While I am reluctant to perpetuate the debate on living standards and the accuracy of the consumer price index (CPI), I just can�t resist holding economists and pundits to the things they claim to believe. My last post featured the claim that living standards had improved substantially despite the stubborn refusal of the CPI to support this claim. When median family income is deflated by the CPI, then real family income was just 14.4 percent higher in 2004 than it was in 1979. This increase is explained largely by an increase in working hours per family, as the median hourly wage rose by even less over this period. The stagnation deniers (SD) argue that the CPI has missed the benefits of all the new goods that have appeared on the market in the last quarter century � cell phones, the Internet, and the great gains in health care over this period. Life expectancy in the United States increased by 3.5 years over this period, from 73.7 years in 1980 to 77.2 years in 2003.
Does A Faulty CPI Make the U.S. Look Good? Final Stabs on Living Standards
I’m writing to you today with a sense of urgency that I haven’t felt since I began my journalism career. As executive editor of The American Prospect, I’ve witnessed firsthand how independent journalism serves as a crucial bulwark against the erosion of our democratic institutions. Today, that role is more vital than ever. Can you step up today and show your support?
The winds of authoritarianism are blowing stronger. We’re seeing alarming signs of a coordinated effort to silence critical voices and undermine the very foundations that support progressive causes. As Bob Kuttner presciently wrote in our August 2024 issue, a weaponized IRS could attack the very foundations of the progressive movement. We need readers to step up and help us dig in for the long haul.
We’re falling behind in our spring fundraising campaign, and with so much at stake we can’t afford to come up short. If you value fearless, independent journalism that holds the powerful accountable and defends democracy, now is the time to step up. The American Prospect depends on reader support to stay in the fight. Pitch in today and help us close the gap. Please consider making a donation today.
–David Dayen, Executive Editor
