[teruakohatu]

It is easy to calculate. A gallon of milk today is essentially the same as a gallon of milk 100 years ago. Same with gasoline and cans of beans.

[rory096]

That's not accurate. CPI adjusts both in basket composition and the more nebulous hedonic quality adjustment. The TV you bought for $500 today is not the same as the one you bought for an equivalent price 30 years ago.

[riffraff]

it is actually very interesting to see the variations in CPI baskets.

I recall, for example, when the standard basket in Italy used to contain Sambuca[0], and was updated in the '00s to instead include Limoncello[1] due to changed consumer habits.

[0] Anise-flavoured liquor, often added to coffee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambuca

[1] Lemon-zest flavoured liquor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoncello