Hacker News Reader

You didn't answer their question: Define "better": is a higher CPI better, or is a lower CPI better?

Why is a lower CPI better for the government?

In what way does the CPI calculation translate to a "problem" and why does lower CPI = "smaller problem"?

I did answer the question - I said a lower CPI is better for the government because it makes it look like inflation isn't as bad as it is. Do you think it's better to report 5% inflation or 10% inflation? Regardless of what you report, the inflation is what it is. Modern politics is about pretending to solve problems, not actually solving them.

> I said a lower CPI is better for the government because it makes it look like inflation isn't as bad as it is.

Let me guess, you think anything other than 0% inflation is "bad"?

You sure are presumptuous. I don't think 0% is ideal. But for most of my life the US government has had an incentive to say inflation is lower than it is. And their methodology reflects their bias.

You really think it's a coincidence when inflation is peaking they change the formula and it just happens to be lower?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com