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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Katelew who wrote (149508)	11/10/2010 11:35:07 PM
From: Little Joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541684

Kate: You are right. I posted the link to shadowstats.com. A careful reading of his site will provide a pretty good idea of other games they play. In calculating inflation one technique that the government uses is substituting a less expensive item in the food basket. For example if steak is in the basket and reaches some, I suppose, arbitrary threshold they will substitute chicken and claim there was no inflation. Then also like to estimate added value. For example, if the price of the average car goes up 20%. They will take into consideration the added value of newer better cars with better features. Of course this added value figure is totally subjective and a change from prior procedure. I believe this started either in Bush I or Clinton administrations. lj

To: Katelew who wrote (149508)	11/11/2010 10:01:22 AM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 541684

Kate, I'm well aware of the manifold aggregate inflation statistics. But, back to Little Joe, who argued that inflation existed because he found grocery prices higher. Just a terrible way to reason and/or persuade others. It is the classic example of solipsism, in which one universalizes ones own experience. And it is particularly egregious when faced with aggregate statistics which show otherwise. As for multiple inflation measures, I'm well aware there are statistics which do include food and those which don't and those which only include food and others. Krugman and others have been working those halls for some time. Steve posted a note yesterday that argued, with data, that food et al was inflating. I've read other commentators since then who argued that it's not, with data. The only consistent comment/data I've seen in all of it is that wholesale prices are increasing but retailers are finding it hard to pass those costs along to consumers. As for Palin being correct, she's simply echoing what some adviser wrote for her and it's only one data point in a myriad of others, and it's picked to buttress an anti Obama argument. She cares not a whit about inflation; only about her public persona.