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They have very specific baskets of goods and methodologies that they publish details on when changed. And it is done by an independent groups of government empl
by jjeaff 4y ago
They have very specific baskets of goods and methodologies that they publish details on when changed. And it is done by an independent groups of government employees with lots of eyes, both public and private looking at every detail of what they do. I don't think they are simply cherry picking data.
- 93po 4y agoThere are a ton of issues with the official CPI numbers that none of this accounts for and even the BLS admits to in a limited extent. It doesn't account for people buying less expensive substitutes when items get expensive, it only includes "staples" despite consumers potentially spend a ton on newer items, it doesn't account for quality changes of items, it has an undue weight on urban areas, doesn't account for shrinkflation or other hidden forms of inflation, and lots of others. The BLS isn't independent. The commissioner is hand picked by the senate, and it's currently someone who's very deeply rooted in establishment politics and has close connections to the Koch family, the fossil fuel industry, and Trump.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- pishpash 4y agoShrinkflation is captured: https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/measuring-shrinkflation-and-its-impact-on-inflation.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/measuring-shrinkflati...
- eigen 4y ago> It doesn't account for people buying less expensive substitutes when items get expensive as mentioned in the chained CPI FAQ, "The C-CPI-U employs a formula that reflects the effect of substitution that consumers make across item categories in response to changes in relative prices." https://www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/chained-cpi-questions-and-answers.htm https://www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/chained-cpi-que...