> calculated by using the price of a standardized basket of things Doesn't this sort of assume that the needs and wants of society stay consistent over time? I

> calculated by using the price of a standardized basket of things Doesn't this sort of assume that the needs and wants of society stay consistent over time? I wonder if that is a valid assumption with how fast the world changes these days. For example, smartphones were hardly necessary 10 years ago, but now everyone needs one. And modes of transportation have changed: now we have Uber and a large number of electric cars, which wasn't the case 10 years ago. How could an index that includes things like the price of gas be an accurate measure, if society's needs are constantly in flux?