Things should "appreciate" because of value and scarcity of supply. "Appreciate" because of the money pump is nothing but inflation. The Gummint and Fed should NOT be "in the business of inflating"... ANYTHING. Inflation goes hand in hand with currency debasement... And there is no GREATER CRIME a Gummint can commit against its people... other than genocide, or the like.
Do you know they have this "adjustment for quality" thing with the CPI meaning that your computer today is supposed to be 100 times cheaper than a computer 10 years ago after adjustment even though they're selling at the same price? This is because the "quality" of your computer is 100 times better (faster) than computers 10 years ago and thus you're supposed to be buying the same processing power (same "quality") at much cheaper price. The same thing goes for cars, appliances, consumer electronics, and many many other products except food and energy. This is why they have this "core CPI" thing. The word "core" probably means stuffs they can play numbers game with. BTW this adjustment is very subjective as there is no hard measurement for "quality". I'm sure it gets even more subjective during high inflationary periods. This is one of their main tools to play with the CPI numbers. From this it is quite obvious that the CPI is just a government propaganda tool to back up with numbers whatever policies they want to implement. It has no meaning.
"The policies they want to implement"... one of the MAJOR ones is to "inflate with none but a very small minority understanding the consequences". Why do they WANT to inflate? Because it allows the Gummint to confiscate more of the people's wealth.
Guys, Although the CPI is a joke, especially "core" CPI, home prices are not in the formula because a drop in prices only effects those who are buying and selling, as most people have fixed loans. Most people don't do this often. Rents, on the other hand, move up and down more rapidly, and thus has a greater effect. This is why they do this.
I can understand not including housing prices. After all, its not something you do everyday. But, you do buy food and energy everyday. They say they are too volatile to include. I have never understood the logic in that thinking.
Why not load up on CL ZS W and GC? Risk free money as commodities 'will go up in a straight line on rampant inflation'. No sell offs, ever.