Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

So what gives?

Does anyone have the data sets and the formulas used to calculate the CPI? No, I don't think so, because they are hidden.

Until the data used to calculate the CPI is open, it is all speculation.



https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/

Be sure to refer to overview.txt and for more high-level details refer to https://www.bls.gov/cpi/data.htm and https://www.bls.gov/cpi/methods-overview.htm — you might also find relevant information on weighting here https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/relative-importance/home.htm

Typical entries in the AP (Average Price) series look like: APU0000701322 2015 M05 1.335

where APU0000701322 is a pound of spaghetti or macaroni, and M05 is May.

I thought of telling you off for spreading misinformation to incite, but I figured that saying it this would gets my point across more strongly.


An "Average Price" has to be calculated from survey data.

That survey data is what is not open as far as I know: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/data.htm.


You made the right choice and those links were helpful.


That’s a good point. The CPI has a huge impact on policy and really just about every financial thing in our lives. It’s kind of insane that we don’t have good visibility and oversight into it!




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: