Reply #13: Dean Baker helped Ted Kennedy protect SS and got this off the table in Congress

[chill_wind]

once before under Clinton.

Hat tap to dKOS priceman for the lead and the TPM link. (It refers to a rather misleading original diary, which you can read at KOS for yourself, and I'll not say more than that.)

"There is a very flawed rec list diary on the rec list which not only got its math wrong and forgets what compounding is, but if you read the beginning it talks about inflation being overstated since the 1990s.

(snip)

As you will see shortly after the Liberal Lion's death, Dean Baker reminded us of the importance of Ted Kennedy's work protecting SS from this kind of garbage analysis as he invited Dean Baker to Congress to testify about it:"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/07/992235/-Kossacks-Dishonor-Ted-Kennedy-on-the-Rec-List-to-Defend-Obama?via=siderecent#c40

Kennedy's Quick Win for Social Security

By Dean Baker - August 26, 2009, 12:10PM

I first met Ted Kennedy in the fall of 1995. The context was truly bizarre.

Alan Greenspan had testified to the Senate Finance Committee in the fall of 1994 that the consumer price index (CPI) overstated the true rate of inflation. He told the committee that if it lowered the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security to correspond to the true rate of inflation, rather than the CPI, it could largely eliminate the budget deficit.

Greenspan told the committee that the gap was between 1-2 percentage points annually, so that after a decade, his plan would cut annual Social Security payments by more than 10 percent. And, the great thing was that Congress could do this cut by claiming it was just a technical adjustment.

Over the next half year, the idea of changing the COLA for Social Security gained considerable support in Congress from both parties. (Daniel Moynihan was the strongest proponent.) There was also support for the idea in the Clinton White House.

In this context, I was invited to talk to Senator Kennedy and his staff about the CPI, since I was one of the few economists who disputed the claim that the CPI overstated inflation. I was very happy when I got to his office to see 5 senior looking staffers. I assumed that these were the people that I really had to convince and I focused my attention on them, only occasionally looking back at Kennedy to avoid appearing rude.

more: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/26/kennedys_quick_win_for_social_security/

He ended up giving Committee testimony. Baker has given expert testimony to Congress on economic policy issues many times. He gives all the credit to the Sen Kennedy for the outcome, but I think progressives are lucky to Dean Baker in our corner, just as he was then, at that critical time.

The ensuing discussion again went all over the place with Kennedy largely remaining silent. However, at the end of the debate, the CPI adjustment was off the table.

I was tremendously impressed. Kennedy had gotten exactly what he wanted on both issues and he never broke a sweat. He framed the debate and just let things run their course. It was truly masterful.

(bold emphasis mine)