Don't worry, old people can't count
by digby
In case you were wondering how the granny starvers were planning to explain to their elderly constituents why they voted to cut their benefits, wonder no more. They plan to lie:
The so-called "chained CPI" is an alternate version of the consumer price index that the government uses to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security and other programs. The Congressional Budget Office says switching to the chained CPI would reduce Social Security spending by $127 billion over 10 years.
But the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security and is led by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), said the policy would have given seniors a bigger increase than they'll be getting from the regular inflation gauge next year.
"If the more accurate chained CPI was used to determine the 2014 cost of living increase, seniors would see a 1.7 percent increase as opposed to this year’s increase of 1.5 percent," Ways and Means Republicans said on their website. "What does a 1.7 percent increase mean? On average, that is an extra $21.60 each month for seniors to use on groceries, bills and medicine. "
The Alliance for Retired Americans, an advocacy group that opposes Social Security cuts, says the Republicans of the Ways and Means Committee are lying. "The chained Consumer Price Index would be a cut in benefits –- that is why conservatives support it," alliance director Edward F. Coyle said in a statement.
(Click over to the link to see the full explanation of why that's an abject lie.)
It takes some chutzpah, but then these jerks have been lying about Social Security so long and getting away with it, you can't actually blame them. After all, even the Democrats are busy selling it down the river these days.
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