> The definition of inflation has gotten conveniently flexible. We see stock, real estate, healthcare, and education prices rising while some goods and services

> The definition of inflation has gotten conveniently flexible. We see stock, real estate, healthcare, and education prices rising while some goods and services have gone down. Stock and real estate prices are assets, so have always been excluded from definitions of inflation, they're essentially inversely proportional to the interest rate. Rent (or the owner's equivalent rent) is included in CPI. I share your concern about rising healthcare and education costs though, but that is largely a political choice - other developed countries are able to provide them for substantially lower proportions of GDP. (Healthcare costs will inevitably increase over time as countries populations age, but other countries spend much less on healthcare and achieve better outcomes.) Good post from Noah Smith on inflation: https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/your-local-price-changes-arent-inflation https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/your-local-price-changes-a...