Comments for The Chained CPI is a Bad Deal for Kids and Low-Income Working-Age Adults Too at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 2 out of 2 comments http://www.cepr.net Tue, 21 May 2013 11:20:48 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/the-chained-cpi-is-a-bad-deal-for-kids-and-low-income-working-age-adults-too#comment-20768 This is yet another reason why Chained CPI is even worse than it appears: The poorest people, including many impoverished children, tend to rely on more than one CPI-adjusted program. If Obama wants to cut these programs he should be honest with the American people. This backdoor cut is despicable. Apparently Obama's envisioning a 5% bump in Social Security payments at age 85 to help "soften the blow." With life expectencies falling, that may not cost very much but, in any case, a typical 85 year old woman will have lost about $8500 in benefits by the time the bump kicks in. None of that will be restored by the bump. Obama's also envisioning sparing SSI from the cuts, which is appropriate since SSI payments are much too low. But this will further exacerbate public resentment against this program which, rightly or wrongly, many Americans view as riddled with fraud. Sparing VA disability benefits is a blatantly political move, since those benefits are far more generous than civilian programs. I'm not criticizing it--we have an obligation to take care of our veterans--but just like with the Zadroga 9/11 mess--let's admit that we're favoring one group at the expense of others for purely political reasons. - bmull Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:39:22 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/the-chained-cpi-is-a-bad-deal-for-kids-and-low-income-working-age-adults-too#comment-20767 Average Social Security is less than minimum wage. Current average Social Security monthly benefit is $1,237 which works to $14,844 per year. Minimum wage 40 hour week, 52 weeks (which is fantasy) works out to be $15,080 per year. http://dakine01.blogspot.com/2012/12/lets-play-with-some-numbers-social.html - Richard Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:21:43 +0100