Michael Perelman wrote: >I have some questions: For example, how much have waiting times for medical >care increased?
The medical care component of the CPI has increased more than twice as much as the overall CPI since 1979. Its weight is only 6% of the total index, however. > Do rising housing costs require people to locate further from >work, increasing commutes? The Census Journey to Work numbers show no such increase <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/journey.html>. (That page shows only 1980 and 1990 figs, but the prelim 2000 numbers are pretty much unchanged from 1990.) > Does the CPI take into account the deterioration of >public transportation? Sorry to be a Pangloss, but public transportation in NYC today is better than it was in 1990, and a lot better than 1980. > Yet, they emphasize everthing that represents an >increase in quality as reflecting a decreasing (hedonic) cost. Robert Gordon says somewhere that a hedonic index of apparel prices would show much higher inflation than the official measure does, because price increases are hidden behind style changes. You've got a point here, Michael but I think you've picking on the wrong components. Doug
