United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-10-09 monographic deposited born digital 76 p. GA 1.13:GGD/OCE-98-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2 P0b002ee18038f489 f:g698002 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2 GGD/OCE-98-2 Price indexes Economic indicators Economic policies Statistical data Economic analysis Inflation Cost of living Future budget projections Budget deficit Foreign governments Consumer Price Index BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey Dept. of Commerce Personal Consumption Expenditures Data Gross Domestic Product Japan Italy Germany France United Kingdom Letter Report GGD

The "market basket" of goods and services used to track changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is revised about once every 10 years. Items in the CPI include housing, transportation, food, clothing, medical care, and entertainment. Updating the market basket between major revisions would yield a more accurate CPI. The cost to update the market basket would be significantly less than the cost of a major revision. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that updating the market basket in 2003 would cost about $3.1 million. In contrast, BLS will spend about $66 million on the 1998 revision. Moreover, because federal tax brackets and payments are indexed to the CPI, a more accurate CPI could have a positive impact on the federal budget deficit. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2.pdf GAO/GGD/OCE-98-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-OCE-98-2 Letter Report GAO/GGD/OCE-98-2; Consumer Price Index: More Frequent Updating of Market Basket Expenditure Weights Is Needed; Price indexes Economic indicators Economic policies Statistical data Economic analysis Inflation Cost of living Future budget projections Budget deficit Foreign governments Consumer Price Index BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey Dept. of Commerce Personal Consumption Expenditures Data Gross Domestic Product Japan Italy Germany France United Kingdom Title 26 Section 1(f) 26 U.S.C. 1(f) Title 42 Section 415(i) 42 U.S.C. 415(i)