Posted on 02/26/2012 4:44:22 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
Edited on 02/26/2012 4:57:21 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
HISTORY has left Argentines with more than their share of economic trauma. Having twice suffered destructive bouts of hyperinflation in the late 1980s, they are sensitive to rising prices. When they spot inflation their instinct is to dump the peso and buy dollars. But after the economy collapsed in 2001-02, horror at mass unemployment temporarily eclipsed the public
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
The consumer price index reported by the US government no longer includes food and energy. No doubt if housing prices ever start to rebound they will be removed from the index as well.
I measure food inflation as follows. 12 months ago the veal parmigiana at a local italian restaurant was $11.99. Today it is $14.99. Iced tea was $1.50. Today $2.50. At the grocery store the package size on almost everything is smaller and the prices are higher. 16 ounce jars are now 14 ounces. A half gallon of ice cream is no longer a half gallon.
Bernanke is running the printing presses to soak up the US treasury debt the Chicoms have stopped buying. Our government tells us the inflation rate is only 3% yet we are experiencing double digit inflation on food, energy and other everyday essentials. At the same time we are told the unemployment rate is declining, yet the number of people reported as working continues to plummet.
The Argentine government lies to its people, the US government lies to its citizens. Hyperinflation in the US is closer than most people can conceive. We cannot fund trillion dollar deficits by printing dollars without paying the consequences.
Why aren’t the Republicans screaming about food and energy inflation?
Has the BLS removed food or energy prices in its official measure of inflation?No. The BLS publishes thousands of CPI indexes each month, including the headline All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the CPI-U for All Items Less Food and Energy. The latter series, widely referred to as the "core" CPI, is closely watched by many economic analysts and policymakers under the belief that food and energy prices are volatile and are subject to price shocks that cannot be damped through monetary policy. However, all consumer goods and services, including food and energy, are represented in the headline CPI.
Most importantly, none of the prominent legislated uses of the CPI excludes food and energy. Social security and federal retirement benefits are updated each year for inflation by the All Items CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Individual income tax parameters and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) returns are based on the All Items CPI-U.
Common Misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index: Questions and Answers
Why arent the Republicans screaming about food and energy inflation?
Great article. Thanks for posting.
I think you would like this article.
The bigger and more corrupt the government, the worse the economy usually gets.
But of course, leftists never see this
We have our own independent statistics keepers here too:
ShadowStats these are the ones I believe.
That’s funny.
"When a products price spikes, INDEC (the Argentine gov's stats agency) takes it out of the CPI basket."
Sound familiar?
You are mostly right on target, although hyperinflation is not assured since there is a battle going on between inflation and deflation. Right now, we have both at the same time — inflation in commodities like food and energy and metals, but deflation in wages and real estate.
Rolling Eyes?
Tell me what is the difference between DU and FreeRepublic?
Sheesh.
WTF, A$$wiper!
What does the Ambassadorship to the Netherlands have to do with the price of tea in China?
I was waiting for someone to snip a portion of my post, quote it back to me, and tell me the entire post means exactly the opposite of what it means.
Thank you for the link. I will be spending some time there.
Interesting historical tidbits re: Clinton Era reporting.
I would like to study more on this to see what it all means.
http://www.shadowstats.com/article/special-comment
Consider from the New York Times, “Panel Sees a Corrected Price Index as Deficit-Cutter,” September 15, 1995, by Robert D. Hershey, Jr.:
“Speaker Newt Gingrich, Republican of Georgia, suggested this week that fixing the [CPI] index, with its implications for lower spending [Social Security, etc.] and higher revenue [tax bracket adjustments], would provide maneuvering room for budget negotiators ”
“Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, is among the other Government officials who have spoken optimistically about financial benefits of a more accurate [CPI] index ”
snip
From the San Francisco Chronicle, “Governments economic data misleading, he says,” May 25, 2008, by Sam Zuckerman:
“In the 1990s, for example, Republicans wanted to make changes in calculating inflation along the lines recommended by a special commission, including more use of quality adjustments. By lowering the official inflation rate, such changes promised to reduce the annual cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security and other federal programs.
“[Katherine] Abraham, the Clinton bureau [of Labor Statistics] commissioner, remembers sitting in Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrichs office:
“He said to me, If you could see your way clear to doing these things, we might have more money for BLS programs.”
On the surface, it seems to be another reason that, while I heartily approve his stated intentions and plans should he become president (and believe he would implement some of them), I am not sure what his agenda really is, or whether I trust him completely.
Don’t post any facts!
“How subprime lending all started in O.C. (Ameriquest - [Ambassador] Roland Arnall)”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1946191/posts
>>WTF, A$$wiper!
WTF indeed. What does it mean when billions of dollars in AAA Asset (mortgage) Backed Securities become downgraded to junk status overnight?
“A$$Paper” is the WallStreet vernacular for those ASSet Backed Securities, presently poisoning the global economic pond.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=asspaper+asset+backed+securities
How can it be that a (Federally Funded?) Global Tourist suuper genius such as yourself is so blatantly ignorant of such pertinent FACTS?
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