Record-high 203 million people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, says National Retail Federation

The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis

“The good news is that inflation hasn’t deterred people that much,” said Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, referring to spending keeping pace with population growth.

According to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, prices for goods and services are up by 2.5% to 3% this year, excluding food and energy.

This number is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure because it adjusts to consumers substituting cheaper goods when prices rise.

“Strip that out, and you’ve got a modest real increase, potentially reflecting that consumers are budget-tight and timing their buys around heavy discount days,” said Mr. Austin, a former economic adviser to two Kansas governors.

Read more at The Washington Times