Microwaves on sale. The prices of new gadgets often start high and then fall rapidly. The first home microwave oven cost $1300 in 1955. You can now buy a better microwave oven for $100. Find the latest value of the CPI (it’s on the BLS Web site, www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm) and use it to restate $100 in present-day dollars in 1955 dollars. Compare this with $1300 to see how much real microwave oven prices have come down.

Chapter 16 Exercises 355