EXPLAINED: How Congress Quietly Raises Your Taxes (Without Raising Rates)

0:00 – Intro
0:52 – How Marginal Tax Rates Really Work
2:46 – CPI vs. Chained CPI: The Hidden Shift That Changed Everything
4:29 – Why This Hits Harder—And Was Never an Accident
7:31 – The Proposed Reversal: Fixing the Quiet Creep
10:39 – Bloopers

Congress didn’t raise tax rates—but millions of Americans are still paying more. In this video, we break down how a quiet 2017 change to the inflation formula—known as chained CPI—has caused tax brackets to lag behind rising wages. This hidden shift leads to “bracket creep,” where more of your income is taxed at higher rates even if your purchasing power hasn’t improved. Learn how this works, why it was done, and what lawmakers are now proposing to reverse it.