Interest payments aren’t counted in the inflation rate.
I get lots of mail from people saying the absence of interest rates from the Consumer Price Index seems like sleight of hand by the government, the economics profession or both.
So I probably won’t win a lot of friends by saying that I think the way the government economists do things is correct.
But when they’re right, they’re right.
I’ll grant that higher interest payments do feel just as inflationary as higher prices for ice cream, bowling balls and haircuts.
Persons:
Lawrence Summers
Organizations:
Consumer, Treasury, Harvard