The upcoming hassles over the next federal budget have taken an unfortunate turn.

President Obama has decided against proposing a new method of increasing Social Security benefits for retired Americans.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/198815-obama-abandons-cut-to-social-security

The headlines have suggested the president has “abandoned cuts” to the program. Actually, the term “cuts” is a bit of a misnomer. The idea had been to link increases in SSI to the cost of living index. Thus, Social Security recipients wouldn’t have their incomes reduced — as in getting less money than they were getting the previous year. The increases would be tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Why is this disappointing? I am one who believes serious budget reform has to include changes in discretionary spending. Social Security is one of those programs that has been seen as sacrosanct. You’ve heard it called the “third rail” of American politics: You touch it and you die, politically of course.

The CPI indexing linkage isn’t an unreasonable alternative.

Now it appears that the president has challenged congressional Republicans to battle him straight up in the next budget fight. There will be no pretense of negotiating.

At one level, I appreciate Barack Obama’s frustration with GOP negotiators, who have made it their mission — it seems to me — to stymie virtually every initiative put forth by the White House. Perhaps the president has had enough of it.

I wish he would have stood his ground on another issue. Social Security shouldn’t be treated as the Holy Grail.