Ben’s Banter
Understanding CPI, Chained CPI and the Current Budget Debate
This is Part 2 in a 3 part Series on Social Security. Be sure to read the other two sections!
Part 1 - The Beginnings of Social Security
Part 2 – Understanding CPI, Chained CPI and the Current Budget Debate
Part 3 – Some Common Strategies for Collecting Social Security Benefits
Since President Obama unveiled his budget proposal there has been a tremendous amount of talk about the future of Social Security and whether to use chained CPI or some other form of cost of living (COLA) adjustment. Regardless of what happens in the current budget I think that in the future, the method by which social security benefits are calculated will change, and that change will start with Chained CPI.
The Beginnings of Social Security
This is Part 1 in a 3 part Series on Social Security. Stay tuned for the next two sections!
Part 1 - The Beginnings of Social Security
Part 2 – Understanding CPI, Chained CPI and the Current Budget Debate
Part 3 – Some Common Strategies for Collecting Social Security Benefits
The passage of the Social Security Act of 1935 was a momentous occasion in the United States of America. For years leading up to that point, there had been countless calls for some form of “social insurance” and the answering of those calls with passage of the act on August 14, 1935, was a cause for immense celebration.
How to Combat Rising Interest Rates
The bond market and interest rates are tied together “at the hip” and inversely so! When the value of a bond is rising, interest rates are usually decreasing, and vice versa. With America’s interest rates falling over the past few years, the overall bond market has enjoyed several years of positive returns. Looking forward, interest rates appear to have nowhere to go but up, which means bonds will go down!