[oldasrocks]

Fuzzy nothing. Lies all over. So spending is up 5% while costs increase 100% which tells me things are actually down 95%. 100K jobs created with 70K of the jobs were guberment jobs which produce nothing. Cash flows only because the guberment is printing fake money.
What will happen when people max out their cards and start failing to make payments plus have to quit spending on groceries houses, cars etc?

[Lumper20]

I wonder if any average American could spend like our Govt.

[Openurmind]

Well that is kind of what I meant, maybe I used the term wrong. Things like:

“Highest gross sales ever!” Yeah, because things cost more than they ever have before.

“Employment up!” Yeah, because everyone had to get a second job to survive.

“Unemployment down!” Yeah, because you are shutting them off whether they need it or not.

Etc...

[flamberge]

The rate of inflation was 1.4% in 2020. In 2021, after Biden took over, it was 7%. In 2022 it was 6.5%, and in 2023 it is 3.2% - still over twice what it was in Trump's last year in office.

The government lies about inflation.

The true rate of inflation right now is at least 12% and it will go higher next year. We are already seeing demand destruction as people max out their credit cards and cutdown their purchases of goods and services. Unit volumes are decreasing but since those units cost 40%-100% more than previously it creates the illusion of increasing sales.

Government spending is about double what government collects in taxes. The rest is financed by inflating the currency through borrowing. That translates to rising prices with a lag time of 6 to 12 months.

The only wage earners who can possibly stay ahead of the wave are government employees who can vote themselves pay increases. This is a liquidation economy.