I took the original post as a statement of how the SS benefit increase is
cancelled out by the other accompanying increases.
There are many concepts to consider about the program. One is that the program has always been conceptually formed and funded as "
insurance", to wit:
In the United States, Social Security is primarily the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) federal program. The original Social Security Act (1935) and the current version of the Act, as amended, encompass several social welfare and social Insurance programs.
Social Security is funded through payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) and/or Self Employed Contributions Act Tax (SECA). Tax deposits are collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and are formally entrusted to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, or the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund which comprise the Social Security Trust Funds........
......Total Social Security expenditures in 2013 were $1.3 trillion, 8.4% of the $16.3 trillion GNP (2013) and 37% of the Federal expenditures of $3.684 trillion.
Income derived from Social Security [Insurance] is currently estimated to keep roughly 20% of all Americans, age 65 or older, above the Federally defined poverty level......
Social Security (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)