Chained CPI Resource Page
With so much of government set to autopilot, the measurement we use for inflation plays a very important role in public policy. Currently, the federal government generally relies on the consumer price index (CPI) to index provisions of the budget and tax code to account for cost-of-living changes. However, this measure actually overstates inflation and, as a result, drives up the deficit unnecessarily. To correct the problem of over-indexation, many have proposed switching to the chained CPI to provide a more accurate measure of inflation for indexed provisions in the federal budget.
Measuring Up: The Case for the Chained CPI
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About the Chained CPI
Corrections to Some Common Myths About the Chained CPI
Ed Lorenzen's Testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee
Background on the Chained CPI:
- Boskin Commission Report
- Congressional Budget Office: Using a Different Measure of Inflation for Indexing Federal Programs and the Tax Code
- Consumer Price Index - Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Frequently Asked Questions about the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
- What is 'chained CPI?' - Washington Post
- Chained Explained - FactCheck.org
CRFB Resources and Analysis on the Chained CPI:
- CRFB Blog: NYT Gets It Wrong on the Chained CPI
- Updated Report: The Case for Chained CPI
- Chained CPI Estimated to Reduce Deficit by $340 Billion
- CRFB Blog: Once Again, the Chained CPI is not Regressive
- CRFB Blog: Revisiting the Chained CPI
- CRFB Blog: Switching to the Chained CPI is a Good Idea
- CRFB Senior Policy Director Marc Goldwein: The Chained CPI Explained
- CRFB Blog: Bipartisan Support for the Chained CPI
Other Analysis and Support:
- Daily Kos: A Few Facts About Chained CPI
- WSJ: Chained CPI Could Provide Litmus Test
- Bloomberg News: Orszag on Chained CPI
- CNN Money: Chained CPI: The Geeky Fix That Might Work
- Why Chained CPI Works for Social Security
- Politico: Chain CPI Primer
- USA Today Editorial: Change Inflation Index to Cut Deficit
- Bernstein: AARP Agrees to Benefit Cuts!?
- CPBB: Chained CPI Can Be Part of a Balanced Deficit-Reduction Package, Under Certain Conditions
- Greenstein: The Chained CPI: A Response to Robert Kuttner
- Heritage Foundation: Social Security's COLA Needs to Be More Accurate
- IGM Forum on the Chained CPI
- Marron: Chain, chain, chain ... chain CPI
- NASI: Should Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment Be Changed?
- Salam: For A Chained CPI
- The Atlantic: Who's Afraid of the Chained CPI
- Washington Post Editorial: A Better Stat for Inflation
- Marcus: A Cost Savings Everyone Should Endorse
- AEI: Chained CPI: A Path to Bipartisan Deficit Reduction
- FactCheck.org: Chained Explained
- Fix the Debt: Implementing Chained CPI Can Reduce the Deficit
- Third Way: The Context and the Case for Chained CPI
- Blahous: Reforming CPI: Not a "Grand Bargain" but a Prudent Reform
- Burman: The Liberal Case for Implementing the Chained CPI
