percent annually. The Social Security trustees currently project a 2.1 percent COLA for 2014; if the chained CPI were in place, for a senior getting a check equivalent to Witherspoon's, it would cut a $35 monthly increase that year to $30.
While that may not sound like a big change, it's meaningful considering the squeeze healthcare places on a budget like Witherspoon's - and it doesn't take into account that these costs are rising much more quickly than general inflation. It's really just a way of cutting benefits.
The chained CPI proposal also raises a core question about our values: Is this really how we want seniors to live?
finance.yahoo.com/news/obamas-fix-trim-social-security-182914193.html
Currently, Social Security awards an annual Cost Of Living Adjustment tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W. The index measures the cost of a general market basket of goods and services.
Obama is calling for adoption of the "chained CPI," which takes into account changes in consumer buying behavior when prices rise - namely, that they buy cheaper goods. Advocates of the chained CPI often describe it as a minor technical fix aimed at making COLAs more accurate.
The Social Security Administration estimates the chained CPI measure would reduce COLAs by three-tenths of a percent annually. The Social Security trustees currently project a 2.1 percent COLA for 2014; if the chained CPI were in place, for a senior getting a check equivalent to Witherspoon's, it would cut a $35 monthly increase that year to $30.
While that may not sound like a big change, it's meaningful considering the squeeze healthcare places on a budget like Witherspoon's - and it doesn't take into account that these costs are rising much more quickly than general inflation. It's really just a way of cutting benefits.
The chained CPI proposal also raises a core question about our values: Is this really how we want seniors to live?
finance.yahoo.com/news/obamas-fix-trim-social-security-182914193.html
