https://realityindex.co/news/ Reality Index publishes a parallel measurement of American consumer prices using BLS's own household-spending weights and real retail data. A project of Grabien Inc. en-us https://realityindex.co/news/2026-05-introducing-reality-index.html https://realityindex.co/news/2026-05-introducing-reality-index.html Tue, 19 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Reality Index is a parallel measurement of American consumer prices, using BLS's own household-spending weights but substituting real retail dollar data for CPI's quality-adjusted methodology. The headline finding: a basket of goods and services that cost $100 in 2000 costs $246 today by the Reality Index, versus $187 per the official CPI — a 32% cumulative gap over 25 years. Extended back to 1980, the same gap compounds to $516 versus $391. Two categories drive almost all of it: housing (6.11× since 1980) and health care (15.60×). The companion American Dream Index, also launching today, prices the 1980 middle-class lifestyle every year since 1980 and finds it has remained out of reach for the median family for 45 years.

]]>