EDUCATION COSTS MORE THAN DOUBLE FROM 1990 TO 2009, INSTITUTE REPORTS

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA, Jan. 26, 2010 – While the cost of personal computers declined by nearly 90 percent, the cost of all items in the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by more than 71 percent from 1990 to 2009, with education costs increasing more than three times that rate, the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) reports.

The AIER analysis, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, found that prices increased the most for items heavily influenced by government policies, with the cost of education increasing by more than 200 percent during the 20-year period, followed closely by health care and fuel costs.  The price of personal computers declined the most, AIER said, followed by televisions, audio equipment, toys, and photographic equipment.

Here are the percentage price changes for some common items:

College tuition and fees                                                     – up 274.7 percent

Elementary & high school tuition & fees                        – up 251.3 percent

Hospital services, nursing homes, adult day care         – up 245.8 percent

Household fuel oil                                                              – up 206.4 percent

Educational books, supplies                                              – up 201.9 percent

School housing (excluding board)                                   – up 171.3 percent

Gasoline                                                                                – up 165.4 percent

Dental services                                                                     – up 160.5 percent

Prescription drugs                                                               – up 129.7 percent

Fees for lessons or instructions                                       – up 121.0 percent

Physicians’ services                                                             – up 109.1 percent

All Items in CPI                                                                – up 71.1 percent

Photographic equipment & supplies                                – down 42.9 percent

Toys                                                                                        – down 47.4 percent

Audio equipment                                                                – down 48.7 percent

Televisions                                                                            – down 87.9 percent

Personal computers & other information                      – down 89.8 percent

            processing equipment                   

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