Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Special reports | Kick out the slippers and choc biscuits. iPods and surfboards catch the spirit of today's Brits

Call me suspicious, maybe even paranoid, but does it make sense for the Government to include high-tech goods into its "basket" of items for tracking consumer inflation? iPods cost hundreds now, but so did calculators when they were first sold. Now they are low value "give-away" items. Aren't MP3 players likely to go the same way in time? The last DVD player to be made in the US cost something close to $1,000. Now China supplies them to retailers at more like $20.

I can't help but fear that the Government, no stranger to twisting the truth, is manipulating the inflation index. Including goods virtually guaranteed to decline in price serves to offset the costs - such as local taxes - that are rising well in excess of inflation.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Kick out the slippers and choc biscuits. iPods and surfboards catch the spirit of today's Brits

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