How the Media Has Shaped the Social Security Debate. Trudy Lieberman. Columbia Journalism Review. 

Social Security is the one issue on which the electorate is not divided. Gallup polls dating back six decades consistently show some 70 percent of the public strongly supports Social Security. Most Washington opinion makers think otherwise, though. Indeed, listening to the politicians and policy gurus, one would conclude that this most basic of retirement programs for nearly all Americans is in grave danger, and America itself is in grave danger because of it.

Bad Social Security Journalism Causes Mass Misunderstandings of Social Security, Apparently. Jason Linkins. The Huffington Post. 

Jason Linkins of the Huffington Post responds to the CJR, saying “Columbia Journalism Review’s Trudy Lieberman has written a lengthy lamentation on the state of our Social Security journalism, and finds that the media — mostly the Washington Post’s Lori Montgomery, naturally! — has performed a “dubious role” in shaping the debate over the program. “Dubious” in that media outlets have done a pretty awful job doing “journalism.”

Senate Voteless ‘Markup’ May Be Another Blow to Bowles-Simpson. Erik Wasson. The Hill. 

A decision by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) to present the recommendations of President Obama’s fiscal commission in committee but not to bring them to a vote shows how far Congress remains from producing a debt “grand bargain,” supporters and critics of the fiscal commission said Wednesday. Conservative deficit hawks see any publicity as good publicity, noting that the more B-S is brought up as a serious plan, the greater chance it has of being considered in the future. 

House GOP Uses Once-Reviled Tactic for Budget Measure. Daniel Newhauser. Roll Call. 

The House Republicans used the “deem-and-pass” procedure to tack Ryan’s budget onto the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act. The revival of the procedure, which Republicans had called the “demon pass” when used by Democrats, brought increased scrutiny Ryan’s plan once again. 

House Panel Approves Automatic Vets’ COLAs. Rick Maze. Air Force Times. 

In the past, veteran’s disability and survivor benefits have been linked to the cost-of-living-adjustment of Social Security. Unfortunately, these adjustments only go into effect if Congress acts, a questionable assumption in the current political climate. The House Veteran’s Affairs Committee passed a bill to provide automatic increases in the COLA as a way to address this uncertainty. 

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