The Inflation Rate Is A Lie Too

Can we believe any of the economic numbers that the government is feeding us these days?  Most of the focus recently has been on the bizarre jobs report that the government released last Friday, but the truth is that the inflation rate is a lie too.   In fact, the way that the government calculates inflation has changed more than 20 times since 1978.   The government is constantly looking for ways that it can make inflation appear to be even lower.  According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if inflation was measured the same way that it was back in 1990, the inflation rate would be about 5 percent right now.  If inflation was measured the same way that it was back in 1980, the inflation rate would be about 9 percent right now.  But instead, we are expected to believe that the inflation rate is hovering around 2 percent.  Well, anyone that goes to the supermarket or fills up their vehicle with gasoline knows that prices are going up a lot faster than that.  Just about everything that we buy on a regular basis is steadily becoming more expensive, and so most Americans are not buying it when government officials tell us that there is barely any inflation right now. (Read More...)

Worst Freeze In 60 Years Wipes Out Entire Crops Across The Southwestern U.S. And Northern Mexico

Get ready to pay a lot more for produce at the supermarket.  In early February the worst freeze in 60 years wiped out entire crops all across the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.  Already, it has been reported that some U.S. supermarkets have doubled or even tripled prices for certain produce items.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The price of certain vegetables is actually doubling or even tripling in many U.S. supermarkets.  The really bizarre weather that we have been seeing all over the globe this winter is really playing havoc with food prices.  The global price of food hit an all-time record during the month of January, and most observers expect food prices to continue to soar.  Even before this recent horrible freeze in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, global food prices were pushed higher by unprecedented flooding in Australia and Brazil, and key agricultural areas of China are now experiencing their worst drought in 200 years.  Things are getting really crazy out there.  Produce prices in the U.S. are eventually expected to return back to normal levels, but this just shows how dramatically food prices can change when a major disaster happens. (Read More...)