Why not? They don't count food prices and you KNOW those have been rising for a while. They don't count energy prices either.

Consumer Prices Rise in May
By Nell Henderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 14, 2006; 1:42 PM

Consumer prices rose briskly again in May, led by rising costs for gasoline and housing, the Labor Department reported today, boosting the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep raising rates to restrain inflation.

With many motorists paying more than $3 a gallon for gasoline, landlords hiking rents and businesses passing on more of their rising energy and materials costs to shoppers, the department's consumer price index rose a sizeable 0.4 percent last month, after a 0.6 percent increase the month before.

Inflation is eroding consumers' purchasing power, as prices rise faster than most workers' wages, the department said in another report. After adjusting for inflation, average weekly earnings declined 0.7 percent last month, and bought 0.2 percent less than in May last year.

"Inflation is definitely on the rise . . . and it will be troubling for many consumers, particularly those at the lower end of the income scale," said Richard Yamarone, director of research for Argus Research Corp., a financial analysis firm. Even so, he added, "inflation is not at a level that is going to cripple the economy, and it appears the Fed is on top of things and will indeed combat these mounting pressures."