Deficit Commission Disinfo alert from CEPR (Dean Baker, Mark Weisbrot)

[EFerrari]

Fox on 15th Imagines a Deficit Commision Report That Does Not Exist

Wednesday, 20 July 2011 05:52

As its drive to cut Social Security and Medicare builds steam the Post is throwing reality to the wind. It again refers to the deficit commission report in its lead editorial. This should not be a tough one, the report did not have the support of the necessary majority to be approved by the commission. It therefore should be referred to as the report of the co-chairs, former Senator Alan Simpson and Morgan Stanley director Erskine Bowles.

The editorial also praises the plan by the Senate's "gang of six" to change the annual cost of living adjustment for Social Security to the chained CPI. The Post calls this a more "accurate" measure of inflation. Actually, the Post does not know whether the chained CPI is a more accurate measure of the rate of inflation experienced by the elderly. An experimental elderly index constructed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a somewhat higher rate of inflation than the current measure.

If the Post is interested in accuracy, it can call for the BLS to construct a full elderly index. As it stands, we do know that the chained index will show a lower measured rate of inflation, leading to an average cut in Social Security benefits of close to 6 percent.

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[gratuitous]

1. I predicted this months ago

And if CEPR gets met with any response whatsoever, I further predict that it will be along the lines of "Oh, everybody knows what the Catfood Commission's recommendations were. You're just nit-picking over minutiae. The Simpson-Bowles Commission was bipartisan! So you have to respect its recommendations and conclusions."

[EFerrari]

2. You were right. The first step in the tango is, nothing is solid.

The second one is, everyone knew and it's too late now.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. I wish you could just shut your big yapper!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LA7tH7VQcw

[EFerrari]

4. LOL

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. grat has been dishing some harsh truths lately.

And it'd be hard not to notice the wit and aplomb.