[9rx]

Remember, CPI exists to attempt to figure out how the value of a currency has changed over time. It's not a cost of living index, a housing cost index, a wellness index, or anything of the sort. It is not trying to measure how you are doing in life. It is not there to determine the value of labour, the value of housing, the value of food, or the value of anything other than currency. It is simply compiled to determine the difference in value between $1 yesterday and $1 today, so to speak. As you can see, you cannot use the currency itself to provide that measurement. $1 and $1 are visibly the same; except we know that $1 and $1 aren't the same over time. That is where CPI steps in.

If you want to understand something else, use the measures and data that are focused on that something else. Right tool for the job and all that.