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The trouble is CPI is not generated in a transparent enough manner to prove your or my assertion.

> The trouble is CPI is not generated in a transparent enough manner to prove your or my assertion.

It's obviously a complicated domain, but I think it is dishonest to say that it is transparency issue. It's not like BLS keeps adjustment methodologies secret.

Methodologies sure, I can pull up some of the formulas they use. The dataset on the other hand, that is secret. A independent party cannot calculate CPI and end up at the same result as BLS. For something as important as inflation, and for this to be considered remotely scientific, the results need to be repeatable by independent parties.

https://voxeu.org/article/billion-prices-project

An alternative approach to tracking CPI through scraping e-commerce. They get effectively the same result.

PCE is another indicator that tracks consumer prices and although its not identical the price moves are highly correlated.

I've seen many comments dismiss the CPI as if it was somehow broken. The real problem is that the CPI is correct and that there is no inflation. Stock gains are either driven by a bubble or simply through unfair government policies or both at the same time.

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