Every time you turn on TV you hear some talking head poltico blathering on about how Inflation in the US is NOT as bad as everyone(meaning all of us voters, regular citizens)says it is. Then they pull out the figures of the CPI, which is short for Consumer Price Index, to prove to us all that we don't have a clue what we are talking about.
Not that any of these Congress persons can be bothered to actually go to a grocery store and stand in line behind someone in the Express Lane with 74 items....they have
But I digress....
Our politicians tell us that Inflation is not bad or it barely exists at all.
And this ladies and gentlemen is why I know that the people who run our government is full of Horseshit!
Yes, I said Horseshit.
While the current administration is tinkering with the Unemployment Rate numbers(They find a whole pile of jobs that were never counted right after a disastrous debate performance and the Unemployment Numbers go down? Gee is that not mighty suspicious?!), the fine folks in The Labor Statistics Dept. are cooking the books of the CPI.
The CPI, or Consumer Price Index, is used to measure inflation by tracking the prices of goods and services month to month. The reported differences from month to month are what give them the Inflation rate that the talking anchor heads screeched about on TV.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, who are responsible for measuring the CPI, uses "a representative basket of goods and services" to chart what we pay to live our lives. When those same goods cost more the following month, the inflation rate goes up, cost less and it goes down. Pretty simple and straightforward, right?
Well no....not when put into the hands of governmental agencies!
If you go to the CPI site you will see that the government tracks this CPI using different items in that "market basket".
There is the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), and the CPI for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
The only difference really that I can see between the CPI-W and the CPI-U is that if one looks much worse than the other, the government can use the better one to make it's case that they are doing a splendid job with the economy.
How convenient, right?
The CPI also affects many cash flow mechanisms....meaning that if you are on a Govt. entitlement program, have a job, have insurance, etc., the numbers of the CPI affect what you pay or are paid for your work, your pension, your program payout, etc.
Then there is the Core-CPI.
This is the Holy Grail of CPIs.
The BIG ONE that our leaders use to tell how our economy is faring.
And how do I know that using this Core-CPI is horseshit?
Because the Consumer Price Index the government quotes, passes along to all news outlets and uses to generate the numbers for the inflation rate in our country omits FOOD and ENERGY.
Go google it and see for yourself....I'll wait for you.
Has that tidbit sunk in yet?
They DON'T COUNT what we pay for Food and Energy in the Inflation Rate.
Now tell me......what are 2 of the largest expenditures your average American citizen pays out for every month besides a mortgage or a rent payment?
Food--we all have to eat!
Energy--even IF you don't have to gas up a car to get to work, you have to have heating/cooling/lights in your home.
And they don't include these 2 things because of their volatility. Prices can swing greatly due to drought for food products and OPEC issues for gas.
Yes, those categories may make the CPI swing widely some months but by excluding them the government gives a very disingenuous picture of what is really going on out in America beyond the Beltway. It helps whomever is currently in power in DC stay there, but it's doing nothing but harm to the great masses of us average citizens out here in America.
Let me ask you dear readers.....
If you tried to buy every food/HBA item you bought last month, would your total bill be less?....the same?...or more?
If you had to buy the same number of gallons of gas for your car this month as you did last month, would that bill at the fuel pump be less?....how about the same? No?....how much more?
Have any of your utility bills(electric/gas/cable/phone)gone up recently? And was there an explanation of why the sudden increase?
Is what it costs you to live your live day-to-day the same or less than it was last month?
The People in Control of your destiny don't give a crap about you and your well being.
This goes across all political party lines folks.
It's not the Rep or Dems oppressing you.
It's those in power of BOTH stripes!
It's the great masses in American against the Ones in Power in Washington D.C. and in the Corporate Boardrooms who are in bed with the Politicians.
It's the 1%.......They are not us.
WE are NOT even on their radar except during election time!
Add in the empty headed Celebrities who are clueless that they are pawns in this game of chess.....they are so eager to be associated with politicians and the politicians are just as eager to take the stacks of cash they offer up on the Altar of Political Power.
So the next time they start talking about the CPI on TV, feel free to ignore everything else that person says.
Because they are talking horseshit and YOU are NOT a horse's ass.
Sluggy
