Inflation as measured by CPI or Core CPI are objective measures. You are comparing that against a subjective measure but pretending like it is objective. There

Inflation as measured by CPI or Core CPI are objective measures. You are comparing that against a subjective measure but pretending like it is objective. There are reasonable arguments to make that CPI is insufficient for measuring everything that we spend on (it underweights healthcare, gas, college costs, and lots of luxury investments like stocks and artwork). There are also reasonable arguments that cost of living in some regions is growing faster than 8% (the actual CPI number obviously isn’t homogeneous across the entire country). Also important to note that there is no “intrinsic value” in dollar terms for any good. Everything is a negotiation of how much we want a thing. If you insist on Quaker Oats oatmeal instead of generic oatmeal (a personal preference), you might experience a higher rate of inflation than others who are more amenable to substitutes.