= new reply since forum marked as read
The consumer price index is a group of goods and services and the contents and weightings do change over time. (Which must be done somehow because the consumer world changes)
Some folks will always disagree with the addition or deletion of particular goods and services, or how the different sectors are weighted, but the government seems, to me, to have a history trying to keep CPI a useful measure.
The core CPI is the consumer price index with food and energy removed because those are volatile (and seasonal).
Since everyone uses food and energy, I have seen people complain that core-CPI is an attempt to deny "true" inflation but that argument is quite selective since core CPI also denies "true" deflation.
Food and energy are, in fact, volatile and the core-CPI is the more reliable measure of inflation in the economy. This chart does a good job of showing why the core measure exists.
....but in-state tuition at the State University was MUCH more affordable in the Pre-Reagan era,
as were books and housing.
Pre-Free Trade Summer Jobs were also available, and they paid well.
A good education and a degree were within anybody's reach without the need of a loan.
That is no longer anywhere near TRUE.
NOBODY can afford Tuition and Books by working part-time & Summers.
Going to School without a LOAN and working part-time was The NORM at State Colleges, not the exception.
Some had scholarships or grants, many had help from their parents,
but many, MANY worked their way through completely on their own.
I did, and never felt that what I was doing was the slightest bit unusual.
This was more difficult during the VietNam Draft years, because if you sat out a semester to work,
they would DRAFT your ass.
Under the old Democratic Party (and old Republicans too), Education was a Protected RIGHT for everyone,
not a For Maximum Profit commodity. The Loan Schemes you mentioned above are a part of the Education as a Commodity scam.
Among these are:
*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
*The right of every family to a decent home;
*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
*The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens"--- FDR.
Man, I miss THAT Democratic Party.
