“Tell Obama,” declared Ed Markey in the subject line of a Tuesday email to supporters. “Don’t cut Social Security.”
The Democratic nominee for Senate in Massachusetts is mobilizing his supporters against a proposal in President Obama’s budget to reduce the growth of Social Security by cutting future benefits. The policy, known as Chained CPI, is opposed by progressives and even some conservative Democrats.
“You could think of ‘CPI’ as meaning ‘Cutting Peoples’ Income,'” Markey wrote, attacking President Obama for making a “wrong-headed move” on the cherished retirement program.
Markey wrote:
The President released a budget that would cut Social Security benefits for retired Americans by adopting something called a Chained CPI.
It’s a complicated-sounding name that boils down to this: Social Security benefits for seniors would be cut. You could think of “CPI” as meaning “Cutting Peoples’ Income.”
This is a wrong-headed move. Too many seniors — almost two-thirds, in fact — rely on Social Security for at least half of their income. Budgeting requires compromise, but we cannot compromise by cutting Social Security.
Join me in telling President Obama: No cuts to Social Security. Add your name right now.
Democrats won huge victories in 2012. We reelected President Obama. We held the Senate and made gains in the House. We don’t need to roll over to the right wing when it comes to budget choices.
There’s plenty in the President’s budget I agree with. But Chained CPI is just a bad idea. Investing in clean energy, education, and infrastructure should not come with the price tag of going back on America’s promise to our seniors.
Tea Party Republicans may have pushed the President into making tough decisions. But that doesn’t mean that this budget is right or fair for the most vulnerable among us.
