Asked by Lacey Johnson on May 05, 2024

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Sam is going to ask for a raise. Over the past year, the CPI has gone from 129.9 to 131.9. Sam currently earns $42,500. What is the minimum raise that Sam should ask for in order to maintain the same buying power?

A) $43,350
B) $43,144
C) $44,000
D) $43,500
E) $43,154

Buying Power

The capacity of an individual or company to purchase goods and services, often related to the amount of money available.

CPI

A metric known as the Consumer Price Index evaluates the overall weighted pricing of a range of consumer items and services, covering areas such as healthcare, food, and transportation.

Raise

An increase in salary or wages.

  • Employ the notion of monetary value to calculate wage adjustments correlated with shifts in the CPI.
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vicmarie simpriMay 08, 2024
Final Answer :
E
Explanation :
To maintain the same buying power, Sam needs to adjust his salary based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI went from 129.9 to 131.9, which is an increase of 2 points. To find the percentage increase: (131.9 - 129.9) / 129.9 = 0.01539, or 1.539%. To maintain the same buying power, Sam's salary needs to be increased by 1.539% of $42,500, which is $654.075. Adding this to his current salary gives $42,500 + $654.075 = $43,154.075, which rounds to $43,154.