Where Obama Stands on a COLA Change for Social Security

Wondering about President Obama's position on slowing growth in Social Security benefits? It was made very clear during today's White House press briefing.

Asked whether the president is open to raising the eligibility age for Medicare as part of a budget deal, Press Secretary Jay Carney said absolutely not.

Then the subject changed to the so-called chained CPI. The proposed change for calculating cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security and veterans benefits faces strong opposition from AARP and veterans groups.

Here's the full exchange between a reporter and Carney.

Q: [Is the president open to] reducing the annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients?

Carney: Again, as part of a big deal, part of a comprehensive package that reduces our deficit and achieves that $4 trillion goal that was set out by so many people in and outside of government a number of years ago, he would consider the hard choice that includes the so-called chained CPI - in fact he put that on the table in his proposal - but not in a cherry-picked or piecemeal way. That's got to be part of a comprehensive package that asks that the burden be shared; that we don't, as some in Congress want, ask seniors to bear the burden of further deficit reduction alone or middle-class families who are struggling to send their kids to college or parents of children who are disabled who rely on programs to help them get through.

That's just not fair and it doesn't make economic sense - because the choice would be, let's do that but hold harmless the wealthy; let's do that, put the burden on seniors alone, but not close loopholes in our tax code that are available to wealthy individuals or corporations but not to average folks or small businesses. And that doesn't make any sense.

How do you explain to a senior that we're doing this, asking you to sacrifice, but we're not saying that corporate jet owners should lose their special tax incentive; we're not saying to oil and gas companies who are making record profits that they should forgo these huge subsidies that taxpayers provide? That's not fair and it's not good economics.

Q: I just want to be clear on what you said at the beginning of that answer, which is the president, as part of an overall balanced approach, he does not rule out effectively reducing benefits for Social Security recipients.

Carney: He has put forward a technical change as part of a big deal - and it's on the table - that he put forward to the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House, by the way, walked away from that deal even though it met the Republicans halfway on revenues and halfway on spending cuts and included some tough decisions by the president on entitlements. The Speaker walked away from that deal.

But as part of that deal, the technical change in the so-called chained CPI is possible in his own offer as part of a big deal.

Will Obama take up the issue in his State of the Union Address? We'll find out Tuesday night.