Obama surrendering to Boehner?

Obama surrendering to Boehner?

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 showdown of 2011, the president has the upper hand in the current negotiations. Plus, he has the trump card of last month’s election results. He can argue – and has been arguing – that the voters have blessed his vision of a “balanced” deal.

The question for progressives, then, is whether Obama is giving too much ground relative to his bargaining position. From this standpoint, there are five obvious red flags in the framework that’s been reported so far:

1. Social Security: Many Democrats have pointed out that talk of a Social Security crisis isbasically bogus and that Washington has no business putting it on the chopping block. The emerging Obama-Boehner deal, according to reports, would cut costs by using chained CPI – a less generous way of calculating inflation for benefits. This would reduce benefits for the average retiree by about 5 percent; if it’s also applied to tax rates, it could push a disproportionate number of lower-income families into higher brackets. To soften the blow for the elderly, Obama’s new offer to Boehner apparently includes an increase in benefits for those over 85 – who would otherwise be hit the hardest by chained CPI – and would exempt those collecting disability payments under SSI. These protections have been pushed by the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which has argued that chained-CPI could be acceptable as long as they are included.

2. The payro