Received this e-mail today from the Alliance for Retired Americans that made me smile:
Thank you for speaking out about the Chained CPI. Nearly 5,000 Alliance Activists like you have taken a stand to say “No” to the Chained CPI. Last week we delivered your message to the White House - now it’s time to take it to Congress. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) is introducing a bill that opposes the use of the Chained CPI. Please ask your Member of Congress to co-sponsor this bill.
Please do your part to stop the chained CPI from being used as an index by clicking here:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
The trouble with the logic of chained CPI supporters is that Medicare households spend 15 percent of their income on health care – three times more than non-Medicare households spend. These are costs that cannot be easily substituted or defrayed. Moreover, while the initial impact of the chained CPI may appear to be modest, the compound effect of cutting COLAs would cut thousands of dollars over time from Social Security checks.
Over 300 leading social insurance experts have warned that switching to a chained CPI would mean that Social Security benefits would not keep up with the living costs seniors face.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) is introducing a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives expressing clear opposition to using the chained CPI to calculate COLAs for Social Security benefits.
Now we need additional Members of the U.S. House to co-sponsor the resolution.
Please contact your Member of Congress by clicking here and urge your Representative to co-sponsor Rep. Cicilline’s resolution:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
You can sign the petition to get your Representative to be a co-sponsor here:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
Here's Cicilline's statement about the Chained CPI:
http://cicilline.house.gov/...
“The President’s budget includes several important investments in our country’s future and outlines a clear plan for creating jobs and supporting our economic recovery. However, as I have emphasized repeatedly over the last two years, I strongly oppose any plan to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits.”
“I am disappointed that this budget proposal includes the use of chained CPI, which reduces benefits that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities have earned over the course of their lives. Rather than cutting benefits for hardworking Americans, Congress should work to enhance the longevity of these vital programs by reforming our tax code, ending subsidies for Big Oil, and making responsible, targeted spending cuts.” - cicilline.house.gov, 4/10/13