@jb @EvilSandmich matt yglesias is both stupid and mostly malicious.

But the more important point is this is an example of a measure becoming a goal.

All you have to do is look at CPI and how they calculate baskets of good, and how that ties into inflation.

It's a hard question, because judging circumstance over decades is tricky, and usually very hard to reduce to a few calculations ( which are almost always valid over ajoining years )