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Slash and burn reflects policy. ObamaSpeak masks it. He claims he's "willing to make tough choices that may not be popular within my own party, because there can be no sacred cows for either party."
He wants Medicare cut $400 billion over 10 years. Hundreds of billions were cut earlier. Expect much more ahead. Means testing Medicare and Social Security looms. So does privatizing federally mandated programs.
Obama proposed a Social Security COLA. He wants it based on chain-weighted CPI. It's a scam. It's the latest gimmick to destroy benefits.
It assumes when prices on some products rise, consumers choose lower-cost substitutes. Perhaps so for steak v. hamburger.
It doesn't hold for rents, other housing costs, transportation, gasoline, electricity and other energy costs, as well as medical expenses highest late in life.
These expenses hit ordinary people, especially seniors, hardest. According to The Senior Citizens League (SCL), retirees stand to lose over $18,000 in benefits over their lifetimes. "All seniors, whether already retired or not," will lose out.
Small annual cuts accumulate to thousands of lost dollars over a lifetime. Cutting benefits erodes buying power. Doing so devastates seniors on tight budgets.
Contrary to false claims about no one over age 55 affected, "chained" CPI takes effect immediately if enacted. COLAs will be cut 0.3% annually. Possibly much more in high inflation years.
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