On Sat, Jan 19, 2002 at 04:33:24PM -0800, Nick Arnett wrote: > Perhaps I didn't make it clear that these numbers are for Santa Clara > County only. The cost of housing, in particular, has skyrocketed here > during the period in question. > > Your numbers were for the whole country, I assume.
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ But cost of housing is included in the consumer price index, currently it makes up about 40% of the CPI-U basket. As others have said, you need to compare unadjusted income versus some cost index (eg., consumer price index, CPI) or versus something that you are interested in (eg., housing, child care). Comparing _inflation-adjusted_ income with some (vaguely specified) cost of living is silly. ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/usri2000.txt Your point that CPI and cost of living are different is valid. But you haven't stated what you think is important that is measured by cost of living that isn't included in CPI. http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm 4. Is the CPI a cost-of-living index? The CPI frequently is called a cost-of-living index, but it differs in important ways from a complete cost-of-living measure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS or the Bureau) has for some time used a cost-of-living framework in making practical decisions about questions that arise in constructing the CPI. A cost-of-living index is a conceptual measurement goal, however, not a straightforward alternative to the CPI. A cost-of-living index would measure changes over time in the amount that consumers need to spend to reach a certain "utility level" or "standard of living." Both the CPI and a cost-of-living index would reflect changes in the prices of goods and services, such as food and clothing, that are directly purchased in the marketplace; but a complete cost-of-living index would go beyond this to also take into account changes in other governmental or environmental factors that affect consumers' well-being. It is very difficult to determine the proper treatment of public goods, such as safety and education, and other broad concerns, such as health, water quality, and crime that would comprise a complete cost-of-living framework. More. Note that the (national average) CPI increased by about 23% from Jan. 1993 to Jan. 2001 ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt If Santa Clara were equal to the national average, than the numerical incomes of the 20th percentile would have increased by 24% from Jan. 1993 to Jan. 2001. You quote cost of living as having increased by 20% in the Santa Clara region. For the 20th percentile to be worse off compared to cost of living, you need to show that the CPI, or whatever they used to "inflation adjust" the incomes, increased by less than 19% over that time period in that area. I think that the best point you made is about the cost of child care rising 5 times faster than household income. I think that is certainly worth discussing. Was any explanation given for the cause of this? Or ideas on how to solve that problem? I remember reading that child care is very expensive these days because of liability and fear of lawsuits. Perhaps the current childcare regulations and expectations result in inefficient childcare operations, and we need to find ways to make the regulations encourage more efficiency? This is obviously a sticky issue because efficiency and perceived safety are often at odds. But perhaps it is possible to come up with a system that is both safe and efficient? Obviously, if you have to devote 1 (well-qualified, unblemished record) person to watching 1 child, it is going to be expensive. What can be done to make it less so? The grade-school system in the US seems to do an acceptable job, in most cases, of keeping children safe. Perhaps it can be used as a model for daycare? -- "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.erikreuter.com/
