Chained CPI not fair
to America’s veterans
To the editor:
A little-understood proposal to cut federal spending would demand sacrifice from our nation’s veterans, including those with severe disabilities and elderly survivors of World War II.
The proposal, known as the chained CPI, is touted by some in Washington as a more accurate way to compute cost-of-living adjustments to federal benefits than the current inflation index. Unfortunately, that’s not true for older Americans, including many veterans and people with disabilities, whose hard-earned benefits would no longer keep up with inflation if this proposal takes effect.
Even more troubling, permanent adjustments for the cost of living index take a bigger bite over time. The effect would be a stealth and growing benefit cut for the rest of a veteran’s life.
In Maine, we have approximately 133,000 veterans. If the chained CPI proposal goes through, collectively, Maine veterans will lose almost $95 million in benefits over the next decade. Reductions would build up for Social Security benefits which millions of veterans nationwide depend on. Under a chained CPI, a retiree who lives to age 92 would actually lose a month’s worth of benefits each year.
Budget decisions should be fair, and promises should be kept. Reducing the cost-of-living adjustment by shifting to an improper formula falls short on both counts. AARP, the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and more than a dozen other veterans’ organizations oppose the chained CPI. A chained CPI is out-of-touch with our daily lives. Let’s keep it out of the law.
Dick Eustis
U.S. Amy 1955-58
Old Town
