Typically, you need a little more to make up for the difference in how much more taxes you pay at the marginal end vs the average for your total income...

The median earner with a standard deduction would need a ~4.7% raise to stay even...

"Inflation" is also increasingly distributed unevenly. The top 10% continues to make up a larger and larger portion of spending. It is entirely possible for ~4.2% inflation to be substantially higher (or lower) for the median household than the overall reported number.

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madcaptenor 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Tax brackets are also inflation-adjusted, so shouldn't that cancel out?

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khuey 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Most of the relevant numbers in the American tax code are inflation adjusted, but not all of them. The biggest ones for people on this website are probably the value of the Child Tax Credit and the thresholds at which the Net Investment Income Tax/Additional Medicare Tax kick in.

	▲	asdff 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Don't forget prop 13 in california, probably many beneficiaries of that policy on this forum.

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nothercastle 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

No it pushes you into a higher tax bracket earlier so also acts as a tax increase

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kennywinker 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I think the point is the tax brackets are supposed to be inflation-adjusted. So all the brackets go up 4.2% too. Idk if the implementation details make this actually work out 1:1 but that’s the idea.

	▲	madcaptenor 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That's what I was thinking.