1. Inflation is the increase in money supply.
2. Increasing the money supply results in subsequent increases in prices for raw materials, goods and services.
3. Prices are also driven by supply and demand. So the delayed trickle down effect of increasing the money supply on prices is uneven.
4. Prices are also driven down by productivity increases through technology and innovation. Traditionally around 6% per year.
5. The CPI is the Consumer PRICE Index. NOT a measure of inflation. Plus, to your point, they exchange the items in the basket. For example hamburger meat vs steak. Etc. The propaganda machine confused the population but using the word inflation interchangeably with CPI.
6. Measuring inflation is simple: The increase in all debt PLUS the increase in M2. All debt. Federal (i.e. $38Trillion), state and local debt and bonds, corporate debt and consumer debt. Because debt creates money out thin air. If you get a mortgage, that amount doesn’t exist. It’s added to the money supply. Or even your credit card debt.
7. What’s different now than say 30 years ago, is that it’s all global. So technically, you’d have to that for the global economy.