Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 10, 2013. The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans.
“President Obama’s budget proposal released today includes upsetting cuts to Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLAs) and to Medicare.
“Switching to the chained CPI formula to determine Social Security COLA benefits will mean an immediate, and long-lasting, benefit cut for millions of Social Security beneficiaries, including seniors, veterans, survivors and people with disabilities.
“Attempting to balance the budget on the backs of these Americans is unfair and uncalled for – especially since Social Security has not contributed a single penny to the federal deficit. The program is funded by workers’ and employers’ contributions.
“The fact is that even the current COLA formula undervalues seniors’ costs. Instead of proposing the chained CPI, we should be talking about using an improved formula, one that actually and accurately accounts for seniors’ spending patterns.
“We are disturbed by the inclusion of the chained CPI in the President’s budget. We all know that Social Security does not contribute to the deficit. Using the chained CPI to cut Social Security COLA benefits in the name of deficit reduction is nothing other than unfairly balancing the budget on the backs of America’s seniors, who have done nothing but work their entire lives towards earning the promise of Social Security’s guaranteed benefits.”
Source: http://www.retiredamericans.org
