Data indicates that DOL rigged claims of recent job growth.. 74

Not really. Those who are that naive don't recognize the complexity of what is being measured, and want it to be some simply measurable and unchanging thing like a volume or other physical measure. The yearning of these folks for a simple single number leads to the overemphasis of one measure, even where other measures may be more appropriate.

I'm not aware of anyone with any knowledge of the subject saying that they do not do the various inflation measures exactly as described in the BLS Handbook of Methods. Nothing secret here. Reproducible and verifiable (by those with the knowledge and expertise to do so, not by anyone here).

I guess you are one of those who does believe that there is one number. I'd guess you think that it is the CPI-U. I wonder whether that means that you think that CPI-W, chained CPI-U, PPI, GNP deflator, etc are unofficial, or that they don't measure inflation. Or maybe, along the lines of your volume analogy, you think they are just different units, kinda like using bushels, pints, or m^3 to measure volume.

I would certainly hope not. Using the ten-year ago measure today would probably make very little difference, but over time, it would make a lot of difference. Somehow, I think the measure now should be more affected by the price of cable and satellite tv and radio services than it was 10 years ago, and certainly a lot more than it was 20 or 30 years ago.

You'd probably understand it better if you got it out of your head that it was as simple a concept as a volume.

I have no idea what adjustments have been made either direction. I was not talking about the fed's measure, but rather about the concept. Can you see the point I was making about the same price increase affecting two people's cost of living differently? on the subject than you could want.

But be nice to be able to see complex systems in such simple terms!

But avoiding change for the sake of avoiding change is to deny progress. Better to make gradual and well-documented changes. That way, the effect of those changes can be seen clearly and measured (just as CPI-U using methods before the most recent changes is widely published).

An interesting point is that the BLS itself points out most of the limits on uses of the CPI measures, including this in the FAQ in response to the question "Is the CPI a cost-of-living index?" After a lead-in that says "kinda, but not really", they say:

You seem to be upset that the CPI-U is not higher than it is. I'm just curious why that is, if you don't mind saying. Do you have some income indexed to the CPI-U? Or do you feel that the Fed kept interest rates too low for too long, and with a higher CPI-U, they might have tightened up the money supply? -- Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.