But if the CPI does in fact broadly represent inflation more accurately, then Mr Osborne's decision seems justifiable, certainly once the index starts to take account of owner-occupier housing costs.
If consistent performance is a product of skill as Mauboussin contends, than index fund investing is certainly a skillful decision for an investor to make.
Complicating the budget situation is the president's decision against a commission to study a downward revision in the Consumer Price Index, which would reduce cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients and trim other federal benefits.
The finding from our annual Fashion Brand Index that shows an increasing importance of fashion brands in the decision-making and purchasing process supports our claim that brands have never mattered more than they do now.
Knotty problems of the same sort arise whenever you add an ethical overlay to what is normally a purely economic decision, like shopping for coffee, paying an electric bill or buying an index fund.