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

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (54048)	3/31/1999 11:26:00 AM
From: accountclosed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

MB, AKA George of The Jungle <g> Lol, Watch out for that treeeeeeeeeee <g>

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (54048)	3/31/1999 11:38:00 AM
From: Freedom Fighter	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, There's been a controversy among economists about whether CPI overstates inflation or not. There's also been a few changes to the formula for calculating it over the years that have tended to lower the reported inflation rate relative to what it would have been if calculated the old way. I wonder if some of this new world we have is just related to changes in our stats on inflation and not to the underlying reality (if we could measure it properly or at least consistently). I wonder what serious bond investors think about this issue. How can you know if real rates are high or low if you really don't know what the inflation rate is? How can you compare real rates to the past if the CPI calcs have changed over time? If the Fed believes we are in a serious bubble and doesn't want to raise interest rates, doesn't it have a vested interest in wanting the CPI calcs adjusted in ways that make inflation look lower? Any thoughts anyone? Wayne