Now, if this data is comparative to summer 2008 then we’re looking at very high gas prices as part of that cost, whereas gas has stayed relatively low for summer so far this year.

Really, this data does not tell you much about cost of living. The consumer goods other than transportation and energy all rose slightly, and these are the areas in which it is easiest to cut costs most of the time (rising costs in those areas makes that harder).

The above map shows 14 metro areas, most of which are insignificant to the broader economy or people’s lives. You really need to work on the relevance of the data you collect by improving your site and broadening your customer/source base.

Your source/customers will only for so long tolerate the quirkiness of your site. Don’t make the error of ignoring this. Less flash, more bang!

Congratulations on what you do have going on and what you have built though! Promising product.

“…workers who had been with their companies at least three years, then lost their jobs when their employers reduced their work forces by at least 30 percent. He found that even 15 to 20 years later, most on average had not returned to their old wage levels. He also concluded that their earnings were about 15 percent to 20 percent less than they would have been had they not been laid off.”

This was based on a recent long-term study of Social Security income data people aged 40 or so (peak of their earning power and far from retirement), employed for at least 6 years, who were laid off, tracking them for 15 to 20 years after.

…but more importantly, June 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and THEN June 2009.

And if you wanted to be real, you’d use not just CPI or government statistics that include SUBSTITUTION and HEDONICS and other fake calculations, but real inflation data from http://www.ShadowStats.org. Because real inflation is rising at a much higher pace. (P.S. – Thank you for removing the cost of mortgages from the calculation.)