Leave benefits alone

I think a Nov. 9 editorial about Social Security missed some significant points. When talking about changing Social Security by adopting a new formula for calculating the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) and adopting the chained CPI (consumer price index) sounds like nothing worth fighting about. What you don’t know is this proposal would cut Social Security benefits for seniors and future retirees by $112 billion and raise taxes on all Americans by $60 billion over the next 10 years.

This proposal adds insult to injury; the tax hike would hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Benefit reductions would compound over time and the new formula would mean a benefit cut of almost $1,000 a year by the time a person reaches 85, when the benefit is needed the most.

Social Security has contributed nothing to our national debt, and yet it is being attacked by Congress. Congress needs to reduce the deficit, but in these tough economic times, a proposal that cuts Social Security benefits and increases taxes is wrong.

George H. Rice

Spokane