At 9:01 AM 12/23/96, Michael Perelman wrote: >Does anybody have a good feel for the history of the cpi struggle? I >remember during the early Reagan years, the administration was arguing >that housing prices were overestimated because the price of rents was not >increasing as fast as the price of houses. > >Was that the first salvo? Hasn't Heritage been cooking this project ever >since? > >Why did Robert Gordon sign on? I know he has been pushing the idea that >the computer price index was overstated. > >Why hasn't Doug Henwood published this scoop? I haven't a history at hand, but I wrote a longish piece in LBO about the CPI struggle a year or more ago (which I'm about to post to the web site), and discussed the housing issue several years ago. As I recall, Bob Pollin and someone (Michael Stone maybe?) did a fine piece in Challenge on the housing controversy. The right has been pushing this line for quite a while, but I think Greenspan's endorsement of the overstatement thesis is what really gave it mainstream political life - that, plus the realization of the budgetary magic a CPI rethink could perform. Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> web: <http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html>
