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

To: BGR who wrote (77868)	3/15/2000 8:57:00 AM
From: Freedom Fighter	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, >>I don't smoke... but that doesn't mean that I should call for removal of tobacco products from the CPI basket<< I certainly didn't suggest anything like that. >>I do not think that taxes are a part of CPI. Given that they are not subject to free market forces<< They are not. But the basket of services and goods that my taxes buy are part of the overall basket of goods that I consume. As a theoretical point, suppose we moved everything that was going up in price into the government, would there then be no inflation? I believe government quality issues are also part of the overall picture. ex. If they raise my property taxes 15%, but the quality of the public schools goes down 10%, that forces me to pay more for less or send my child to private school for $10,000 per year that I didn't spend before. That belongs somewhere. I think you can at least see the point. Wayne