Gene Epstein Round 2: Calculating the Consumer Price Index (CPI) & the Effects of Money Printing

Episode • Jun 30, 2020 • 2h 39m

We exist in a time of unprecendented government spending and expansion of central bank balance sheets. This is a nice way of saying 'money printing'. The myriad negative impacts of money printing are becoming increasingly understood by people around the world today, but assessing and measuring those effects remains a contentious issue shrowded in complexity.

The CPI is the metric used by governments around the world to 'measure' inflation, and many believe it does not accurately reflect the true level of currency debasement done by central bank money printing, nor it's many insidious affects. The CPI is also instrumental in various government calculations, with many policy implications.

Gene Epstein is the former Chief Economist at the New York Stock Exchange, and the former economics editor at Barron's magazine. These days he is the Director at the Soho Forum, hosting debates on relevant social and economic issues.

I spoke to Gene once before in 2019, and when I asked the Twitterverse for someone to come on for a deep-dive into in the CPI, Gene contacted me to say that he had spent a lot of time studying this topic, and would love to come on to discuss. So he joined me for another marathon discussion about inflation, CPI, bitcoin and lots more.

Enjoy!

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