Portside

    Watch Video: Cut the Crap, Scrap the Cap

    Watch Video: A Human Chain Against the Chained CPI

While the country remains shut down because of irresponsible House Republican hostage-taking, progressive members of Congress and working families are looking ahead to fight against any proposed grand "bargain" that would include benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) spoke Thursday before working families and allies, specifically rejecting any such cuts.

While some politicians and pundits are proposing the use of the so-called "chained" CPI to determine Social Security cost-of-living adjustments over time, progressives and working families realize that the "chained" CPI would actually cut the income of retirees and people with disabilities. Hostage-taking House Republicans keep changing their random demands to end the government shutdown, and their latest demand is for Democrats to agree to cut Social Security benefits or Republicans will keep hurting people through refusing to pass a clean continuing resolution.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) noted the problems with "chained" CPI: "The 'chained' CPI would result in very real and harmful cuts for seniors, the most vulnerable in our society. These cuts would only deepen over time while the cost of living goes up."

Pointing out a better policy option, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) said: "Instead of talking about the 'chained' CPI or cutting benefits, my mom would say you just need to make the pie bigger, we're just going to talk about one cut—and that's cut the crap....Cut the crap, scrap the cap." Currently, wealthy Americans don't pay into Social Security on any income above $113,700. Scrapping that arbitrary cap would go a long way to shoring up Social Security's future.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) made it clear where the CPC stands on these issues: "We will vote against any and every cut to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," he said. "If it ain't broke, don't break it."