"I live on $710.00 a month, what exactly am I supposed to cut?"

[frazzled]

321. Be against chained CPI, but don't mislead

This OP would like people to believe that the person receiving $710 a month is suddenly going to be receiving less than $710 a month if this measure is put into place (say, $690) ... forcing him (or her) to cut something out of their already tight budget. And everybody should know that this scenario is not correct. But many gullible people will believe it.

What the change would do (if it indeed is even put into place, which is highly doubtful) is that when the cost of living increase is added to what this person gets in subsequent years, it will be slightly less than it would have been under the old formula. So, for example, if the person would get $730 the next year, it would be perhaps only $723. That lesser hike in cost-of-living would begin to add up over the years and accelerate, so the problem is real ... because prices for all the things mentioned in the OP will go up, and living will therefore be more difficult. But as people have pointed out, the poorest and those over 85 will be protected from this effect, and their allotment will actually rise. (As usual, Obama always gears his policies to the least among us, though nobody ever notices.)

I oppose this change in the formula for Social Security like everyone else, but I'm damned if I'll go along with this kind of misleading sensationalism.