Faceoff: The Fiscal Cliff and Social Security

 

Two startlingly different points of view about Social Security's role in " fiscal cliff" negotiations took shape when experts from AARP and the Heritage Foundation recently faced off on C-Span's Washington Journal program.

On one side, Cristina Martin Firvida, AARP director of consumer affairs and financial security, argued for leaving Social Security changes out of the rushed deal-making as Congress and the White House try to agree on spending cuts and tax increases.

On the other side, David John, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Social Security absolutely needs to be part of the debate.

And when it came to the proposal to change the formula for calculating cost of living adjustments to benefits - the so-called chained CPI - well, watch the video.