In 1983, a winter hat cost $12.95. Today, a winter hat costs $24.50. If the CPI is 219, what is the percent relation of the actual price of a winter hat to the expected price?

Use the CPI to estimate the expected price today: $12.95 × 2.19 = about $28.36. The actual price is $24.50, which is $3.86 less than expected. The difference as a percent of the expected price is ($3.86 ÷ $28.36) × 100 ≈ 13.6%, so the actual price is 13.6% lower than expected.

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