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These inflation numbers, as I assume other flagged posts have already pointed out, are extremely misleading. Does anyone really think that housing, food, gas, o

These inflation numbers, as I assume other flagged posts have already pointed out, are extremely misleading. Does anyone really think that housing, food, gas, or any other major consumer expense has only risen 8.5% since a year ago?

jacknews 4y ago
Right, all my food staples are +20% from a year ago-ish. I guess TV's are cheaper (and 'better'), so they use that double-plus-goodness to bring down the headline inflation figure. Nevermind you can't eat your TV (which now has ads, by the way) or ride it to work. You could burn it to cook on and heat yourself, I suppose.
- glouwbug 4y ago
  If anything TVs serve ads to buy consumerist goods which are up +20%
Kye 4y ago
CPI is like GDP CPI collects certain things some people have decided represent the economy as experienced by ordinary people. How well it works in general and for your experience in particular depends on the choice of items in the basket and how well they match your reality. edit: There's a Planet Money series on GDP. I wouldn't be surprised to see a follow-up on CPI soon.
- silent_cal 4y ago
  Except that they are constantly changing the basket to be a basket of cheaper goods. It's pretty bold to be so open about it, but that's what they do - it's manipulated.
  - Kye 4y ago
    Your "except" creates anticipation for disagreement, but you seem to be agreeing with me aside from the claim about manipulation. I didn't say it was accurate.
    - silent_cal 4y ago
      Good point - I guess 80% agreement is good enough for the internet.
  - signatoremo 4y ago
    You should provide evidences for your claim — What have been changed, over how long period, and how are they cheaper goods compared to what they used to be?
UncleMeat 4y ago
Inflation is not a force that acts on prices. It is a weighted measurement of price increases. 8.5% CPI is perfectly possible even with 100% increases in the price of gasoline. "Wait, but this thing rose by more than 8.5%" is not a coherent argument. In fact, you can go look at the breakdown by price category and see the categories that have gone up by higher amounts.
- silent_cal 4y ago
  You're making my point - it's a misleading metric.
  - UncleMeat 4y ago
    In what way?

jacknews 4y ago

Right, all my food staples are +20% from a year ago-ish. I guess TV's are cheaper (and 'better'), so they use that double-plus-goodness to bring down the headline inflation figure. Nevermind you can't eat your TV (which now has ads, by the way) or ride it to work. You could burn it to cook on and heat yourself, I suppose.

glouwbug 4y ago
If anything TVs serve ads to buy consumerist goods which are up +20%

Kye 4y ago

CPI is like GDP CPI collects certain things some people have decided represent the economy as experienced by ordinary people. How well it works in general and for your experience in particular depends on the choice of items in the basket and how well they match your reality. edit: There's a Planet Money series on GDP. I wouldn't be surprised to see a follow-up on CPI soon.

silent_cal 4y ago
Except that they are constantly changing the basket to be a basket of cheaper goods. It's pretty bold to be so open about it, but that's what they do - it's manipulated.
- Kye 4y ago
  Your "except" creates anticipation for disagreement, but you seem to be agreeing with me aside from the claim about manipulation. I didn't say it was accurate.
  - silent_cal 4y ago
    Good point - I guess 80% agreement is good enough for the internet.
- signatoremo 4y ago
  You should provide evidences for your claim — What have been changed, over how long period, and how are they cheaper goods compared to what they used to be?

UncleMeat 4y ago

Inflation is not a force that acts on prices. It is a weighted measurement of price increases. 8.5% CPI is perfectly possible even with 100% increases in the price of gasoline. "Wait, but this thing rose by more than 8.5%" is not a coherent argument. In fact, you can go look at the breakdown by price category and see the categories that have gone up by higher amounts.

silent_cal 4y ago
You're making my point - it's a misleading metric.
- UncleMeat 4y ago
  In what way?