[TopQuark]

Excellent post, Patriot! I hope Paul Ross learns something from it. If I may add a small detail --- and it is indeed small compared to the main points that you made: as far as I know (I am not an expert on the CPI), even those 70% of the population that do OWN are actually included into the CPI via "rent-expenditure equivalent," which translates housing expenditures associated with an owned asset (such as mortgage, as you pointed out) into a comparable expenditure on a rented asset.

But you simply cannot argue with conspiracy-theorist: it's much easier to assume a conspiracy --- the government, in cahout with tens of thousand of economists around the world, is falsifying the inflation data --- than to study the issue. I guess playing a detective in uncovering that evil conspiracy gives to Paul Ross the meaning of life. He will not listen to the facts, even when you present them so well.

[Toddsterpatriot]

even those 70% of the population that do OWN are actually included into the CPI via "rent-expenditure equivalent,"

I realize that. The gold bug post of Paul's that I responded to claimed they weren't included properly because CPI uses "owner equivalent rent" rather than housing prices, I guess, and that therefore CPI was vastly understated. My point was that a 10% rise in housing prices can't be said to be equal to a 10% jump in CPI (or 42% of 10%) because most people who own homes have owned them for a while.

I guess playing a detective in uncovering that evil conspiracy gives to Paul Ross the meaning of life. He will not listen to the facts, even when you present them so well.

Paul is tame compared to most of the tin foilers. His problems are his data dumps, 30 pages of trash we're supposed to slog thru, and his use of big words he obviously doesn't understand which add nothing to the discussion.

[LowCountryJoe]

Proverbs 14:7. I know it's hard to do but sometimes it is a much more constructive use of time. However, I also understand the urge to try and educate/persuade is very powerful; but, you must also remember that this is only possible with the rational portion of the population.