Journal 5

As I mentioned yesterday, the CPI is of great significance and is incredibly difficult to calculate. Trying to find the information for comparison for a couple of countries in the European Union was in fact quite difficult. This time around though I am working on the cost of living for New York City and comparing it to the United States of America.

 Considered the most expensive city to live in (Huffigntonpost.com), New York City provides an interesting data set. The CPI for New York is about twice that of the average here in the United States. That’s crazy expensive. For example, to be considered middle class, living in downtown Manhattan is about $60,000, as opposed to, say, San Marcos, Texas (one of the cheapest places in the United States) where middle class would be around $28,000.

Drawing comparisons is not only extremely fun, but enlightens the researcher on national averages and provides intricate points to draw correlations. I was able to do this with the help of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a US agency that catalogs and takes surveys for the purpose of producing statistics like the CPI, PPI, and others.

It is agencies like the BLS that provide detailed information that can help in Sustainable Mountain Development. Being able to provide information about “cost of living” trends in a particular region can assist in developing plans for development that can be specific, accurate from the regional level to the sub-national. Meaning, even countries like Kyrgyzstan, with its limited resources, can predict possible revenue pathways that might help the country.