What did the Fiscal Commission report actually SAY about Social Security?

[johnaries]

The recommendations did not get the required 14 votes, but Obama said he would have his staff "look" at it to see if there were parts he could include in his budget recommendations.

This has some people freaking out, swearing up and down that the whole purpose was/is to dismantle Social Security.

But what did the commission's report actually SAY about Social Security?

PDF: http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf
Goggle "Quick View" HTML version: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:i1_akxmf7IkJ:www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf+fiscal+commission&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgt44xzOVWdwkeL6QRF00A3Q5KGdABEvpyWht_InJBVs1sJwUcX26Tzx8thAe5dN9U2eExpge4-mozHWWXVQ6nv2T4MGO8zOzXmVIsvfJnjl1qW7AmYtLiK225zRyeV0n3ixsG9&sig=AHIEtbTAVUh13RPNpxx9lAA5WjyKcRTufw

Social Security is the foundation of economic security for millions of Americans. More than 50 million Americans – living in about one in four households – receive Social Security benefits,with about 70 percent going to retired workers and families, and the rest going to disabledworkers and survivors of deceased workers. Social Security is far more than just a retirement program – it is the keystone of the American social safety net, and it must be protected.

(emhpasis added)

Sure, it includes some adjustments that some call "cuts". It does recommend tying the COLA to "chained CPI" which most experts agree is more accurate. It does recommend raising the retirement age 1 month every 2 years beyond the current re-indexing, so that the retirement age will be raised to 68 in 2050 and eventually 69 in 2075. Which, considering the improvements in health care, is not that bad if you think about it.

But it also has many recommendations that Progressives should love:
- RECOMMENDATION 5.1: MAKE RETIREMENT BENEFIT FORMULA MORE PROGRESSIVE.... the Commission proposes gradually moving to a more progressive benefit formula that slows future benefit growth, particularly for higher earners.
- RECOMMENDATION 5.2: REDUCE POVERTY BY PROVIDING AN ENHANCED MINIMUM BENEFIT FOR LOW-WAGE WORKERS.
- RECOMMENDATION 5.3: ENHANCE BENEFITS FOR THE VERY OLD AND THE LONG-TIME DISABLED.
- RECOMMENDATION 5.5: GIVE RETIREES MORE FLEXIBILITY IN CLAIMING BENEFITS AND CREATE A HARDSHIP EXEMPTION FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK BEYOND 62.
- RECOMMENDATION 5.6: GRADUALLY INCREASE THE TAXABLE MAXIMUM TO COVER 90 PERCENT OF WAGES BY 2050 (yes, ladies and gentlemen, they recommend RAISING THE CAP!)
- RECOMMENDATION 5.8: COVER NEWLY HIRED STATE AND LOCAL WORKERS AFTER 2020.

Oh, and as for Medicare, the report recommends increasing funds to find and reduce fraud, and notes that some members recommend adding a "robust Public Option" to the current exchanges and "moving toward some type of all-payer system".

There are a LOT of other recommendations, including reducing Defense Spending, automatic triggers for Unemployment benefits extensions, and many others that Progressives will love.

It's hardly a call to "dismantle Social Security and Medicare" as some bloggers have claimed. I highly recommend people actually read the report before making obviously unfounded claims.