I do believe the US government has lost all credibility as of today. Not that they had much anyway, but now it's just laughable.
Inflation pressures eased a bit in April despite the biggest jump in food prices in 18 years.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent last month, compared to a 0.3 percent rise in March.
The unchanged reading for energy reflected a big 4.8 percent jump in natural gas prices, offset by a 2 percent decline in gasoline costs.
The reported drop in gasoline prices reflected the government's accounting process, which discounts expected seasonal price changes.
May 14, 2008
Just wondering.. Does anyone seriously believe the hilarious US government inflation report out today - which showed nearly 0% inflation?
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The inflation report has really nothing to do with inflation. It's more a gauge for the smart investor on how the FED will be conducting itself in the short to mid-term.
0.2% means they're in the "comfort zone" and feel free to do anything they like within +-25 points.
Actual inflation is the change in the ratio of money divided by goods and services. That measure stands somewhere around 10% yoy.
0%???
Wait a second...
In January 2008 it Cost $36.00 to fill my tank.
Yesterday it cost $76.00.
If there is 0% inflation I am going back and getting a refund for the difference because the Gubment says there is no inflation.
decline in gasoline costs? prices are rising daily. it's going to be like zimbabwe if they don't cut the crap out
Of course. I believe everything my government tells me! After all they are here to help and they are only looking out for my best interest.
Excuse me. I need to go puke now...
Of course. I believe everything my government tells me! After all they are here to help and they are only looking out for my best interest.
Excuse me. I need to go puke now...
Nope, I don't believe that 0% number a bit. How could that possibly be?! Inflation must be at lease 5% a year. Our purchasing power has gone down the tubes.
The thing is inflation is such an abstract concept, few people understand or care about it. Good luck trying to get people upset about this and getting some real changes made.
As long as you don't eat or buy fuel you will be just fine.
RE: Does anyone seriously believe the hilarious US government inflation report out today - which showed nearly 0% inflation?
Anyone can plainly see that this report is total BULLSH!T.
The cost of housing index uses equivalent rent, rather than the actual costs involved.
Health care, food and energy prices are left out of the equation.
When the numbers are crunched in this manner, any desired figure may be manufactured.
The US government has chosen to use a figure of less than 1% so that there will be no need to add a cost of living increases to government entitlements.
V.L.
An inflation rate of +0.2% per month would work out to be +2.4% per year. An inflation rate of +2.4% per year is considered normal, and is what most countries strive for.
But I don't believe their (or my Canadian government's) numbers anyway.
The suckers on Wall Street believe it. Look at that fool's rally fly!
Maybe I'm just crazy when I hear friends and family saying that they're selling their trucks and SUVs to buy hybrids or downsized cars or when they say they're spending over $1000 per month on gas when they never mentioned any of this only a month ago.
I guess the government is right and I'm just crazy. The government is sooo good to us. They would never lie because they are the government. Terrorists are everywhere and want to kill us for our freedoms and the government is protecting us. The government just wants to borrow our freedoms with the Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act etc... to make us safer. They'll give them back one day when all the terrorists have been thrown in Guantanamo and tortured.
The government is our friend.
They love us.
The truth hurts....
Lie to me ....LIE TO ME!!!
Signed: Wall Street
I do! But, I make tons of money runing MY OWN business in Newport Beach -- the most expensive place in the universe.
Just wait until they start doing reverse cost of living increases.
After all if the CPI is 'negative' then I guess that means they can start cutting S.S. payments right?
And never mind the $8/gal gas.
It is sad that people believe the numbers being reported. The stock market is way up on this news. I think people have disassiciated themselves with the ability to see in front of them and make their own decisions. I would not for a second believe that inflation was running anything under ~%10 now as i see everything I do become much more expensive. To all that believe the market has a reason to to up today should be ready to loose their $$ in the future- you deserve it :)
>> The reported drop in gasoline prices reflected the government's accounting process, which discounts expected seasonal price changes.
Any reports coming from the US Gov need to be discounted entirely.
Funny how seasonally adjusted annual reporting never RAISES inflation.
I started laughing when I read the comment about lower gasoline prices offsetting higher natural gas prices.
Let's see, gas was $3.00/gallon in early April, and it was maybe 3.50 at the end of April?
I had heard the seasonal adjustment in employment figures is now a lot bigger than it was last year. Anyone know if this is also true for CPI figures, or if the downward seasonal adjustment in the spring is offset by an upward adjustment in the fall?
It wouldn't surprise me anymore if they only adjust downward!
Benign inflation report boosts Wall St
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/
I just don't believe it.
There may be some other reason that the stock market went up today but no one believes these inflation numbers.
Maybe some folks believe OTHER people will believe these numbers. Is that it?
Good grief.
Anyone who's bought a can of Campbell's Soup lately knows damn well we are in an inflationary period.
Period.
I'M DOING JUST FINE AND GETTING OFF CHEAP BY USING ORANGE POWER...
WHAT'S ORANGE POWER, YOU MIGHT ASK???
ORANGE POWER IS WHERE YOU STOP PAYING COUNTRYWIDE YOUR HOUSE PAYMENT AND INSTEAD USE THE MONEY TO BUY GAS FOR NINE MONTHS...
DOPES!!!
Up is down, down is up.
Freedom is slavery.
Now go buy something with your stimulus check, you cattle.
This is from MSNBC regarding today’s inflation report:
“The unchanged reading for energy reflected a big 4.8 percent jump in natural gas prices, offset by a 2 percent decline in gasoline costs.
The reported drop in gasoline prices reflected the government’s accounting process, which discounts expected seasonal price changes.
Since gasoline prices normally rise significantly in April, the 5.6 percent rise in prices for the month turned into a 2 percent drop after the government adjusted for normal seasonal changes.”
Just what are they talking about? This is almost beyond the realm of sanity and reason. How much worse can accounting become? They all should be fired immediately and whatever department does this bogus accounting be shut down.
Yeah, I believe the number if people don't eat and fill up their car (cuz those prices are just TOO volatile), sure i'd say inflation is about that amount. Also, they only calculate housing prices inflation using rent equivalent...that makes total sense...
What f'in idiots!!! and Wall Street starts a rally on this crap data.
less trust = poor economy
How many phds and bureaucrats does it take to find that inflation rose 0%?
The US inflation report should now be called:
The We Can't Pay For Our Social Security Promises If We Publish A Real Inflation Number Report
This inflation report sets up the possibility for another rate cut. Maybe that is what wall street is seeing also.
And those safe hedges such as TIPS will be trailing actual inflation even more.
The stock buyers and day traders believe the Gov't. If you don't believe me, just look at gas prices!
Oops stocks HAHA
Presumably all the Republicrat supporters believe it - why else would they keep voting for the same thing?
Not the thread-jack, but the losses reported by Freddi Mac offer another fool's paradise.
Freddi reported a loss of just $151M, which was far below analysts estimates of $2.19B. How to account for the discrepancy? Mark to myth:
"Accounting rule changes had a ``significant positive effect,'' Freddie Mac said. One change, called FAS 157, which allows companies to estimate a value on holdings that aren't traded, reduced some credit losses by $1.3 billion, Freddie Mac said. Another, FAS 159, lets companies pick and choose which financial assets and liabilities to measure at fair value on a recurring basis, added $1 billion to retained earnings."
Read the Bloomberg article here:
http://tinyurl.com/4nj3da
I think I'm paraphrasing Churchill:
You've done so much, for so long, with so little, that soon you'll be able to do everything, with nothing, forever.
Surprise surprise, but hey, you idiots know better while you sip $8 lattes. Don't forget to send money to Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, too, sheeple:
NYT -- Aid Groups Say Myanmar Food Stolen by Military
YANGON, Myanmar — The directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid arriving into the country for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was being stolen, diverted or warehoused by the country’s army.
http://tinyurl.com/5hjkte
Now THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT; watching this train wreck of a cuntry.
We're not emphasizing the "blame the worker" strategy enough though:
If only you weren't such losers, you'd make enough to pay the high prices.
Please do not inquire as to why they are so high.
Thank You,
Big Gummint
Tax rebates headed for the pump, grocer: survey
It does make me feel silly for living within my means. With prices going thru the roof, nothing changes for me...except my savings is worth less every day. What a country.
Santeli on CNBC today said this inflation report was the government flat out cooking the books. Too drive the point home, all the bond traders around him put on chef hats while trading.
He really drove the point home with, "What the hell was the Bear Stearns collpase? A mirage?"
But don't worry everyone, your 200 to 600 dollar check is in the mail. Get out there and buy a flat screen tv!
I find it comical that we even accept inflation as a normal consequence.
May 14, 2008 6:31 PM: There is nothing abstract about inflation. A simple definition. How much more I have to pay now for the things I customarily buy now than a year ago. That of course means that each individual has their own inflation rate depending on what they spend their money on. This also means that the government can manipulate the number to the extreme because many people just don't understand this simple fact. Just go look at your own finances. They will tell you what your inflation rate is.
I find it ironic that we chastise the Iraqis, the Iranians, and the citizenry of the former Soviet Union and/or Nazi Germany for not standing up or doing anything when government abuses raised there ugly heads, yet we do nothing while it insidiously multiplies on our watch. In a few years, many will wonder why was it that we did nothing.
"Now go buy something with your stimulus check, you cattle."
I did not get a stimulus check because I apparently make too much money, yet I cannot afford a home.
Only the morons who watch Faux News believe this crap of 1% inflation.
The gas prices dropped 2.0%. To be exact they dropped from 331.0 cents/gallon on 3/24/08 to 365.3 cents/gallon on 4/28/08. Now that's quite a remarkable drop if I might say so myself. What is so amazing about this drop is that prices actually went up 10.4%. That's absolutely fascinating, I've never seen a drop quite like it.
For details see the EIA:
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mg_tt_usw.htm
Just lies; all lies.
From Reuters:
"Benign inflation and strong results lift Wall St."
Near as I can tell the earnings missed anylists estimates and provided pretty negative guidance.
http://tinyurl.com/4en2aj
Just another bad news twisted to good news, rally
Keith you should do a post on CEDE.
http://www.commentamerica.com/
Mr. Volcker laid part of the blame for the current crisis at the feet of banking regulators, including the Fed. "Why were [the banks] permitted to set up those off-balance-sheet entities that may or may not have had some formal relationship with the bank? They were not regulated and [banks] didn't hold an adequate amount of capital against them. Why did that happen after the experience of Enron?"
**************
Why? PLEASE THINK!!!!!!!!!!
His name starts with a G!
The saddest part of the inflation number is a lack of action from AARP. They should be running national commercials to call your congressmen to investigate the CPI. Congressman don't seem to give a flying dolphin about the world, but they get upset when people want to meet with them or won't stop calling their aides. At the least AARP should publish a number for seniors called the AARP cost of living to challenge the federal goverment. It would have far more credibility in my book and would definitely be nonpartisan since the BLS is nonpartisan. AARP's index would just be there to enhance the quality of life as we age...
This is all part of a last ditch effort to inflate the stock prices before the financial collapse.
Well, since the dollar has crashed to 60% of what it was worth in 2000 the stock market is actually around 7500 in volume in 2000 dollars....NOT the near 13000 volume in 2008 dollars.
It is no coincidence that BLS has the same letters as in the word BULLSHIT, is it?
So if housing, health care and food costs are not included in that amazing inflation index the BLS (a.k.a BuLlSh!t) reports what is there left to show inflation?
0% inflation? I guess people must learn to leave out of thin air!
Prices stick in my mind.
Costco had held the price of 5# of shredded cheddar cheese at $10.99 for a long time. Today it was $12.39. Gas went up 10 cents in one day. I was gonna fill up my freezer with cheese but didn't. I pre-bought other stuff and it's all up, some of it WAY up. I feel like parking the car, crawling in a hole, and eating beans and rice. I don't even want to go shopping anymore.
You all scream about gas prices. Yeah gas prices have increased a lot. And everyone can come up with one example of a sudden surge in prices for 1 item. But how much of your total expenses is made up by gas and that 1 item?
In any given month I spend about $5000 to live. Of that $2200 is rent. That's gone up 0% in the past year. And I suspect it will go up 0% this year as well. Of the other $2800, about $600 is gas and food. That was probably $400 a year ago. Big jump there, no argument. Utilities cost $300 average ($400 summer, $200 winter). That was maybe $450 a year ago. The rest is more or less the same. Clothes cost the same. Dry cleaning is the same.
So OK as a % gas and utilities have shot up. But at the end of the day, what costs me $5000 now cost me $4750 a year ago. So that works to about 5% a year inflation.
But it's not really 5% it's less. My cell phone costs me $99 a month today. It was $99 last year. But now I get more minutes, so the price is actually cheaper. And that goes for pretty much any tech product or service. Same price, better/faster service for the same dollar spent.
I'm not saying this to defend the government or anything. I'm as skeptical as anyone when it comes to believing what it says. However in this instance, the official number isn't that far off from what I'm experiencing myself.
So many people are obsessed with gas prices and relate it to overall inflation.
Not everything is going up in price. Houses are coming down. The hamburger I bought the other day was actually $1.00/lb. cheaper than a year ago. My cable internet has gone down over the last year. My home and auto insurance is cheaper. Electronics go down on an annual basis and have for a long time. My health costs are slightly higher, milk is higher, some groceries are higher. They equal out.
Of course, to see the full balance you need to actually pay some bills , support yourself, and track your expenses. Get cracking, HPers! It's time to put down the beer, put away the bong, contribute to society and expand your horizons. You have no idea how you're embarrassing yourselves.
Mr. Hamburger said....
"The hamburger I bought the other day was actually $1.00/lb. cheaper than a year ago."
Your purchasing power is being eroded. If it weren't for inflation you hamburger would be another $.50 cheaper. But you'd rather spend that money elsewhere. What better place then to bail homedebtors and banking cronies out of debt?
"Of course, to see the full balance you need to actually pay some bills , support yourself, and track your expenses. Get cracking, HPers! It's time to put down the beer, put away the bong, contribute to society and expand your horizons. You have no idea how you're embarrassing yourselves."
Hey Troll, don't come out from under that bridge! It will be raining crap soon and you don't need anymore.
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