Changes

The '''Consumer Price Index''' is the government's gauge of [[inflation]]. It is used, for example, to adjust tax brackets and social security payments for inflation. To find it, the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] checks the prices of items in a fixed representative ''market basket'' of hundreds of goods and services used by typical consumer in a base year. The CPI is calculated as:

The '''Consumer Price Index''' (CPI) is the government's gauge of [[inflation]]. It is used, for example, to adjust [[tax brackets]] and social security payments for inflation. To find it, the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] checks the prices of items in a fixed representative ''market basket'' of hundreds of goods and services used by typical consumer in a base year and compares the changes that occurred in that basket over time. The CPI is calculated as:

<math>CPI= \frac {\sum (Base~year~quantity \times Current~year~price)~for~each~item}{\sum (Base~year~quantity \times Base~year~price)~for~each~item} \times 100</math>

<math>CPI= \frac {\sum (Base~year~quantity \times Current~year~price)~for~each~item}{\sum (Base~year~quantity \times Base~year~price)~for~each~item} \times 100</math>