Prices of so-called non-tradeables — hospital stays and college tuition, to name two — have surged. The most famous example of this, shown here, is called by some the “chart of the century.” The high praise comes about because the chart is loaded with information regarding the types of challenges faced by the Fed and other Washington policymakers. Based on today’s BLS report for CPI price data through December 2019, I’ve updated the chart above with price changes through the end of last year. and clothing have remained relatively flat for the last 22 years while average prices have increased by almost 60% and wages increased 86%. MP: I’ll continue to update the price chart every six months, look for the next version in July 2020 with data through June 2020.