Proposals to Adjust Consumer Price Index

* “Waltzing Around the Price Index Issue” (editorial, May 1) should have come with a warning: This editorial may be dangerous to your financial health if swallowed whole. It fails to mention that the attack on the consumer price index was orchestrated by the Republican leadership, who appointed Michael Boskin and a group of economists to attack the CPI as a cheap way to fix the budget deficit. This group came up with the fiction that the CPI overstates inflation by 1%. If this number were accepted, a 3% increase in the CPI would be reduced to 2%, a cut of 1/3.

A quick research project conducted in my own modest pantry reveals that manufacturers of numerous products have downsized their packages without lowering the price. To no one’s surprise a one-pound can of coffee now contains 10, 11, 12 or 13 ounces, for an average reduction in quantity of 25%! Next time I pay for a reduced-size can of my favorite beverage, I’ll think of The Times proposing cutting my Social Security adjustment by 33%!

IRVING WILLNER

Monterey Park

* Your editorial points out that the Clinton White House and congressional Republicans insist that they are committed to balancing the budget by 2002, and that in order to achieve this goal, the CPI must be revised. I agree.

However, you made no mention of the position taken by liberal congressional officeholders. By not mentioning the fact that California’s liberal establishment objects to any meaningful actions to reform the budget, you have failed to properly address the true issue facing the public.

JACK SCHREIBER

Newbury Park

* The committee that proposed this new CPI said it is based on the new buying habits of the American people, and they even mention Costco/Price. These super-duper discount stores are usually so far from the average home that it takes a large shopping list to make up for the cost of driving to and from the store. There is only one store and you cannot combine errands or do comparison shopping. The merchandise comes in jumbo-size packages, but the average Social Security recipient is in a one- or two-member family and cannot use these large quantities.

A new CPI would be wrong. If anything, there should be a separate CPI for those on Social Security, and it should have a provision for geriatrics.

MILTON FINKEL

North Hollywood