Jim Saxton: “I said, ``Well, of course, if we are going to use the Consumer Price Index, the CPI, for a variety of things, it ought…”

“I said, ``Well, of course, if we are going to use the Consumer Price Index, the CPI, for a variety of things, it ought to be accurate. Of course, if we are going to use it to adjust entitlement benefits, it ought to be accurate. Of course, if we are going to use it to adjust from time on an annual basis the amount of taxes Americans pay, it ought to be accurate. Of course, if we are going to use CPI in the private sector to adjust leases and mortgages and things on a timely basis, it ought to be accurate.'' Actually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has done a reasonable job over the years in changing it from time to time. Every decade or so, the Bureau of Labor Statistics looks at the market basket that they measure and tries to make adjustments. But it was as far back as 1938, when renowned authors started to write that it was a difficult task, at best, and an impossible one perhaps to come up with an annual CPI year after year after year that was always accurate.”