Chuck Todd on Meet The Press offers a reason for Chained CPI in budget proposal

[customerserviceguy]

82. It fits on a bumper sticker

But it doesn't go through a spreadsheet very well.

I agree that indexing the caps for inflation is a good idea, and we may well have to come up with another benefits tier to pay out on the rise in taxed income. I'm also for the idea of making the sky the limit on the employer's share of FICA. If US Airways wants to pay it's CEO $20 million to run the airliner into the ground in bankruptcy court, then they can afford to pay 6.2% of that into FICA, with no resulting increase in the minimum benefit for Mr. Parker.

I'm also for differentials in employer FICA rates for various business sizes. Let the small start up businesses pay 1% less, and the most successful businesses pay 1% more, with most in the middle at the current parity with the employee rate. That would be a small spur to job growth.

Ultimately, chained CPI is going to be part of a big "fix" for Social Security, if we want a seat at the table discussing what possible options there should be, we need to get out of denial that there's a problem.