ladelfina
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Messages
- 2,713
I made this new thread as a follow-up to:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/interesting-look-inflation-34941.html
because I would like to emphasize a certain twist that may have been underappreciated there.
I came across this post today:
The Big Picture | Inflation Ex-Inflation Ex-Inflation
Basically, the twist is that inflation for the country as a whole is 'correctly' measured, but the alarming growth in income disparity is responsible for figures that may seem to come from a fairy-tale. It's because they DO come from a fairy-tale; the spending of the princes and princesses is so much larger, and so much unlike, the spending of the average American, that the average figures no longer reflect the average reality as closely as they may have in the '50s/'60s/'70s. As this disconnect grows, CPI figures will continue to be more and more inaccurate for the practical purposes of mere mortals.
Food is registered as 7.6% of CPI.. yet
This situation was probably alluded to on the previous thread, but I thought it deserved being brought out from the flurry of impressions and anecdotal sparring into a realm with some real numbers.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/interesting-look-inflation-34941.html
because I would like to emphasize a certain twist that may have been underappreciated there.
I came across this post today:
The Big Picture | Inflation Ex-Inflation Ex-Inflation
Basically, the twist is that inflation for the country as a whole is 'correctly' measured, but the alarming growth in income disparity is responsible for figures that may seem to come from a fairy-tale. It's because they DO come from a fairy-tale; the spending of the princes and princesses is so much larger, and so much unlike, the spending of the average American, that the average figures no longer reflect the average reality as closely as they may have in the '50s/'60s/'70s. As this disconnect grows, CPI figures will continue to be more and more inaccurate for the practical purposes of mere mortals.
Food is registered as 7.6% of CPI.. yet
all but the top 20% of earners spend at least 20% of their paychecks on food.
This situation was probably alluded to on the previous thread, but I thought it deserved being brought out from the flurry of impressions and anecdotal sparring into a realm with some real numbers.