There has been growing angst in the Country. People are worried about falling housing values and are having to deal with dramatically higher food and fuel costs. That the government measures inflation without perhaps the two most vital elements—food and energy— is not only non-sensical but given the current state of affairs, dangerous.
People are getting mad. Perhaps there are times when citizens accept, even like, being lied to by government; now is not one of them. So when during a time when gas prices have surpassed the $4 level for a great deal of Americans, the Bureau of Labor’s Consumer Price Index report for April showing that the cost of energy has dropped based on seasonal adjustments could be the last straw. That is right lower energy cost this April according to the CPI.
For government to deny what is so painfully clear to so many Americans is a danger and based on a perusal of comments on a story about today’s report on a popular newswire, the government’s specious reporting is getting tired. One commentor simply stated, "cooked again."
The seasonal adjusted CPI numbers showed a 0.2% increase, 0.1% excluding food and energy. Without those adjustments it was up 0.7. The cost of food rose 0.9% including seasonal adjustments, which was the largest monthly increase in 18 years.
The use of the “core” numbers allows the government to pay lower social security and other benefits tied to the number. A recent story by Stan Field in Futures addresses this. Futures in our July issue will interview economist John Williams who has attempted to present many of the government reports on his Website in their original iterations without the changes that have allowed the government to present happier numbers over the years. While Mr. Williams does a nice job, it would be nice if his servous was not needed.