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Curiosity Gap
I was part of the team that launched a new column at Businessweek Magazine called 'Curiosity Gap', a column that focuses on one issue or question that we explore through data. Click on the headlines for links to the story, and the images to enlarge.
This column explores the idea that the CPI is (sometimes vastly) understating the inflation that everday Americans are experiencing. The CPI's 'Basket of Goods' includes many things that are simply beyond the economic reach of working families. If the costs of basic necessities such as rent and medical care rise faster than those of nonessential goods, the index may not truly reflect the reality many households face. The Ludwig Economic Institute for Economic Prosperity has created a measurement, called the "True Living Cost" (TLC) that only includes a household's basic necessities: housing, medical care, transportation, groceries, child care, technology such as smartphones and internet connections, and miscellaneous expenses like clothing and personal hygiene. We compare how the CPI and the TLC have evolved over time.
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