David Weinstein talked about the book he wrote with Christian Broda, Prices, Poverty, and Inequality: Why Americans Are Better Off Than You Think (American Enterprise Institute Press; October 2008). In the book they argue that the conventional idea that the economic well-being of all but the wealthiest Americans has stagnated or declined over the past twenty-five years is based on misleading measurements of income and poverty. When they adjust the consumer price index used to compute official measures of real wages and poverty to account for the benefits of new and improved products and the consumer’s ability to substitute less expensive goods for goods that have become more expensive Americans in every income group are substantially better off economically than they were a quarter-century ago.

Mr. Weinstein projected charts and graphs during his presentation. He was joined in discussion by Douglas Besharov, Gary Burtless, and David Johnson. Henry Olsen moderated. The panelists responded to questions from members of the audience.