According to economist John Williams (ShadowStats.com) the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the government's measure of the cost to maintain a constant standard of living, is no longer measured by the CPI.  Nor does the CPI measure for out-of-pocket expenditures (auto/home repair, medical event), only recurring expenditures (food, utilities, gasoline).

Williams reveals politicians forced underreporting of official inflation so as to cut annual cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security.

Mal-adjusted inflation rates have been used to create the false illusion of recovery of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after the 2008 banking/lending crisis and have misled Americans into thinking they are staying ahead of inflation, says Williams.