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Chained CPI gives Republicans a political opening.

By introducing a proposal to use chained CPI to cut Social Security and veterans benefits, President Obama is handing the Republican Party a rallying cry to run on in 2014. In the past 24 hours, leading Republican lawmakers, right-wing pundits, and conservative activists have latched onto the chained CPI proposal to attack Democrats:

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee:Ai??Walden appeared on CNN to claim Obama is “trying to balance this budget on the backs of seniors and I just think it’s not the right way to go.” Watch it:
Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY): Collins opposes chained CPI and says it would “pinch our seniorsAi??who, come the end of the month, the stories I hear, are having troubleAi??putting food on the table.”
Right-wing activist Grover Norquist: Norquist blasted chained CPI as a violation of his anti-tax pledge.
Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly:O’Reilly complained that chained CPI would harm the lives of low-income seniors like his mother.

All of this demonstrates that by agreeing to chained CPI Democrats would not only be violating the historical principles of the Democratic Party, but they would be opening themselves up to an onslaught of Republican attacks in 2014.

There are, however, a number of Democrats who are not falling for this trap. Here’s a small list:

Ai??Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI):Whitehouse said that he “cannot support” a proposal that includes chained CPI because it “would force seniors to pay for deficits Social Security had no part in creating.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): In her statement opposing chained CPI, Warren called it a “fancy way” to say “cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled, and orphans.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI):Pocan said he will “I will not support [chained CPI]. I will not …

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)

Yesterday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)Ai??vowed to vote against chained CPI, issuing a statement saying, “While there is much in the Presidentai??i??s budget to admire, I strongly oppose chained CPI, and I will vote against these benefit cuts should they come before the House.”

That puts the number of Members of the House of Representatives who have vowed to vote against chained CPI at 35.

Click here to tell President Obama you wonai??i??t stand for Social Security benefit cuts.

AndAi??call your Member of Congress and ask them to sign onto the Grayson-Takano letter vowing to vote against any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) just sent out an email to her supporters responding to President Obama’s budget, which includes a chained CPI that would cut Social Security and veterans benefits.

Warren says she’s “shocked” by Obama’s proposal, which would amount to a “fancy way to say ‘cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled, and orphans.’” Read Warren’s full e-mail below:

Hi Mindy,

My brother David has always had the special spark in our family.

Like our two older brothers, David served in the military. When he got out, he started a small business — and when that one didn’t work out, he started another one. He couldn’t imagine an America where he wasn’t living by his wits every single day.

Year after year, my brother paid into Social Security. He never questioned it. He figured he was paying so that he — and a lot of other people — could have a secure retirement.

Today my brother lives on his Social Security. That’s about $1,100 a month. $13,200 a year.

I’m telling you my brother’s story not because it’s unusual, but because it’s like the story of so many other people. I can almost guarantee that you know someone — a family member, friend, or neighbor — who counts on Social Security checks to get by.

That’s why I was shocked to hear that the President’s newest budget proposal would cut $100 billion in Social Security benefits. Our Social Security system is critical to protecting middle class families, and we cannot allow it to be dismantled inch by inch.

The President’s policy proposal, known as “chained CPI,” would re-calculate the cost of living for Social Security beneficiaries. That new number won’t keep up with inflation on things like food and health care — the basics that we need to live.

In short, “chained …

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)

Yesterday, progressive organizations representing tens of millions of people rallied outside the White House to present a petition signed by 2.3 million AmericansAi??calling on President Obama to back off of Chained CPI.

Freshman Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI) spoke at the event, and not only condemned chained CPI but vowed to vote against it.

POCAN: I am here to say that if we do any chained CPI to Social Security we will break our promise that we’ve made to our seniors and others who rely on Social Security. I will not support that. I will not vote for any bill that includes that.Ai??And I stand with the 2 million-plus people who say that here today.

Watch it:

As of today,Ai??35 Members of the House of Representatives have said they will vote against Chained CPI.

Click here to tell President Obama you won’t stand for Social Security benefit cuts.

AndAi??call your Member of Congress and ask them to sign onto the Grayson-Takano letter vowing to vote against any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Last night, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly covered the progressive rally against the chained CPI outside the White House yesterday.

While O’Reilly spent much of the segment disagreeing with progressives about various issues, he explained why he thinks they “may have a point” about opposing chained CPI.

O’REILLY: Let’s be honest about this for a minute. […] My mother Mrs. O’Reilly, without her son Bill, who helps her out, big time, needs that Social Security bump. If I wasn’t here she would need it, alright, to keep paying her property taxes which are exorbitant, in Nassau County, to stay in the home. She’s 90. If the President is going to take Mrs. O’Reilly’s [Social Security] and every body else, seniors who don’t have any money away, then those left-wing groups may have a point.

Watch it: (Relevant section starts at 3:23):

It shouldn’t be surprising that even a hardcore conservative like O’Reilly is troubled by chained CPI. Polling conducted by the AARP finds that even 60 percent of Republicans over the age of 50 oppose using chained CPI to cut Social Security benefits.

Click here to tell President Obama you won’t stand for Social Security benefit cuts.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Today at 12:30 PM ET, organizations representing tens of millions of Americans — including the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Social Security Works, MoveOn, CREDO, Ai??the National Organization of Women, Democracy for America — are presenting a petition signed by over 2 million Americans to the White House asking President Obama to back off of his support for chained CPI.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — who said he would do everything in his power to block this policy — will be speaking, as will Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA). There will also be remarks by former Obama supporters and seniors currently on Social Security. Watch a livestream of our rally and press conference at 12:30 PM ET:

The PCCC is preparing to push back against this cut to Social Security benefits, but we need your help.Ai??Sign our emergency petition against benefit cuts. AndAi??call your Member of Congress and ask them to sign onto the Grayson-Takano letter vowing to vote against any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits.

Last week,Ai??the press reportedAi??that President Obama will include the ai???chained CPIai??? in his budget proposal, which would cut Social Security and veterans benefits. Since this proposal was revealed,Ai??nationalAi??progressiveAi??groups have campaigned against it and will deliver over 1 million petition signatures to the White House tomorrow asking the President to back off of chained CPI.

As the grassroots has mobilized against the proposal, more congressional Democrats are declaring their opposition.

This morning, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) released a statement condemning Chained CPI and vowing to vote against it:

“No matter what you call it, a chained CPI is a cut to Social Security benefits.Ai?? For someone who retirees today, that cut would mean they would be getting $650 less a year when they are 75 and over $1,100 less a year when they reach age 85.Ai?? Seniors shouldn’t be facing cuts to the benefits they have earned while millionaires and billionaires are getting a tax break.Ai?? Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are vital to the economic security of Maine people and I will vote against cuts to benefits in these programs.”

Pingree is joined by many other Members in her opposition:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, tweeted that he’d do “everything in his power” to block chained CPI:

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR):

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA):

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY):

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA):

Progressive Caucus Co-ChairsAi??Reps. RaA?l M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), in a statement emailed …

Corporations often park their profits overseas to avoid paying taxes on them. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a report yesterday detailing the costs that this has on the average U.S. taxpayer and on small businesses.

Here are some of the report’s key conclusions:

Based on the $150 billion in avoided taxes, the average U.S. tax filer filling out their 1040 form would need to pay $1,026 in additional taxes to make up for lost revenue from tax havens. Thatai??i??s enough money to feed a family of four for a month. […] To pick up the tab for the $90 billion multinational corporations avoid, the average small business in the United States would need to pay an average of $3,067 each in additional taxes. Large multinational corporations that use tax havens also gain an artificial competitive advantage over responsible small business owners.

ai???As this timely report shows,Ai??taxAi??haven abuse takes an immense toll on the vast majority of American taxpayers who donai??i??t employ armies of lawyers and accountants to avoid paying theAi??taxesAi??they owe,” said Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) in a statement made in support of the U.S. PIRG report.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Last night, the press reported that President Obama will include the “chained CPI” in his budget proposal, which would involve cuts to Social Security and veterans benefits.

This morning, leading Congressional Democrats balked at the proposal, condemning it as a cut to benefits.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA):

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR):

Progressive Caucus Co-ChairsAi??Reps. RaA?l M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), in a statement emailed to us:

ai???Republicans have been trying to dismantle Social Security ever since President Roosevelt proposed it during the Great Depression. We should not try toAi??bargain for their good will withAi??policies that hurt ourAi??seniors,Ai??especiallyAi??sinceAi??theyai??i??ve been unwilling toAi??reduceAi??tax loopholes for millionaires and wealthy corporationsAi??by so much as a dime.

ai???One hundred seven Members of the House of Representatives, a majority of the Democratic Caucus, have already stated our vigorous opposition to cuttingAi??Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.Ai??Americans all over the country depend on every single dollar they get from Social Security to put food on the table and pay for housing.Ai??Using chained CPIAi??willAi??shift more costs onto already struggling American families,Ai??seniors, veterans ai??i?? includingAi??our 3.2 million disabled veterans who also depend on the Social Security calculation for their Veterans Affairs benefitsAi??ai??i?? individuals with disabilities,Ai??andAi??children on survivorsai??i?? benefits.

ai???This week, aAi??newAi??study from the New America Foundation finds that proposals to cut Social Security benefitsAi??couldAi??be disastrous for our economyAi??becauseAi??the recession has led more seniors toAi??relyAi??to Social Security for income.Ai??Cutting benefits now, when people are already struggling to make ends meet, will mean unnecessary hardship for millions of people. It is unpopular, unwise and unworkable.ai???

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, in a statement posted to his website:

Millions of …

Today, 30 large corporations and their trade associations sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee concluding with the following request:

As business leaders, we consider comprehensive tax reform with a significant corporate tax rateAi??reduction to be a top priority for our companies and our country. Your efforts to date have made taxAi??reform in 2013 a possibility. We stand ready to support you in making it a reality.

Those who, like these corporations, support a cut in the corporate tax rate say that it is among the developed world’s highest. Indeed, on paper, the rate is 35 percent. But almost no corporations pay that rate, because they make use of deductions and loopholes to keep their taxes super low — or, in some cases, get more back from the Treasury than they give to it.

As an example, let’s look at the rates paid by some of the corporations who authored this letter:

Boeing: Boeing actually paid nothing in net federal taxes between 2002 and 2011, and even netted a negative 12.4 percent tax rate in 2011 because of a large tax benefit. between Its “share of income paid in taxes fell by 23.2 percentage points between 1969 and 2012.” This is all at the same time that it got billions of dollars of subsidies for both its defense and civilian wings.
FedEx: Memphis-based FedEx paid a negative 3.2 percent tax rate between 2008 and 2010.
Verizon: Telecom giant Verizon paid a negative 2.9 percent tax rate between 2008 and 2010.

These are just a few examples of these corporations already shirking their tax responsibilities — and actually getting a net benefit from the Treasury. It is unlikely that Americans will want to reduce their …