Free Republic

We’ve always wondered why there is so much debate about the rate of inflation. It seems like such a simple thing to track. You go in the store. You buy a box of Wheaties. You write down the price. Next month, you do the same thing. What’s so hard about that? But what if the box is smaller next month? What if the Wheaties are twice as good? What if you can get the same enjoyment from a box of Wheatie-Puffs at half the price? What’s the real rate of inflation? It depends on how you figure it. The Labor...

The National Inflation Association (NIA) has backed former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in her opposition to the proposed Federal Reserve stimulus measure. After the Fed announced last week that it would buy up to $900 billion in Treasury bonds in an effort to stimulate the economy, Palin urged Chairman Ben Bernanke to "cease and desist," and expressed her opinion that the Federal government "shouldn't be playing around with inflation." The former vice presidential candidate subsequently came under fire for her comments. The Wall Street Journal staff reporter Sudeep Reddy penned an article about food inflation, which suggested that the consumer...

Addressing misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index A number of longstanding myths regarding the Consumer Price Index and its methods of construction continue to circulate; this article attempts to address some of the misconceptions, with an eye toward increasing public understanding of this key economic indicator. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), has generated controversy throughout its history. A soon-to-be-published article by Marshall Reinsdorf and Jack Triplett discusses the many past reviews of the methods and data used in the CPI’s construction.1 Beginning with an advisory committee appointed by the American Statistical Association...