tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3247350212550914879.post1811201865740045952..comments2024-03-04T15:59:34.907-07:00Comments on Frankenstein Government: A Nation Full of Suckers- The Sunday CollageBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009623520148094685noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3247350212550914879.post-7456418605394422422015-08-10T13:27:32.035-06:002015-08-10T13:27:32.035-06:00I understand your basic premise. You believe that ...I understand your basic premise. You believe that the public would notice this outrageous distortion of the truth and what exactly will they do.<br /><br />Nothing. People have a grand history of doing precisely nothing.<br /><br />The premise is flawed because even though I am certain real inflation runs 9%- not once in my life have the public (a) demanded the truthful collection and reporting of data (b) have they been able to do anything about it. <br /><br />The truth then is the public simply doesn't give a shit. They could report 0% inflation for the next five years and nobody would care.<br /><br />This year v 2011.<br /><br />Gas tax has gone up 7 cents a gal or about 35 dollars a year.<br />The assessed value on my house has risen 400 a year.<br />The cost to register my vehicles has doubled and added 100 bucks a year.<br />My tax rates both Fed and state have gone up 1500 bucks to include my new Obamacare penalty.<br />Hamburger has gone up 45% since 2003, that probably costs me 100 a year.http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/price-ground-beef-hits-all-time-high <br />Car and home insurance has gone up about 400 a year.<br />Gas and electricity rates are up and cost me 100 bucks more a year.<br />My water costs have tripled and added another 200 a year. So has sewer and trash. 200<br /><br />So just those things cost me an additional 3100 a year each yr. That is huge and probably right in line (with the things I am missing) at the 7-9% listed in the Chapwood Index. Btw, from 2007 through 2014, my retirement fund gave me a 1% cola each year.<br /><br />So people don't care and they feel powerless to stop it anyway. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.<br /><br />Brian<br /><br /><br />Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11009623520148094685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3247350212550914879.post-36053298975609416602015-08-10T06:54:35.622-06:002015-08-10T06:54:35.622-06:00I'm posting this because I'm seeing a lot ...I'm posting this because I'm seeing a lot of comments (re Chapwood) around inflation statistics (shadowstats is another) that really don't make much sense if you understand exponential growth. The government can distort stats in the short term, and play games with how they report them (initial reports are good, follow-up corrections less so) to create an impression in the public's mind, but you can't do this systematically over the long-haul before the numbers become so disconnected from reality that no one will believe them.<br /><br />I usually pick on Shadowstats, since their methodology goes back 20+ years and it is more obvious, but people should understand that what it really means to say something like "Inflation is really running at 9%, not the 2% the government says". A difference of 7% cannot be sustained over more than a year or two. 7% growth means a doubling every 10 years (or in the context of inflation, a halving of purchasing power every 10 years). This kind of disconnect from reality cannot be hidden - halving most people's true purchasing power would throw them into absolute poverty, and as weak as the economy has been over the last 10 years it hasn't been that bad.<br /><br />Human beings are by nature more sensitive to losses than gains. This is difference in perception colors people's sense of inflation. You are much more likely to note increases in prices than decreases (and prices do come down). People notice reductions in quality more than improvements. So it is natural to think things are worse than they are. The government has incentives that probably bias the inflation stats low, but this is going to be on the order of 1%/year at most.<br /><br />The other article linked describes what you should really worry about. No one can sense the difference between 2% and 3% GDP growth in a quarter or a year. If you can avoid drawing any attention to the process, reporting 3% initially and then quietly revising down to 2% a year later can go on for a long time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3247350212550914879.post-47170121714867624922015-08-09T19:01:35.565-06:002015-08-09T19:01:35.565-06:00Ya know I've been hearing a lot of good things...Ya know I've been hearing a lot of good things about Midland-Odessa. Texas in general actually- like the new gold depository.<br /><br />A glass artist? What a great gig. God what I wouldn't give to learn something like that.<br /><br />Thanks for swinging by, loved your observations.<br /><br />BrianBrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11009623520148094685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3247350212550914879.post-5384854171635576292015-08-09T14:43:32.447-06:002015-08-09T14:43:32.447-06:00The Chapwood Index, pretty cool info there.
I'...The Chapwood Index, pretty cool info there.<br /><br />I've known for years the rate of inflation that the government reported was bullshit. Items like tuna, eggs and flour have in some cases more then doubled in 2 years. My electricity costs in CO doubled in just under 3 years.<br /><br />And if they're bullshitting about something so basic to our lives, ya really think they're stopping there?<br /><br />You mentioned commercial property vacancies. Almost every where I go, I see vacant commercial property. From large shopping centers that have lost some of their anchor tenants to small strip malls that have 1 or 2 or 3 out of 5 or 6 shops vacant to empty buildings in half(or more) deserted downtowns in small towns-like the one I live in w Texas.<br /><br />You know where I see almost feverish commercial activity Brian? In Midland and Odessa Texas-it's why I moved here. My business as a glass artist hasn't been this good in almost 10 years and we're expanding. I'm kinda getting up there but there's more then enough work now, and oil is low, to keep me busy every minute I want-and at an excellent renumeration. When oil goes back up, look out. Something will happen to drive it up-all it would take would be something like one Saudi bombing run into Iran and BOOM.<br /><br />I've been, you might say, foolish with my money in the past and only because it was always so easy for me to bank. Now we're husbanding our money with an open ended exit strategy.<br /><br />We shall see what goes down in the next year but if things don't change, if we don't get off the Drive to Nightmare City, having a Plan B is a necessity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com