Unemployment and inflation

This 8 minute segment was on Fox news around 9 am April 23, The program "The Cost of Freedom, Cashin' In." Discussion of the real inflation vs the government numbers, as well as what is actually happenning with rising prices, particularly on food and energy, which the government ignores.
Unfortunately, we the consumer can't ignore them while trying to find a job.

Note specially the response by the doofus Stephane Fitch to the statement that the average citizen has less money to spend today after dealing with skyrocketing energy and food costs.

Thanks for posting this.

Too bad no one mentioned seniors on Social Security. There are plenty of them out there who are mortified. Their savings aren’t earning any interest for them, the value of their homes have plummeted, and leaving food & fuel out of the CPI prevented a COLA.

You’re right; that guy is a doofus.

The FED is ignoring inflation in oil and food, and for good reason.

High oil prices are deflationary over time, as economic activity including personal consumption is curtailed by high energy prices.

Higher food prices are due to poor rainfall in many areas of the world, and America is adding to the problem by growing corn for ethanol instead of using farmland for food. One effect is natural and temporary, and has nothing to do with govt. The other is the result of govt subsidy which can easily be ended.

The bulk of assets in the world and in the USA are deflating in value. This is a situation much more worrisome than inflation.

Structural inflation requires rising wages pushing a wage-price spiral due to an overheated economy experiencing full employment. That’s obviously not happening. And that’s why the bond market isn’t paying attention to the inflation crowd. The silver and gold markets are tiny compared to world bond markets. If inflation were truly upon us, we would not have a 30 year bond under 5%.

Silver and gold bugs may turn out to be wise, but for the wrong reason. Silver and gold can be useful during a deflationary collapse. Food and farmland will be more valuable in that case however.

People thing that when the price of some things goes up, that’s inflation. There’s much more to it than that. It is not unusual to have inflation in some items during a time of general deflation. People also love to talk about Germans running around with wheelbarrows full of money during their hyperinflation. The thing to take note of is that they HAD wheelbarrows full of money to run around with due to a wage-price spiral.

I have read that farmland is going to be the next bubble.

Then there was a trader interviewed on Fox Business who said that the Fed will keep interest rates low until banks are able to unload more of the bad loans and foreclosed properties they have. Just how is that going to happen, when people don’t have money to spend?

Who knows? Predicting the future has always been an iffy proposition.

If you really want to get depressed, read zerohedge.com. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though!

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