I hope President Obama is happy, he is uniting a lot of groups against him This is what AARP is

[still_one]

sending to its members:

Dear Xxxx,

What do Presidents Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. all have in common?

None of them cut Social Security to reduce the deficit – but President Obama's new budget proposal will do just that. His plan would slash the benefits you receive by thousands, and the cuts just keep getting worse year over year.

President Obama included these cuts, known as the chained CPI, in his "grand bargain." He released his budget today, and he needs to hear that these cuts are completely unacceptable.

You worked hard for your Social Security and your retirement isn't a grand bargain – click here to automatically tell the president to stop pushing cuts to your benefits.

Automatically add your name!

If the chained CPI becomes law, here's what'll happen:
•You'll see your cost-of-living adjustment get smaller and smaller each year.
•The average senior will lose over $2,000 in Social Security benefits in the next ten years.
•It will become harder and harder to pay for basic necessities like groceries, life-saving prescriptions or utility bills.

Click here to AUTOMATICALLY send your letter to President Obama saying your benefits aren't for sale as part of a grand bargain.

His budget was just released today – make sure the president knows you expect him to protect and strengthen your hard-earned benefits.

Sincerely,

Fred Griesbach
AARP Campaigns


After 4 years of putting up with all the garbage from the right, thinking he could appease them, he offered something he should not have offered.

Not only will progressive Democrats in Congress vote against this, I suspect many republicans who hate him will also, just to make him look bad.

Not sure who advised him on this, but he screwed up big time

[HiPointDem]

1. if i'm not mistaken, clinton did indeed cut SS benefits through altering cpi calculation.

[still_one]

3. Perhaps, this is from AARP not me, and whether that is valid or not regarding Clinton, the

Message most people receiving this will be is that the president wants to cut ss

[JDPriestly]

24. If true, that would make a second cut via the CPI calculation all the more

reprehensible.

I am sick of these third way, DLC Democrats. They are not Democrats.

Let's look to the Progressive Caucus for candidates for 2016.

[HiPointDem]

25. i'd have to look it up to be sure, but i believe there was a change in the way cpi was calculated

under clinton.

[doc03]

28. Clinton also increased the taxes on SS benifits n/t

[HiPointDem]

32. yes, that i remember for sure.

[treestar]

44. And the congress of that time was not as intransigent

[HiPointDem]

45. huh? clinton impeachment....

[treestar]

48. side show

not about budgets and shutting down the government.

[HiPointDem]

52. about hamstringing and paralysis

[treestar]

66. Obama already has that

Presidenting while black. The Republicans won't even let his ordinary court and other appointments go through.

Nothing will be done in the Senate until 2014 and nothing then if we don't get 60.

Clinton didn't face that kind of intransigence. They worked with him cooperatively compared to their attitude towards Obama.

[eridani]

64. We are not in the middle of a tech boom now

In the 90s, people who benefitted from that weren't paying a lot of attention to SocSec COLAs. For that reason, I actually don't know if you are right or wrong. Now we are in the middle of a severe recession (at least 99% of us are), and older workers are being forced out of family wage jobs that they will never replace. Boomers are at retirement age. Therefore there is WAY more attention being paid, and the political fallout for Dems from this is going to be horrible.

[The Link]

2. What he proposed is despicable and immoral.

I am disgusted.

[still_one]

6. After 4 years this is what he comes up with. If the President starts

To rationalize this as it would only happen if repukes accept tax increases on the wealthy, that won't cut it either with most people

SS souls have never been on the table, it isn't the cause of our deficit

[WinkyDink]

8. The wealthy won't suffer, however. Obama is using some stupid "equality" formula, when human lives

don't play out that way.

IOw: "Let's see; I'll take $1,000 from Richie Rich, and ALSO $1,000 from the Widow Jones. Equality!"

[robinlynne]

49. Tax increases would have happened AUTOMATICALLY in January had Obama done nothing. He lowered tax

taxes by leaving much of the Bush tax cuts in place. Had the bush tax cuts expired, there would be no "crisis. " This entire conversation, sequestration, would not be happening.

[emsimon33]

36. I am beyond disgusted.

I feel so betrayed.

[nenagh]

63. Me too...

[sabrina 1]

4. If the are all groups from the 'professional left' then, we are told, he IS happy. Apparently that

would show Republicans how 'serious' he is. How willing he is to appease them despite the betrayal of the people who elected.

[Whiskeytide]

13. Is the AARP part of the...

... "professional left"? That would be news to me. 40 million people (and growing) who vote their financial interest fairly consistently and at a pretty high percentage (except sometimes in the deep South). Yikes. If this is some kind of level 7 chess move, as some have suggested, someone should have made a call to Griesbach and given him a heads up.

[sabrina 1]

18. Sssshhhh! Stop asking logical questions like that. Just accept the fact that ONLY the

the 'whiny, meanie, professional lefties' are having a problem with a Democratic President selling out SS.

[nineteen50]

38. AARP

wants its customers to be able to afford their insurance policies.

[whathehell]

21. Unfortunately for him, in this case, the "Professional Left" equals about 80 % of BOTH parties

who, when questioned on Social Security, say "Don't change anything"!

Who knew the "Professional Left" was comprised of Eighty Percent of the country?

[Laelth]

5. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[Rosco T.]

7. NO he's uniting them against Chained CPI

which was the plan all along.

Think for a moment. What better way to kill Chained CPI dead than bring it out front and center.

[still_one]

9. That is not the way most people will think. As the letter to its members they

single out the President as wanting to cut SS

[Rosco T.]

11. How people think isn't the important point...

.. it's getting the opposition up. Again, stop and consider. If Obama just made a speech about "Chained CPI is evil, tell your congressman not to consider it." Then it's a 'put up' job and not taken seriously. But, make it look like it's 'on the table'.. and you get deep, heated opposition. From BOTH Dem and 'thugs...

Then he can say, "ok, I hear you, it's off the table..." and the 'thugs won't DARE bring it back up.

[bvar22]

46. Kinda like that monk who set himself on fire?

Great strategy,
too bad Obama and the Democratic Party get burned up in the flames in 2014
when Republican get to run as:
[font size=4]The Party that Saved Social Security!
Vote Republican![/font]
...and have the Video to prove it.

Boy, that is gonna SUCK, isn't it,

[HiPointDem]

10. then why are the boggers all irate about the critics? they should be encouraging them.

[Katashi_itto]

12. Not me. I threw in the towel. Will vote 3rd party, if I vote at all

all that work, campigning for nothing

[Rosco T.]

15. then you're handing the goverment over to the 'thugs.

thank you.

[Katashi_itto]

20. No I'm not. They already have it. They have had it for years.

We just have been deluding ourselves.

[Union Scribe]

47. No, your brilliant chess player is doing that

by giving them their agenda worry-free. They get what they want AND get to blame the Dems for it. How clever of Obama!

[progressoid]

14. Yes, think for a moment.

Maybe he should also come out in favor of an armed guard in every school too. And de-funding Planned Parenthood. And outlawing homosexuality. And more loopholes for corporations. And less regulations for financial institutions.

What better way than bring these things out front and center!

[The Link]

17. Obama should come out against a woman's right to choose.

Bring it out front and center.

[fredamae]

19. Then why doesn't he propose

giving More guns to Everybody and lift All gun laws/restrictions to garner More support for reasonable gun safety regs?
Or did I misunderstand the argument??

[Dragonfli]

23. That is a very silly thing to believe, He has been the one that keeps resurrecting

This Third-Way idea every single time it seems we've killed it. He has read the Pete Peterson script to the letter, he has been promoting it and re-promoting it for quite some time now.

I suppose you think he is lying every time he promotes it? He has lied repeatedly also I imagine about wanting a "grand bargain".

He doesn't say constantly that we need to be serious with entitlements and make difficult choices, or constantly lies about it the times he does say those things?

Basically, your theory is he is a habitual chronic liar that does this chronic lying by proposing things he really hates in order to somehow defeat his own proposal.

Very silly.

[donnasgirl]

31. Rosco

BOLOGNA

[bigtree]

16. It's the policy that's taking the hit

. . . and that's a good thing.

Politically, it's a moot point for Obama.

[Bandit]

22. I will not vote for Obama for President again....

Does anyone really think he cares? He is not running for office.....Forget Obama, use any pressure you may have to influence Congress. This budget is Dead on Arrival but we can't allow Democrats to suffer for this act of desperation by Obama..

[Beacool]

26. Well, Obama finally got the country to agree on something.

The majority of people of both parties hate the proposed chained CPI.




It's not really funny.

[arcane1]

27. Those republicans sure do look like fools now!

[forestpath]

29. He's in a Bush bubble - he doesn't care. But maybe some other Democrats will. Maybe.

[jRus61]

30. Good Cop / Bad Cop ?

I'm trying to make sense of this because maybe I just don't want to believe what my eyes are telling me.

- PBO offers to cut Social Security and has the luxury of never needing to campaign for office again.

- The entire country knows about it immediately. Newscast, Newspapers & Internet sites across the country use it as the lead story. Try to find 1 senior citizen who hasn't heard about it.

- The entire country tunes in wanting to know who is going to protect them from these cuts and this President.

- Republicans praise the cuts as a good start but still need more. (Democrats make sure and get it on video)

- Democrats make a lot of noise and fight like crazy to stop the cuts. Remember the rowdy 2010 town halls. (Democrats even propose raising benefits?)

- Midterm election time.

- Democrats pull out video tapes.

- Country finally sees who is standing up for them.

- Republicans become extinct.

-

[cliffordu]

40. Pretty close to my take

[AnotherMcIntosh]

33. Clinton CUT Social Security payouts. He BORROWED A TRICK from Reagan. Obama WILL TOO.

Under (1) FDR, (2) Truman, (3) Eisenhower, (4) JFK, (5) LBJ, (6) Nixon, (7) Ford, and (8) Carter, Federal income taxes were not imposed upon amounts received from the Social Security office.

During their Administrations, there was sufficient honesty to know that it would make little sense for the Federal government to provide Social Security benefits and then have the Federal government indirectly take back part of the benefits through the tax system.

Reagan changed that. Under the law that he signed, when a Social Security recipient had income from another source, 50% of the Social Security payments were taxable when the additional income exceeds a certain amount. This was a reduction of the Social Security benefits. An indirect reduction, but a reduction. The additional amount doesn't have to be much. Mandatory withdrawals from IRAs and 401k plans can be sufficient.

There were so many "shiny new objects" to look at during the Reagan Administration, that Reagan's trick was often overlooked.

Clinton didn't overlook it, however. He borrowed the trick from Reagan and increased the amount of Social Security payments under such circumstances from 50% to 85%. This is another reduction in Social Security benefits.

Prediction: Obama's not going to overlook this trick either. He also has plenty of "shiny new objects" to distract people so that it will get very little attention. When he is finished, he'll increase the Social Security benefits subject to taxation, once a threshhold is met, to 100%.

When Obama does that, many senior citizens who withdraw funds from IRAs and 401k accounts won't have to wait years to see their Social Security benefits drop under Obama's chained-CPI approach. They'll immediately see their Social Security benefits drop.

The genius behind this is that very few people will notice.

[madrchsod]

34. i fully agree with the aarp and all those who oppose his bullshit.

i make 670 on ss and 100 or so is taken out for medicare. so i`m suppose to take a cut because he`s to chicken shit to tell his corporate sponsors to fork over a little more to bail out our country...oh shit i forgot it`s not our country it`s theirs.

so mr president, i guess money does talk does`t it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

35. AARP are just a bunch of aged Commie Hippies who fear buses.

And, don't show proper appreciation for the busdriver who's trying to run over them.....for their own good, of course.

[magic59]

37. Is this the same AARP that helped bush through privatizing 20% of medicare

So they can make millions selling insurance? You betcha!

[still_one]

43. First of all that did not happen as far as I am aware, but people are not looking at that now

The are focused on ss

Using that as an argument, AARP tried to endorse bush privatizing it does not take away from the Presidents proposal

Also, I believe that AARP representative is no longer there since most of its members did not subscribe to that as they don't subscribe to this budget proposal

[AnnieK401]

39. Everyone knows there's no way this will get through Congress.

Maybe Obama was just trying to take away some ammo from the right, who know. Believe me, they've gotten crazier than many who don't live in fairly rural, "red" areas like I do realize.

[tokenlib]

41. Is your retirement going to be a "grand bargain"? good for ads...

..very good for ads and to get people thinking about this.

[blkmusclmachine]

42. 2014. Gonna be UGLY.

Thanks, Obama.

IM in a PEACH of a mood.

[jsr]

50. The President is a uniter, not a divider.

[1StrongBlackMan]

51. This is still a negotiation (the gop's words) ...

so please allow me to provide my prediction, as a seasoned negotiator, of President Obama (and his more seasoned team's) next move in these "negotiations":

President Obama (or maybe a Democratic legislator):

Okay, Mr./Ms. gop Legislator ... Here's what we can do ... I'll drop the Chained CPI, no one seems to like that approach, even apparently the gop that is demanding cuts to "entitlements" (a win for the American people) and I will reduce my revenue ask by half what the CCPI would have realized (a win for the you, the gop).

Now ... where does the gop go ... and not cement their "unwillingness to compromise" monicker with the solid plurarity of gop and independent voters (a solid majority when taken as a whole) that poll as having the gop being unwilling to compromise and President Obama (and Democrats being willing to compromise).

In order to flip the House (because of gerrymandering as a result of 2010), we need those groups to either stay home, vote 3rd-Party, or vote Democratic. In my estimation ... It 's all about 2014.

[Marr]

53. Obama seriously damaged the party's 2014 prospects today.

If you're still trying to spin this is as a brilliant bluff, well... good luck.

[ProSense]

55. Wishful thinking. n/t

[steve2470]

56. I agree

The National Republican Congressional Committee chairman has already spun this against Democrats. I don't think that's the last time it will be used. Seniors vote at a higher rate than any other demographic and this is not "good optics", despite the more nuanced truth about what the President wants.

[1StrongBlackMan]

58. Again ...

aren't the gop optics destroyed when President Obama says:

Okay, Mr./Ms. gop Legislator ... Here's what we can do ... I'll drop the Chained CPI, no one seems to like that approach, even apparently the gop that is demanding cuts to "entitlements" (a win for the American people) and I will reduce my revenue ask by half what the CCPI would have realized (a win for the you, the gop).

This IS a negotiation.

[steve2470]

59. The best thing I can say is, I hope you're correct

I admit to not being a highly skilled political consultant. We need to retake the House in 2014 and make gains in the Senate also.

[Marr]

60. No, for two reasons:

1. That's a fantasy in your head, and not something that's happened in the real world, and--

2. It's gobbledygook, and not nearly as understandable as "he tried to cut my Social Security".

[1StrongBlackMan]

62. Okay ...

you go with that.

[1StrongBlackMan]

57. Don't need luck ...

Just clear minded thinking of Democrats.

[ProSense]

54. Well,

"What do Presidents Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. all have in common? None of them cut Social Security to reduce the deficit – but President Obama's new budget proposal will do just that. His plan would slash the benefits you receive by thousands, and the cuts just keep getting worse year over year. "

...I guess the qualifier "to reduce the deficit" excuses these changes.

<...>

Legislative Changes in 1996 & 1997

Contract With America Advancement Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-121).

This bill, signed by the President on March 29, 1996, made a change in the basic philosophy of the disability program. Beginning on that date, new applicants for Social Security or SSI disability benefits could no longer be eligible for benefits if drug addiction or alcoholism is a material factor to their disability. Unless they can qualify on some other medical basis, they cannot receive disability benefits. Individuals in this category already receiving benefits, are to have their benefits terminated as of January 1, 1997. Previous policy has been that if a person has a medical condition that prevents them from working, this qualifies them as disabled for Social Security and SSI purposes--regardless of the cause of the disability. Another significant provision of this law doubled the earnings limit exemption amount for retired Social Security beneficiaries, on a gradual schedule from 1996 to 2002. In 2002, the exempt amount will be $30,000 per year in earnings, compared to $14,760 under previous law.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

This "welfare reform" legislation, signed by the President on 8/22/96, ended the categorical entitlement to AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) that was part of the original 1935 Social Security Act by implementing time-limited benefits along with a work requirement. The law also terminated SSI eligibility for most non-citizens. Previously, lawfully admitted aliens could receive SSI if they met the other factors of entitlement. As of the date of enactment, no new non-citizens could be added to the benefit rolls and all existing non-citizen beneficiaries would eventually be removed from the rolls (unless they met one of the exceptions in the law.) Also effective upon enactment were provisions eliminating the "comparable severity standard" and reference to "maladaptive behavior" in the determination of disability for children to receive SSI. Also, children currently receiving benefits under the old standards were to be reviewed and removed from the rolls if they could not qualify under the new standards.

Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996.

Requires that all federal payments (including Social Security and SSI) be made by electronic funds transfer (no more paper checks) effective January 1, 1999, unless a waiver is granted by the Secretary of the Treasury.

The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997

This massive omnibus spending bill contained SSA's budget as well as numerous legislative changes relating to the SSI program and to issues involved in fighting fraudulent documents in connection with obtaining Social Security numbers. The major SSI provision makes sponsorship agreements legally enforceable for the first time. In the area of identification-related documents, the law requires the establishment of federal standards for state-issued birth certificates and requires SSA to develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant Social Security card.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997

This bill passed the House on 7/30/97 by a vote of 346 to 85, and passed the Senate the next day on a vote of 85 to 15. This law restored SSI eligibility to certain cohorts of non- citizens whose eligibility otherwise would be terminated under the "welfare reform" of 1996. It also extended for up to one year the period for redetermining the eligibility of certain aliens who may ultimately not be eligible for continued benefits.

- more -

http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html#colas

The Story of COLAs (and amendments to Social Security)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022632157


Frankly, I still don't think President Obama's proposal will ever pass.

Chained CPI Protections (Republicans are still going to say no)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022650340

[1StrongBlackMan]

61. And that's the beauty of this strategy ...

There is actually NO threat to Social Security ... The gop can't agree to the cuts (because of the public out-rage), they can't stick with their "cut 'entitlement' cuts, no revenue" flirtation (because the cuts were offered), and even if they argued to something, the Left and seniors on the right wouldn't let the deal go through.

[truebluegreen]

65. I don't know why we are surprised:

he's been offering entitlement cuts since before his first inauguration.

It's not a ploy, a ruse or a move in multi-dimensional chess; it's what he is. A shill for the money boyz, Republican Lite.

[d_b]

67. the president is a whore

and no amount of post hiding will change that.