Thanks for that. So it's not so bad -- 3% up since last year!Your vague recollection is incorrect. Check for yourself The composition of the CPI can be found in five minutes with a web search. It's here:I have a vague recollection that the government CPI ignores essential stuff that everybody needs (fuel, food, etc.?) ...
Does anybody trustworthy publish an alternative to it that's more realistic? You know, an index that follows everything essential a working/middle-class person needs?
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U. S. city average, by expenditure category.
Fuel and energy are included. In other words, the CPI itself, specifically CPI-U, is the index you long for that "follows everything."
Food is 13% of the index:
Energy is just under 7% of the index, and fuel, specifically "motor fuel" is 3.6%.
They are there. They are included. They always have been.
Statistics: Posted by Lawrence of Suburbia — Wed Aug 14, 2024 2:56 pm