The most controversial item in President Barack Obama's new budget is a plan to cut Social Security benefits via something called a "chained CPI."
The chained CPI is a way of recalculating the growth of benefits by using an inflation index that doesn't go up as fast.
Republicans supported this idea during the fiscal cliff negotiations and they said it could be the prelude to a sweeping budget deal that included new revenues.
The Washington Post's Greg Sargent notes this morning that Republicans have changed their tone on the "chained CPI" compromise since the fiscal cliff negotiations.
Last week, House Speaker John Boehner said that Obama should work with Republicans on the reform now, but that he still disagreed with the President on implementing any new taxes. On the Senate floor Tuesday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the entitlement reforms in Obama's budget "modest."
As Sargent points out, McConnell told the Wall Street Journal in late November that the chained CPI cost-of-living adjustment, means-testing on Medicare premiums, and an increase in the Medicare eligibility age would be the "kinds of things that would get Republicans interested in new revenue."
rest http://www.businessinsider.com/chained-cpi-social-security-cuts-obama-budget-boehner-mcconnell-2013-4?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Politics%20Select&utm_campaign=Politics%20Select%202013-04-10&utm_content=emailshare
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