Tag: CPI-U

Male hand drawing growth graph. Coins on white table

Our new research associate, Diana Horvath, and I wanted to see whether the current high rates of inflation were hurting the poor more than the rich or vice versa.  Indeed, researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics did such an exercise for the period 2003-2018. They found that because of differences in spending patterns the average annual increas…

Person calculating a tax return

The federal income tax is generally indexed for inflation. Most particularly, the income brackets to which the marginal tax rates apply are increased in line with the “Chained CPI-U.” While the chained CPI-U has risen somewhat less rapidly than the headline CPI-U or the CPI-W used to adjust Social Security benefits, the adjustment will b…