White House chief of staff Ron Klain faced social media backlash on Thursday for praising rising Social Security benefits following another high inflation report.
The September inflation report found that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by approximately 0.4% from the previous month with inflation hitting 8.2% since last year. The numbers were higher than the original 8.1% headline figure and the 0.2% monthly increase forecast by Refinitiv economists.
Despite this report, Klain heavily promoted the additional news that Social Security benefits are set to rise by 8.7%, the largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 1981. The Social Security Administration calculates COLA based on the increase in CPI from the third quarter of 2021 to third quarter 2022.
“And for the first time in a decade, SS benefits will go up while Medicare premiums are going DOWN. So Seniors will get ahead on inflation,” Klain tweeted along with a report from the Associated Press.
He also retweeted a similar report from CBS correspondent Ed O’Keefe along with a tweet from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
“Seniors deserve increases in their Social Security checks to keep up with risings costs — this year, and every year. Democrats are fighting to protect and expand Social Security, funded by the wealthy paying their fair share. Republicans want to cut these benefits,” Warren tweeted.
Other social media users were less enthusiastic, with many pointing out the rising benefits cannot make up for record-high inflation rates exacerbated by Biden’s policies.
“White House COS reaction to bad inflation numbers. Unreal. Disconnected from reality. Are you going to believe Klain or your lying eyes?” National Review writer John Fund wrote.
America First Policy Institute’s Marc Lotter tweeted, “Nice try Ron. Raising benefits next year does not help seniors with the higher prices they are paying today or the higher prices they’ve been paying since you took office.”
“I don’t think this is even really true. The premium caps on Medicare don’t go into effect until 2024, nor do the drug negotiations begin until 2026,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Joe Gabriel Simonson remarked.
Targeted Victory Vice President Matt Gorman tweeted, “’…actually inflation is good for seniors on fixed incomes!’ Holy hell, Ronnie.”
American Commitment President Phil Kerpen tweeted, “Medicare premiums had to go down because of last year’s massive increase and your subsequent withdrawal of coverage for an expensive Alzheimer’s drug. Who does this fool?”
“You[r] real retirement account is being decimated, but Ron is celebrating a cost-of-living adjustment on an account that brings you back roughly one percent return your ‘investment,’” The Federalist senior editor David Harsanyi wrote.
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Though Klein used the Associated Press report to promote Social Security benefits, reporter Fatima Hussein acknowledged in her article that the benefits may not help recipients suffering under high inflation.
“While Social Security recipients welcomed the benefit increase, many said it wasn’t enough to cover the impact of inflation,” Hussein wrote.
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In September, Klein was similarly slammed for attacking the state of the country prior to President Biden taking office without mentioning the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s easy to forget that when Joe Biden came to office, we’d turn on the tv at night, people were in line in football stadiums, looking for a box of food. The unemployment rate was nearly 10 percent,” Klein said. “We had 20 million people out of work and businesses closed and schools closed.”
Fox News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
