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General Discussion Area / 3% Inflation my A**e
« on: 15 June 2008, 19:21:29 »
The government tell us inflation was 3% last month. Presumably this is to give us a feeling of well being and to keep wage claims low.
But how is this 3% figure possible. We all know that food, council tax, heating, petrol have gone up by 20% or more in the last year.
I've looked into this and inflation is calculated by a "shopping basket" of approximately 650 supposedly everyday items each month.
It includes the aforementioned heating petrol etc. but also includes many items that we buy infrequently and which are DEFLATING.
Eg - Digital cameras, Sat Navs, MP3 players, LCD TV, Broadband, Clothes, Fridges.
These items and many others should not be included in the inflation statistics, afterall you buy bread and milk everyday, a TV once every few years. They bring inflation down to give an unrealistic figure in the real world.
As the saying goes "There's lies , damn lies, and statistics."
But how is this 3% figure possible. We all know that food, council tax, heating, petrol have gone up by 20% or more in the last year.
I've looked into this and inflation is calculated by a "shopping basket" of approximately 650 supposedly everyday items each month.
It includes the aforementioned heating petrol etc. but also includes many items that we buy infrequently and which are DEFLATING.
Eg - Digital cameras, Sat Navs, MP3 players, LCD TV, Broadband, Clothes, Fridges.
These items and many others should not be included in the inflation statistics, afterall you buy bread and milk everyday, a TV once every few years. They bring inflation down to give an unrealistic figure in the real world.
As the saying goes "There's lies , damn lies, and statistics."
