The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI provides a way for consumers to compare what a market basket of goods and services cost this month with what the same market basket cost a month or year ago. The CPI affects all Americans because of the way it is used. The three major uses are as a economic indicator, as a deflator of other economic series, and as a means of adjusting dollar values. The CPI reflects the spending patterns for each of the two population groups: All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI represents all the goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. The categories are such areas, food and beverage, housing, apparel and its upkeep, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services.

The NASDAQ Stock Market is the largest electronic, screen-based market in the world with the capacity to handle share volume in excess of one billion shares a day. Known for its innovative leading-edge growth companies, NASDAQ has two tiers. The NASDAQ National Market, with NASDAQ's larger companies whose securities are the most actively traded, and the NASDAQ Small Cap Market, with emerging growth companies. The current market value of the NASDAQ National Market is around 2,553.2 billion dollars. The market and its value reflect the tendencies of the American people regarding their finances. If the market is up and the volume is up then the economy is thriving and booming. Conversely if the market is down and the volume is down then the economy is dying and starving.

The graphs show the CPI over the past two years and the NASDAQ over the past 12 weeks. What can been seen from the CPI graph is that over the last two years the CPI has risen $6.60. This means that the market basket of goods costs $6.60 more now than it did two years ago. This Figure does not mean mush to the American people because the growth is in line with inflation. The second graph show the CPI over the last 100 years and how it has sky rocked over the past thirty years.

The graph of the NASDAQ National Market shows its weekly close over the past 12 weeks. The market has had its ups and downs but has grown over the 12-week period because of a thriving economy. Four out of five Americans own stock, and the NASDAQ being the largest of the three main US markets has seen a lot of active trading and huge gains. The rise in the NASDAQ has encouraged other economic growth.