Inflation is not the same as the cost of living. Otherwise, for example, the change in the cost of living would be the same everywhere throughout the United States, since the same currency is used through.
Nick > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On > Behalf Of Gautam Mukunda > Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2002 12:21 PM > To: Brin-L > Subject: RE: Gummint programs and stats (was RE: Presidents RE: > Corruption ...) > > > The most depressing stats, by the way, were on the same page. One showed > that at the 20th income percentile, inflation-adjusted income has risen 1 > percent since 1993, while the cost of living rose 20 percent. I was > irritated that the headline for this chart reads "Standard of Living for > Low-Income Households is Not Rising." Not rising? That's like > saying that > Enron is failing to make a profit. > > Nick > > Me: > If _inflation-adjusted_ income has risen 1%, then the change in > the cost of > living (that is, inflation) then the standard of living has, in fact, > probably risen something in the range of 1%. Inflation-adjusted _means_ > taking into account changes in the cost of living. > > Gautam >
