But, of course, you knew that. Unless you've been living in a cave.
I do get a kick out of the "core inflation" concept. Inflation is calculated on a "basket of goods" that is tracked from month to month. In order to remove some of the noise in the data when looking at long-term trends across several years, food and energy are taken out, leaving the so-called core inflation. That may be a valid statistical concept when trying to track ten years of inflation, but why it has any meaning for a single month's inflation is beyond me. Who cares that core inflation, consisting of such impossible-to-live-without items as flat screen TV's and iPods, is "only" .2%? I can put off buying a new laptop or, at least in the short run, clothes. I can't put off buying food.
Mark Twain was right: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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