Measuring The New CPI

It's official: inflation is even lower than you thought

Inflation has been all but wiped off the worry screen of most Americans. But not of politicians and government statistics moles, who last week adjusted the Consumer Price Index downward for the fourth consecutive year. Stifle that yawn. The CPI, the nation's principal gauge of inflation, is not just a measure of the price of a quart of milk or a gallon of gas. It is easily the most important weapon in the government's considerable measurements arsenal. It forms the basis for annual benefits adjustments to some 80 million voters, from union workers and Social Security recipients to government retirees. Funding...

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