All of Inflation’s Little Parts

Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers 84,000 prices in about 200 categories — like gasoline, bananas, dresses and garbage collection — to form the Consumer Price Index, one measure of inflation.

It’s among the statistics that the Federal Reserve considered when it cut interest rates on Wednesday. The categories are weighted according to an estimate of what the average American spends, as shown below.

Link to interactive pie chart
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/03/business/20080403_SPENDING_GRAPHIC.html

Related Posts

• Surging Costs of Groceries Hit Home
• Fear Factor
• U.S. Headed For Fiscal Crisis?
• Survival After Economic Meltdown
• Government Asks Stores to Stockpile Food
• hyperinflation
• Huge Fertilizer Price Hikes Will Make Food Prices Grow
• Farmers Unable to Cash in on Soaring Food Prices
• The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class
• Rice Shortage Roils San Francisco Stores, Markets, Food Banks