its just a common sense measure of true value of things people need in real life, such as bread and milk. it requires no trust, no third parties.
Nonsense. It requires plenty of trust in whomever keeps the relied-upon figures for the cost of living. Here across the pond, our financial system is under incredible stress due to the whopping lie about what constitutes the official rate of inflation. Which should be -- truth be told -- exactly the cost of living normalized to unit measure.