I'd really like to see this data (inflation data) coming from a different source (not the federal government), all things considered.
jfengel•8mo ago
Gathering raw inflation data is an enormous effort. You need to look at hundreds of products in scores of markets.
The final inflation number is a formula based on that raw data, and is more a matter of opinion. So if you don't trust the BLS's inflation formula, they have an API for the raw data that they gather:
The data also contains the weights they use, presently and historically.
There are also ways to bias the raw data gathering process, but the BLS's process is generally considered valid. For anybody else to gather similar data, it would be at least as biased, and an enormous effort. Especially since what's most important is the trend lines, and you'd need decades of data for that to be meaningful.
I'll admit that I do not trust the present administration not to interfere. Mostly, they've tended to just delete the data. I hope somebody has backed this up.
But I have not yet heard that the administration was changing the processes. So at least at for the moment, I'd trust the BLS raw data as being compatible with previous data.
derbOac•8mo ago
jfengel•8mo ago
The final inflation number is a formula based on that raw data, and is more a matter of opinion. So if you don't trust the BLS's inflation formula, they have an API for the raw data that they gather:
https://www.bls.gov/data/
The data also contains the weights they use, presently and historically.
There are also ways to bias the raw data gathering process, but the BLS's process is generally considered valid. For anybody else to gather similar data, it would be at least as biased, and an enormous effort. Especially since what's most important is the trend lines, and you'd need decades of data for that to be meaningful.
I'll admit that I do not trust the present administration not to interfere. Mostly, they've tended to just delete the data. I hope somebody has backed this up.
But I have not yet heard that the administration was changing the processes. So at least at for the moment, I'd trust the BLS raw data as being compatible with previous data.