The Consumer Price Index, the most widely watched measure of inflation, was getting out of whack with today's American life-style. Last adjusted in 1978, the Labor Department's so-called market basket of goods and services was too heavily weighted with such items as hard liquor, red meat and tobacco, all of which the typical American now consumes less of than a decade ago. So last week when the Government released its January CPI figure, the number reflected a reapportioned mix of goods and services to measure more accurately inflation for the typical consumer.
The new mix puts more emphasis on poultry and...
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