Skeptic Project

You hear an awful lot about how the leading Republican plan for Social Security would result in major benefit cuts and the eventual privatization of the program. But we've yet to see how severe those cuts would be for the majority of beneficiaries.

This week, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities issued a report showing exactly that. The analysis, by entitlement expert Paul Van de Water, calculates the combined effects of the two Social Security benefit cuts undergirding the Roadmap for America's Future -- a fiscal plan authored by the GOP's top budget guy Paul Ryan.

Among other changes it would make to Social Security, Ryan's plan would raise the retirement age to 70 and index initial benefits to 70 percent of beneficiaries to price growth, instead of wage growth. Since prices generally grow less rapidly than wages, that implies a benefit cut.

The combined effect is a dramatic cut in benefits for most beneficiaries. People with the most generous benefits would see their monthly payments drop from over $2000 to under $1000 over 60 years. Middle earners would see a nearly 50 percent drop over the same time period.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/chart-of-the-day-analysis-shows-dramatic-social-security-cuts-under-gop-plan.php?ref=dcblt