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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike M2 who wrote (77090)	3/7/2000 5:52:00 AM
From: Don Lloyd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike - capitalism.net Is the U.S. Government Cheating in the Consumer Price Index? By George Reisman "...But as I think about how these alleged problems in the price index appear to have been solved, I cannot avoid coming to the conclusion that what the government and its Boskin commission have done is use people?s efforts to minimize the harm they suffer from rising prices to conceal the existence of those rising prices. That is the only interpretation I can place on the references to people shifting from one product, or one variety of product, to another, in order to cope with the rise in prices, and to the government?s efforts to ?capture? those decisions..." To change the subject to quality improvement adjustments to reduce the reported CPI, consider the following - Assume that I buy 10 pencils a month. Last month the price of pencils went up by 10%. But this is not inflation because the quality of pencils has been greatly improved in the following ways - 1. The yellow color is now impervious to radiation. An NRC inspector who has been inadvertently locked in the core inspection room at Three Mile Chasm need no longer worry about his pencil turning black to match his exposure badge as he writes up safety violations. 2. The pencil now comes complete with a Lloyds of London indemnity policy providing up to $5000 of legal coverage in case the pencil is used to write something with which the government takes exception. 3. The paint of the pencil, and the graphite core, are both now fat-free and sugar-free. Even more important, a fully legible warning label is provided to help prevent aspartame poisoning. A 'Best if used by' date label has also been added, along with a certificate indicating that 'No animals have been harmed in the testing of this product'. 4. Since most pencils suffer irreparable harm resulting from impact with the floor, the eraser has been replaced with an explosively deployed parachute and an acceleration sensor. Office supply technicians are authorized to disable the system upon written authorization from the National Office Safety Administration (NOSA). Regards, Don