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The government uses two measures, CORE inflation, which measures long run inflation and excludes items frequently subject to volatile prices, like food and energy. Headline CPI includes those items.
One doesn't want to base monetary policy on items that fluctuate wildly.
They fluctuate wildly largely because of monetary policy. It matters none to people though why they are going up when they have to pay an inflated price for it.
Which really has nothing to do with the government not counting food and utilities into their inflation numbers.
The government DOES count food and such into their inflation numbers. They provide various views of the data - some of it including food and energy and some of it excluding food and energy - and they provide that data EVERY SINGLE MONTH - and have done so for DECADES.
Food and energy prices bounce around a LOT - gas prices rise like clockwork in the summer and fall again in the winter, while heating oil rises religiously in the winter and falls like an atheist in the summer. Same types of things happen with food items - weather events change food prices drastically, then settle back down afterwards - that's WHY the government provided different views of the data - some of the views including food and energy and some views excluding food and energy, because sometimes economists are interested in reviewing the short-term inflation number changes (ie including food and energy) and other times they want to look through all that clutter and simply see what the CORE inflation rate is.
The key point however is that BOTH views are provided and BOTH views show inflation as fairly tame. You folks have been told this NUMEROUS TIMES. If you don't understand it by now, it's because you don't WANT to understand it - and there's not much we can do to cure WILLFULL IGNORANCE.
They fluctuate wildly largely because of monetary policy. It matters none to people though why they are going up when they have to pay an inflated price for it.
No, they fluctuate wildly because of the SEASONS. Always have, always will.
Two weeks ago my company had a BBQ burgers and dogs, one of the receptionists said "I'll have 2 tube steaks please", when it was her turn at the line me and the general manager looked at each other and I busted out.
Oh, and while you are at it, explain to us why - if inflation is so high - gas prices TODAY are cheaper than they were back in 2008 before the Fed began the QE program. And if it's all because of the Fed "printing dollars" (ie QE), then WHY did gas prices rise so fast between 2002 and 2008 (ie BEFORE QE) - during which time gas prices TRIPLED - but prices TODAY are LOWER than they were in 2008 (ie FIVE YEARS AGO).
Oh, and while you are at it, explain to us why - if inflation is so high - gas prices TODAY are cheaper than they were back in 2008 before the Fed began the QE program. And if it's all because of the Fed "printing dollars" (ie QE), then WHY did gas prices rise so fast between 2002 and 2008 (ie BEFORE QE) but prices TODAY are LOWER than they were in 2008 (ie FIVE YEARS AGO).
They have no fluctuated wildly always. For years prices remained fairly stable. The average price of gas was fairly constant from 1980 to 2000.
No it wasn't - what kind of ignorant tripe is that. I MANAGED a gas station business for 10 years between 1974 and 1984 and we ALWAYS raised the price in the summer and ALWAYS lowered them in again in the winter.
It was still the cheap money policy of the Fed that caused the prices to skyrocket in the late 00's.
The prices DIDN'T RISE in the late "00's" - they rose in the early to mid "00s".
After 2008 gas prices crashed - and have YET to get back to that summer of 2008 level.
Your argument simply doesn't match the facts.
Ken
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