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Economists are love numbers and the CPI is no different. There was a time in the not too distant past when these numbers had more relevancy. In other words, you could figure out what they meant in terms of growth or decline as it related to the economy. The economy in this definition resembles a huge living and breathing beast that can't be seen as a whole rather only in sections. Lately, these numbers create a deeper conflict and are sometimes assigned more importance than they deserve. Statistics are essentially glimpses of what has happened and not always presented in a timely fashion. The job of measuring this activity and releasing the numbers for an event may find itself revising those statements often as much as three different times. When the most important gauge is an index whose report is often controversial and carries significant importance to millions of Americans as well, it tends to garner attention. The Consumer Price index is released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is used to set three different types of monetary data. Social Security checks are tied to this index. Inflation adjusted bonds such as TIPS are tied to this index. Tax brackets are also determined by this number. The controversy really heats up over the calculation of those prices based on goods and services. [ Close Window ] |