Passage Summary: The government uses a price index to adjust retirement benefits, but that index ignores how technology makes manufacturing cheaper. Because of this, the author thinks people are getting more benefit money than they really need to cover their expenses.

Conclusion: Government benefit payments are occasionally higher than the actual changes in the cost of living justify.

Reasoning: The index used to determine benefit increases fails to account for technological advances that significantly lower the costs of producing goods.

Analysis: The author makes a classic leap from production costs to retail prices. Just because it becomes cheaper for a company to *make* a toaster doesn't mean they will *sell* it to the consumer for less money. If the retail price stays the same despite lower production costs, the consumer's cost of living hasn't actually changed. Look for an answer that identifies this failure to distinguish between what a manufacturer spends and what a consumer pays.