social security is not a benefit. it has a dedicated tax. it is your money. for when the debate on the payroll tax exemption? Those who earn more pay in less % of their income than they get back in SS.

FYI: For Mr. Zwillich et al., this National Journal article concerns the Chained CPI for Federal retirement programs.

It notes that although the 2013 COLA raise will be 1.7%, Part B premiums alone rise 5%. If Part D premiums rise the same %, most SocSec recipients will realize far less than the full 1.7% "increase."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress-legacy/federal-groups-blast-potential-fiscal-cliff-switch-to-chained-cpi-20121219

John Lott set out to prove statistically that more guns in a society caused more crime.
But after his study he wrote a book entitled: More Guns, Less Crime. http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/

Zwillich is a dead loss on Social Security. He doesn't even mention a better & more appropriate measure for FED retirement - the CPI-E (for Elderly).

He obviously doesn't know that the current COLA measure, CPI U/W doesn't even cover Parts B/D premium hikes that are paid out of Social Security benefits!

Chained CPI isn't worth covering? Putting seniors & disabled back on cat food is OK? Leaving them no money to pay medical bills is OK? Leaving them no money to pay rent is OK?

Allowing fixed income people to become prey to unregulated insurance companies for medical necessities is OK?

I agree with Mr. Sansom. Get some Social Security knowledge into Zwillich before he destroys The Takeaway producers' credibility for all listeners!

At the very least Mr. Zwillich should read all of Dean Baker's posts re: Chained CPI & the Fiscal Cliff Myth. At worst, The Takeaway producers should consider firing for incompetence.

My previous post was approximate numbers of people killed in the 20th century.

You are about Five-hundred-million times more likely to be killed by your own government, than by an average individual you meet'
10,000,000,000 individual people of Earth killed 18,000,000 = average 0.0018 murders per person.
Aprox. 200 national governments killed 180,000,000 of their own people = average 900,000 per government;
900,000 / 0.0018 = 500,000,000 times
An average government is 500,000,000 (Five-hundred-million) times more dangerous to its own people, than is an average individual.

For 65 to 90 million victims of their own governments, the pattern was:
1. Register the guns;
2. Confiscate the registered guns;
3. Kill the unarmed victims.

Berlin Police from 1938

On Nov. 8, 1938 the New York Times reported from Berlin, "Berlin Police Head Announces 'Disarming' of Jews," explaining:

The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been "disarmed" with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment.

A Gun Control Law Passed by the German Government
1573 Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons 11 November 1938...
§1
Jews... are prohibited from acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons. Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority.
§2
Firearms and ammunition found in a Jew's possession will be forfeited to the government without compensation.
...
§4
Whoever willfully or negligently violates the provisions of §1 will be punished with imprisonment and a fine. In especially severe cases of deliberate violations, the punishment is imprisonment in a penitentiary for up to five years.
§5
For the implementation of this regulation, the Minister of the Interior waives the necessary legal and administrative provisions.

I have heard several politically feasible ideas in the last few days. Since there are many guns of all kinds already owned (and the spike in the purchase of assault weapons this past weekend is just nauseating). Among them are:
* Of course, background checks on everyone buying weapons, no matter where, including "gun fairs" and private sales.
* Those who purchase weapons must have complete responsibility for that weapon: if it is stolen, they must report it; if it is being used by others, that must be registered; they must purchase some form of insurance.
* Canada has a broad range of requirements for everyone with guns.There are "prohibited devices," such as muzzles and devices that change simple guns into automatic or semiautomatic ones; ammunition restrictions: those that piece body armor, incendiary or explosive devices; limits on magazine capacity; weapons not in use must be unloaded and locked in approved cases; among others.
Aside from the more common suggestions, such as assault-weapons bans, the above seem like common-sense approaches to the current extraordinary level of gun ownership in the US.

By taking an in-balance budget and putting it into deficit, Bush and the Congress started a slow theft of value from middle class taxpayers since the money is borrowed by ALL of us and spent to the benefit of SOME of us. Asking for 'entitlement cuts' is just a stealth way stealing more money from the working class.

Conservatives that rail against the transfer payments that go to the 'takers' see no problem in bleeding the Treasury for their own benefit. More hypocrisy.

Instead of just thinking where the next buck is going, we need to take a moment to ponder where the next buck came from.

Obama is making concessions on Social Security? Its no concession at all. He never made any bones about wanting to cut the program. These guys are all the same just putting on the show for the boobs.

@CaptDrG:

"One reason the assault weapon ban had little effect on crime is that the pols built loopholes into the law big enough to drive a Mack truck through."

There, fixed it for you.

Why don't you cut the crap, "the liberals can't stand it"! No one on SS can't stand it, liberal, conservative, or like your all, the mediocre middle. This guy makes sweeping statements. He's a little too chipper to have this job.

Zwillich is supposed to be an expert but he claims chained CPI is "way too boring" to go over?

Isn't it the JOB of so-called journalists to explain such things to the public? Especially when there are billions of dollars at stake for vulnerable sectors of the population?

Here is economist Dean Baker on chained CPI: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/thoughts-on-the-chained-cpi-social-security-and-the-budget

"1935 will go down in History! For the first time, a civilized nation has
full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient and the world will follow our lead to the future!"
-- Adolf Hitler prior to confiscating all civilian firearms.

I'm not a big fan of Mike Bloomberg, but I've gotta give him props for leading the charge on assault weapons.

One reason the assault weapon ban had little effect on crime is that semi- automatic rifles had little effect on crime is that very few crimes are committed with semi-automatic rifles.

"Nothing is being done about handguns."

This is not about guns. This is about military assault rifle massacres.

Which Democrat dares to turn Newtown into being about guns?

What? hahahahahaaaaa

Did this "reporter" really feel he had to say <there are those on the left too in congress> when he described Gomert as one on the far right?? Does he really feel he has to make that "balanced" nonsense to THAT extent!!! I have to say the reporters on NPR are truly not as on the ball or in the know or as good as previous times. There seems to be a whole new breed here who just seem to get information from secondary sources and are not at all aggressive at getting good information. Often they mispronounce many not so uncommon words. NPR get these folks into some improvement training.

The Obama admin campaign organization, Organizing for America, has been reaching out to its volunteer network to participate in a National Service Day on January 19th. I suggest that OFA instead use that day to promote gun regulation: what greater service can Americans render to their neighbors than to support gun control? Plus, OFA has the organization, including the data base, to make it happen.

Could this discussion address the fact that during the rise of violence in movies, TV, and video games, we have seen the greatest DROP in crime and violence in US history.

10 Things we can do now in response to Newtown that doesn’t involve waiting for our legislators to enact new laws or pending laws.

1) Do not vacation in the States of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. According to tracetheguns.org, these states with lax gun laws are known proliferators of illegally bought and smuggled weapons used in violent crimes in other states.
2) Occupy NRA headquarters in Fairfax Va. Identify the names of the actual NRA lobbyists and publish them.
3) Block entrances to gun shows and gun shops the same way anti-abortion activists do at women’s clinics
4) Name Names. See list of the top congressional recipients of campaign donations from the NRA. Vilify, shame, embarrass, disclose.
5) Bullets are made of lead, a known toxic substance. Petition town governments to enact extremely stringent and costly restrictions on disposal of lead at shooting ranges.
6) Boycott Walmart. Walmart is the nation’s leading retailer of guns and gun related products.
7) Name more Names: ID the CEO’s, directors, and majority shareholders of the major gun manufacturers in the U.S. among them, The Freedom Group, maker of the Bushmaster automatic weapon (owned by Cerberus Capital, a private equity firm)
8) Contact your Congress person and U.S. Senator and tell them how you feel about gun violence and what YOU intend to do about it. Do not ask them to do anything. You tell them what You Are going to do. Shame them in to following; do not wait for them to lead
9) Organize a massive rally on D.C. of anti-gun violence proponents; the rally must be held while Congress is in session so the law-makers can see, hear and feel our presence.
10) Start a grass roots organization to repeal the second amendment that includes confiscation of existing of firearms. Send the issue of firearm ownership back to the States where the individual States can issue licenses for hunting only.

The NRA lost a big fan last Friday when her own son blew her brains out.

With her own assault rifle.