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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

MoveOn vs. Obama on Social Security Cuts

The group has just sent out urgent email to supporters/members asking them on whether the org should fight the president hard on proposed cuts.  Here's excerpt:

As part of the ongoing fiscal negotiations in Washington, President Obama has offered a massive concession to Republicans: A deal that would slash Social Security benefits by $112 billion over the next decade. And we have to make a decision right now about what to do.  According to the AARP, "A typical 80-year-old woman will lose the equivalent of 3 months worth of food annually" under this plan.1

This is a bad deal for current retirees. And it'll hit future retirees even harder, because the proposal cuts Social Security more and more with each passing year. After 10 years, benefits would be cut by about $500 a year for the average retiree. After 20 years, benefits would be cut by about $1,000 a year. And beyond that, it just gets worse.2

But here's the good news: There's still time to block this deal. The U.S. Senate is full of Social Security champions.3 And Social Security is central to the Democratic Party's legacy.

Still, just like standing up to the President isn't easy for MoveOn members, it isn't easy for Democratic senators. But if Social Security champions who are rejecting this plan in the Senate know we've got their backs, we have a chance to push President Obama to do the right thing.

So we have a decision to make right now: Should MoveOn keep standing with champions of Social Security and make a big final push to oppose any cuts? 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

http://www.offthechartsblog.org/the-chained-cpi-a-response-to-robert-kuttner/
My understanding is that they are only changing the calculation on COLA resulting in as this article says a .025% reduction. My SS COLA this year was $30.oo per month. So .025x30=.75cents per month $9.00 per year. I am 70 years old please tell me if I am not understanding this correctly.