LIES, LIES AND OMG, MORE LIES

It’s that time of year again. It’s open enrollment for health plans at my employer. They are biggest employer in Philly and have the most leverage possible with the insurance companies. They have such good leverage that my premiums are going up “only” 9.8% this year for a basic HMO plan. Based on what I hear from others, I should be thankful for just a 9.8% increase.

This isn’t a new development. Since I’ve been tracking all my expenditures using Quicken since 1991, I know exactly what my annual health insurance costs have been every year. Obamacare was passed in 2009 and began to be implemented in 2010. Obama declared that families could expect $2,500 of savings per year. I know for a fact my annual medical expenses were $2,000 higher in 2015 than they were in 2010.

The lies of the government and their minions at the BLS are revealed to anyone who cares to open their eyes. The BLS reported inflation rates for health insurance since 2010 is beyond laughable. They must have triple seasonally adjusted, massaged, and tweaked these figures to arrive at the absurdly false inflation figures they are feeding to the sheeple. These are the reported inflation figures for health insurance since 2010:

2010 – (4.0%)

2011 – 5.6%

2012 – 10.6%

2013 – 0.9%

2014 – (0.8%)

2015 – 3.7%

According to the BLS, and built into their CPI calculation, your health insurance premiums have gone up by about 16% over the last six years. Now for the smell test. I have worked for a large employer with excellent healthcare benefits over that entire time span. My health insurance premiums have risen by 65% since Obamacare was passed. And that doesn’t capture the whole picture.

I had no deductible in 2010. I now have an individual deductible of $1,200 and a family deductible of $2,400. My co-pay back in 2010 was $15. Today it is $25. So my out of pocket expenses have risen too. I estimate I can add another 15% of increase due to these changes. Therefore, I’ve experienced 80% inflation in my health insurance expenses versus the BLS lie of 16%.

In case you weren’t paying attention, the BEA reported the latest GDP lie yesterday. According to these government drones, the economy grew by a whopping 0.5% in the first quarter. As you may or may not know, this figure is adjusted for inflation. Our beloved BLS propagandists assure us that inflation has been running at a microscopic 0.9% over the last twelve months. Does anyone who is not a halfwit or Ivy League educated economist actually believe that tripe?

As most people know, 67% of GDP is based upon consumer spending in our debt financed land of plenty. It seems the more you have to pay due to Obamacare, the higher GDP goes. The more you pay for rent the higher GDP goes. The more you pay for gas, heat, and food, the higher GDP goes. Isn’t government accounting grand? The government systematically under-reports your true inflation, while pushing the monetary and fiscal policies which drive your actual living expenses ever higher, and then tells you the economy has never been better. They love the Big Lie.

The utter falsehood of the BLS presented inflation statistics is clearly apparent in the comparison between what is happening in the real world of housing versus their excel spreadsheet models. The BLS declares rents are rising at a 3.2% annual rate. In the real world they are rising at an 8% annual rate. There appears to be a slight discrepancy. Do you think the market is lying or the government? The average monthly rent is now $870, an all-time high – up 24% since 2012. The BLS says rents are only up 10.8% since 2012. Do you believe your landlord or the BLS?

The ridiculously conceived owners equivalent rent is supposed to capture home price inflation. This BLS rigged black box also accounts for the largest single weighting in the CPI calculation. Nothing like a made up number to give the BLS the most ability to manipulate the truth. The Case Shiller home price index, based upon real prices in real markets shows that home prices are up 22.7% since 2012 due to the Federal Reserve/Wall Street scheme/scam. You have the government/establishment artificially jacking up home prices to fix the Wall Street balance sheets and then you have the government drones falsifying inflation data to show home prices only going up by 10% since 2012.

You have the government agency tasked with reporting accurate inflation data under-reporting rent and home price inflation by over 100%. Not exactly a rounding error. And the list goes on. In the real world of gas prices, we’ve seen a 30% increase in the price to fill up our vehicles since February. According to our fantasy loving friends at the BLS, gas prices have fallen by 10.8% over this time frame. Could they be a bigger joke?

Actually, yes they can. They are reporting natural gas prices falling 0.8% in the last month, when in the real world natural gas prices have skyrocketed by over 13%.

NATURAL GAS

Aren’t you glad none of your clothes are made of cotton?

COTTON

According to the Bureau of Lies & Scams food prices have not risen one penny in the last three months. Over the last year they report a barely evident 0.8% increase in food prices. I find that quite amusing, as I do the regular grocery shopping in our house and I do not see flat food prices. Even with cutting out overpriced beef, my weekly grocery bill is at least 5% higher than last year. The real world prices of some major food items below, blows a hole in the fake data being presented by the BLS.

CORN

SOYBEANS

COCOA

SUGAR

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but food, housing, gasoline, utilities, and healthcare make up a huge portion of my budget. And those prices are rising at a 5% to 10% clip on an annual basis today. Janet Yellen is worried about deflation and is keeping interest rates near 0%. Is she lying or is she really that stupid and disconnected from the real world? I’d suggest we follow George Carlin’s advice.

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Rise Up

Hugh says: I love stories like this. Unfortunately they don’t follow through completely – like WHO at the BLS are lying to us? Names, links to bios and photos. Who are these bureaucrats who are lying?
———————–
Don’t know where to find individual gov employee names who “work” at the BLS, but if you do, here is where you can see what they are paid:

http://www.fedsdatacenter.com/federal-pay-rates/

Rise Up

General says: Can we at least use proper terms?
Inflation is not an increase in prices. Inflation is an increase in the money supply.
——————–
Seems like you are 1/2 right, General:

inflation

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
Economics. a persistent, substantial rise [increase] in the general level of prices related to an increase in the volume of money and resulting in the loss of value of currency (opposed to deflation ).

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/inflation?s=t

Rise Up

re: McDonalds’

I remember the first time I ate a cheeseburger at Mickey D’s (and it was in 1963) and how it tasted. It was GOOD. Now they taste like cardboard between to pieces of sawdust bread.

Rise Up

to-=two

JD
JD

Admin

Not that I don’t agree that the BLS numbers are bullshit, I just am having a hard timing following your arithmetic in regards to gasoline prices. When you quote an increase of 30%, what time frame are you using? The 1/30 to 4/30 GasBuddy data? If so, then yes, from a low of 1.69 to a high of 2.23 is 31.95%. Using the link from Jargon, the BLS has yet to release a gasoline price for April… so how can we compare apples to apples? I am also confused on your 2 month change numbers.

“I referenced the two month change – February and March. February – NEGATIVE 13.0% March – Positive 2.2% change. That’s a NEGATIVE 10.8% two month change big guy.”

Negative 13% in FEB from what dates using what data set? March increase of 2.2%, once again what data are you referencing? Not that I doubt you, just can’t see what you are talking about.

JD
JD

Thanks for the link, that was all I needed. Yip, total BS. To quote the late George Carlin.

“It’s all bullshit and it’s bad for you!”

Keep up the good work!

Richard
Richard

and back when that picture was taken, McDonald’s used real meat and much higher quality ingredients. Today’s Big Mac is not the same as a Big Mac in the 1980s or earlier…

Nonanon
Nonanon

Admin, being the bully, again. What is the answer? Know thy enemy, and it’s not us, it’s satan.
You can add images to your comment by clicking here.

davidnrobyn

@Vegas Bob–those weren’t specials–I remember the first Mickey D’s-type restaurant opening in my hometown in 1962. Hamburgers 15 cents, fries a dime. Normal prices. Created a sensation among my 7th-grade set.
Also–feel free to blow this off if you want, but just trying to be helpful: Try a “whole foods, plant-based diet” for a few weeks. In many people’s experience, blood pressure is the first thing to normalize. Most people won’t even consider it, but in my experience and that of many others it’s very helpful.
Anecdote: We tried it with my father-in-law after he had bypass surgery. In three weeks his blood pressure was normalized, he was off most of his meds, and had lost 7 pounds. He refused to continue the diet, though. Why? He “didn’t believe in it”. Since then he’s been searching for a high-fat alternative that’ll have the same results. Oh well. He’s a nice guy.

davidnrobyn

Totally agree re escalation of healthcare costs and the BS of Obamacare. Three years ago I went into the hospital for tests–I had probably contracted TB overseas but they wanted to be sure. Two days in the hospital–$45k. No therapy, just tests.

Since I was uninsured, I negotiated with the hospital and most of the providers for a 70% reduction. Pretty good, eh? But I knew that the major insurers negotiate around an 85% reduction. So I was paying double what they were. And the hospital called their charge reduction to me “Charity” on the statement! I’ll bet they didn’t call it that with the insurers! I didn’t say anything though. No point. I just smiled and said “Thank you”. Then I went and sold an income property at a loss to pay the bill.

BTW–I’m old enough to remember when hospital beds were $100 a day. Now they’re $5-10k a day. Inflation isn’t bad if you don’t count all the non-essentials like food, fuel, education, health care, and housing.

wahrbear
wahrbear

“ShadowStats” came to exist because politicians have so corrupted CPI and other major economic measurements that cost and risk analysis models are utterly broken by them. The real numbers must be provided by independent companies using the equations that were in use in the early 80’s.

Relevant: http://www.shadowstats.com/article/no-438-public-comment-on-inflation-measurement

Dan
Dan

Yes, there is a great deal of real-world inflation going on in a number of commodities/services, and most of it is fueled by bureaucratic regulations, government interference, and the health care debacle. It’s amazing to watch the sheep just go along with these stats that are TOTAL lies, such as inflation, unemployment, etc….. kind of makes you wonder what kind of evil people will actually put up with or accept, if they are willing to believe such transparent lies….

The other really scary thing is how oil and grain prices have NOT been going up, b/c those particular markets are flooded with excess supply right now, but if/when those supply-demand ratios get back in order, the prices on them are going to skyrocket, so watch out.

Single-payer is the end-game the govt wants…. these insane increases are by design, imo. Just like the BS our vets have to put up with in their single-payer system, it will be a nightmare…. the bureaucracy will OWN you, and decide who lives and who dies!

overthecliff

John Williams of Shadowstats publishes some good stuff. A lot of it verifiable by regular people who have their eyes open. Nobody on MSM ever mentions what he publishes and what most of us know as fact.

I remember when those Macdonalds prices were real. You could buy a new car then for $18,00.00 then. Now they cost minimum 10X that. Tires $100.00 per set now $1,000.00.

Ghost

I was considering “selling” a few cans of dried apples canned at the OKC Mormon “Bishop’s Kitchen” a few years ago when our group of preppers were regulars there at the facility. The last year I was in Oklahoma, the Feds decided that their having groups in to can was unsafe, so the Mormons could only sell their dried goods already packaged.

I looked up the price of the apples… $11.25 a can.

The price I paid for the last batch we canned in 2011…$4.65 a can.

I sold pint jars of my APIJ (Apple Pie in Jar) for $5 at the farmer’s market I visited with my Mennonite friend. I think I need to raise the price.

Rise Up

overthecliff says: I remember when those Macdonalds prices were real. You could buy a new car then for $18,00.00 then. Now they cost minimum 10X that.
——————————–
$18,000???? Try $4,257 for a 1963 Corvette.

The name Corvette, wîth the extended name ‘Corvette Sting Ray’, would prove widely popular. Base price for the coupe was $4,257.00 while the convertible ran $4,037.00. The 1963 model year would produce 10,594 coupes and 10,919 convertibles.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z221/chevrolet-corvette.aspx

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Peaknic
Peaknic

While I think single-payer will result in the total destruction of our medical system, I have been saying for years that all healthcare needs to have the unlimited profit motive removed. Regulate a fixed return that is allowable (like utilities) and leave it to be managed by private companies. If you build in incentives for actual CURES, we might get back to “healthcare” versus the current “sickcare”.

geo3
geo3

Life was easier centuries past when at age 40 we failed to return from the hunt after being besieged by wolves.

Now a different predator stalks us, consuming us at a slower and more painful pace.

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