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The numbers are a lie, or at the very least, vastly understate the impact. For example, if I used to buy grass-fed beef, but am now buying the grade D crap beca

by tharne 4y ago

The numbers are a lie, or at the very least, vastly understate the impact. For example, if I used to buy grass-fed beef, but am now buying the grade D crap because prices are so high, that doesn't get captured in the inflation numbers. And there are a whole host of things like that; you'll notice many hotels have scaled back on cleaning frequency but the price of a room hasn't gone done, so you're paying the same for less. Again, that's not reflected in the inflation number.

roflyear 4y ago
Stop eating meat. You don't have to eat meat.
- tharne 4y ago
  This puritanical mindset is part of the reason we've made so little progress on things like climate change. When you're first recommendation is for people to live more impoverished lives, don't be surprised when your ideas don't get the traction you think they should.
tootie 4y ago
The headline inflation number is not at all intended to state the impact of anything. It's an aggregate number used as an indicator to inform macro policy. BLS reports all of the granular data points that roll up to the headline number. Your personal experience will absolutely never be accurately reflected in a single number for the nation. People hone in on food and energy because they buy them frequently and demand is inelastic, but they are by far the most volatile and can be affected by all sorts of heterogeneous inputs. National numbers will be heavily impacted by infrequent, larger purchases like housing and cars and other durable goods. The affects of inflation can hit certain verticals harder or softer. They can also be heavily regional. They can affect suburbs differently than urban residents (gas in particular doesn't affect subway riders). Go click through the BLS site for CPI reporting: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/ https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
elil17 4y ago
The way CPI is calculated is complex, but they do try to account for substitution and quality changes: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/common-misconceptions-about-cpi.htm https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/common-misconceptions-abo... See "When the cost of food rises, does the CPI assume that consumers switch to less desired foods, such as substituting hamburger for steak?" and "Is the use of "hedonic quality adjustment" in the CPI simply a way of lowering the inflation rate?".

by tharne 4y ago

roflyear 4y ago

Stop eating meat. You don't have to eat meat.

tharne 4y ago
This puritanical mindset is part of the reason we've made so little progress on things like climate change. When you're first recommendation is for people to live more impoverished lives, don't be surprised when your ideas don't get the traction you think they should.

tootie 4y ago

The headline inflation number is not at all intended to state the impact of anything. It's an aggregate number used as an indicator to inform macro policy. BLS reports all of the granular data points that roll up to the headline number. Your personal experience will absolutely never be accurately reflected in a single number for the nation. People hone in on food and energy because they buy them frequently and demand is inelastic, but they are by far the most volatile and can be affected by all sorts of heterogeneous inputs. National numbers will be heavily impacted by infrequent, larger purchases like housing and cars and other durable goods. The affects of inflation can hit certain verticals harder or softer. They can also be heavily regional. They can affect suburbs differently than urban residents (gas in particular doesn't affect subway riders). Go click through the BLS site for CPI reporting: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/ https://www.bls.gov/cpi/

elil17 4y ago

The way CPI is calculated is complex, but they do try to account for substitution and quality changes: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/common-misconceptions-about-cpi.htm https://www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/common-misconceptions-abo... See "When the cost of food rises, does the CPI assume that consumers switch to less desired foods, such as substituting hamburger for steak?" and "Is the use of "hedonic quality adjustment" in the CPI simply a way of lowering the inflation rate?".