The government released their monthly CPI report this week. Even though it came in at an annualized rate of 3.6%, they and their mouthpieces in the corporate mainstream media dutifully downplayed the uptrend. They can’t let the plebs know the truth. That might upend their economic recovery storyline and put a crimp into their artificial free money, zero interest rate, stock market rally. If they were to admit inflation is rising, the Fed would be forced to raise rates. That is unacceptable in our rigged .01% economy. There are banker bonuses, CEO stock options, corporate stock buyback earnings per share goals and captured politician elections at stake.
The corporate MSM immediately shifted the focus to the annual CPI figure of 0.1%. That’s right. Your government keepers expect you to believe the prices you pay to live your everyday life have been essentially flat in the last year. Anyone who lives in the real world, not the BLS Bizarro world of models, seasonal adjustments, hedonic adjustments, and substitution adjustments, knows this is a lie. The original concept of CPI was to measure the true cost of maintaining a constant standard of living. It should reflect your true inflation of out of pocket costs to live a daily existence in this country.
Instead, it has become a manipulated statistic using academic theories as a cover to systematically under-report the true level of inflation. The purpose has been to cut annual cost of living adjustments to Social Security and other government benefits, while over-estimating the true level of GDP. Artificially low inflation figures allow the mega-corporations who control the country to keep wage increases to workers low. Under-reporting the true level of inflation also allows the Federal Reserve to keep their discount rate far lower than it would be in an honest free market. The Wall Street banks, who own and control the Federal Reserve, are free to charge 18% on credit card balances while paying .25% to savers. The manipulation of the CPI benefits the vested interests, impoverishes the masses, and slowly but surely contributes to the destruction of our economic system.
A deep dive into Table 2 from the BLS reveals some truth and uncovers more lies. Their weighting of everyday living expenditures is warped and purposefully misleading. Let’s look at the annual increases in some food items we might consume in the course of a month, living in this empire of lies:
- Ground Beef – 10.1%
- Roast Beef – 11.8%
- Steak – 11.1%
- Eggs – 21.8%
- Chicken – 3.7%
- Coffee – 3.4%
- Sugar – 4.2%
- Candy – 4.6%
- Snacks – 3.5%
- Salt & Seasonings – 5.3%
- Food Away From Home – 3.0%
Despite these documented increases, the BLS says food inflation only ran at 1.8% in the last year. They show large decreases in pork, seafood, dairy, and vegetable prices. I grocery shop every week. I buy milk, fish, and vegetables and the prices have not fallen. The price of pork products has decreased from all-time highs, but is still well above prices from a few years ago. The BLS fraudulently keeps the food price increase lower by assuming you switch from beef to pork when the price of beef soars. That assumption does not lower the price of food. The assumption essentially builds in a lower standard of living for you in their model of the world. The other ridiculous assumption is the weighting for food eaten away from home. Giving this a weighting of 5.8% is outrageous when everyone knows obese Americans are chowing down at Taco Bell and the millions of other purveyors of toxic food sludge multiple times per day.
If you are like me, you probably need to live someplace. Food and shelter are the most basic of needs in a society. But according to the BLS they account for less than 50% of your expenses. Let’s examine some shelter related costs to see how badly the BLS is lying in this area:
- Rent – 3.5%
- Owner’s Equivalent Rent – 3.0%
- Insurance – 3.1%
- Water, Sewer, Trash – 4.7%
- Household Operations – 3.6%
There is so much wrong with the BLS data, I don’t know where to start. The rental market has been on fire since 2012. Builders are erecting apartments at a breakneck pace. Independent, non-captured, neutral real estate organizations show rents surging to all time highs, growing by 5.1% on an annual basis. Real rents in the real world have grown by 14% since 2012. The BLS says they’ve grown by 9%. Who do you believe?
It’s funny how the mysterious owner’s equivalent rent calculation spits out a 3% increase in the last year. National home prices, based on Case Shiller data and NAR data shows prices up between 5% and 10% in the last year and up by 25% since 2012. Mortgage rates have risen to 4% from the low 3% range. Property taxes are soaring across the country as indebted localities rape taxpayers to pay for their gold plated government benefits and pensions. Evidently the BLS just ignores prices, mortgage payments, and real estate taxes when calculating their lies.
The final outrage is the weighting applied by the BLS to the owners equivalent rent. It accounts for 24% of the CPI calculation, virtually the same as it did in 2007. In case you haven’t noticed, the home ownership rate has plunged to 22 year lows since 2007, as millions of foreclosures booted people out of homes and millions of millennials are so loaded with student loan debt and stuck with low paying Obama jobs that home ownership is a distant dream. How can the BLS continue to weight home ownership at the same level when the percentage of rental units has soared?
There is no question the BLS should have dramatically increased the weighting of rental housing. In reality, the large increases in rental rates and the surge of rental households reflects a much higher inflation rate than is being reported by the government. The BLS figure is a blatant lie. The recent report from the Center for Housing Studies reveals the falsity of the government reported propaganda. Over 20.7 million renter households (49.0%) pay more than 30% of their income on housing. More than a quarter of all renter households, or 11.2 million, spend more than 50% of their income on housing. The median US renter household earned $32,700 in 2013 and spent $900 per month on housing costs. Renter housing costs are gross rents, which include contract rents and utilities. If the median renter household spends 33% of their income on housing costs how can the BLS give it only a 7.2% weighting in the CPI calculation?
The Center for Housing Studies report drives a stake into the heart of the manipulated, politically massaged, false data put out by the BLS to keep the masses sedated and their bosses fat, happy and rich:
Over the span of just 10 years, the share of renters aged 25–34 with cost burdens (paying more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing) increased from 40 percent to 46 percent, while the share with severe burdens (paying more than 50 percent of income) rose from 19 percent to 23 percent. During roughly the same period, the share of renters aged 25–34 with student loan debt jumped from 30 percent in 2004 to 41 percent in 2013, with the average amount of debt up 50 percent, to $30,700.
The faux journalists in the dying legacy media act baffled by the continued real decline in retail sales when the answer is staring them right in the face. True inflation in essential living expenses combined with declining real wages and increasing debt burdens has left the average household with little or no money to spend.
The next blatantly manipulated false data is related to healthcare. Let’s peruse some this detailed inflation data:
- Prescription Drugs – 4.8%
- Non-Prescription Drugs – Negative 1.6%
- Medical Equipment – 0.0%
- Medical Care Services – 2.3%
- Hospital Services – 3.5%
- Health Insurance – 0.7%
Anyone living in the real world knows Obamacare has resulted in a tremendous increase in demand for drugs, medical services, and medical equipment. Health insurance companies, drug companies, drug wholesalers, hospital corporations, and drug stores are reporting record profits as their stock prices hit all-time highs. When was the last time you saw prices drop or stay flat in the healthcare arena?
It is patently outrageous for the BLS to report an annual health insurance cost increase of a mere 0.7%. The annual cost of employee sponsored health insurance is 6.3% higher than last year, with the employee portion skyrocketing by 8.0% based on real data in the real world. I work for the largest employer in Philadelphia, with the most negotiating clout against insurers, and my portion has gone up by 10% to 20% annually for the last five years. Everyone working for a company has experienced the same or higher increases.
Even the Obamacare exchanges are seeing double digit premium increases in many states. Studies from Price Waterhouse Coopers and McKinsey found increases in average premiums between 6% and 10% across the country. It takes major cajones for the BLS to report 0.7% health insurance inflation, but their job is not to report factual information. Their job is to keep the ignorant masses ignorant of their plight. The bigger the lie, the more likely it is to be believed. The even more ridiculous aspect to the BLS data is that health insurance is weighted at .75% in the CPI calculation. The median household income in this country is $52,000. Employees are paying approximately $4,000 in health insurance per year on average. That is 7.7% of their income. The BLS weighting is absurd. Using a true inflation rate and true weighting would add at least 2% to the CPI figure.
Another area that impacts every American every day is transportation. People need to drive or take public transportation in order to live their lives. Here are some more crucial inflation data points from the BLS:
- New Cars – 1.2%
- Used Cars – Negative 0.7%
- Gasoline – Negative 23.3%
- Vehicle Leasing – Negative 1.1%
- Vehicle Insurance – 5.1%
- Parking & Tolls – 2.4%
- Public Transportation – Negative 3.2%
So we have near record levels of new auto sales, driven by subprime auto debt and 7 year 0% financing, with average vehicle prices at all-time highs, and the BLS reports prices only went up 1.2% in the last year. Edmunds, the authority in auto data, says prices went up 2.6% in the last year. Do you believe the BLS model or real data from the real world, broken down by automaker and vehicle? The even more ridiculous contention is that used car prices fell. I’ve bought two used cars in the last year and I can attest that prices are not falling. Edmunds reported that used car prices have risen by 7.1% in the last year. Leases as a percentage of total auto sales is also at record levels. Does this really jive with a decrease in leasing expenses? I think not.
There are 254 million passenger vehicles registered in the United States. We have a record level of auto loan debt totaling $1 trillion and a record level of auto leases. According to Edmunds, the average monthly car payment is $479. That is $5,748 per year. That equals 11% of the median household income. Why would the BLS only give this category a 5.7% weighting? Bankrupt states across the country have been jacking up tolls. The BLS says they went up by 2.4%. My beloved state of Pennsylvania has increased them by 10% per year for the last three years. The BLS says the cost of public transportation is plummeting. Has a Amtrak or any municipal public transportation system EVER reduced fares? Not a chance. They need more revenue to fund the government pensions of their union employees.
There are a few other categories that might be of interest to you:
- Banking Fees – 5.9%
- College Tuition – 3.4%
- Childcare – 4.3%
- Sporting Events – 8.8%
- Pet Care – 3.5%
- Cigarettes – 2.5%
- Alcohol Served Away from Home – 4.0%
Isn’t it delightful that your friendly neighborhood Wall Street bank gets free money from the Fed, charges you 18% on your credit card balance, pays you nothing for your deposits, and then jacks up your bank fees? The relentless inflation in college tuition is being driven by the relentless doling out of student loans by the Federal Government to people who aren’t intellectually capable of completing college level material. The $1.4 trillion of student loans will never be repaid. The taxpayer will be on the hook for hundreds of billions in write-offs.
To celebrate the near zero inflation reported by your friendly government drones at the BLS take your family of four to a baseball game, spending $160 for tickets, $25 to park your car, $20 for two warm beers, $10 for two sodas, $24 for four hot dogs, and $10 for an order of cheese fries. Make sure you toast Greenspan, Bernanke, Yellen and the rest of the Federal Reserve governors who have purposefully reduced the purchasing power of your dollar by 96% over the last century.
You know your true level of inflation. You know it’s not 0.1%. You know it’s somewhere between 4% and 10%. You know your government is lying to you. You know the captured corporate media perpetuates the lies. You know those in control of the government must lie to keep their Ponzi scheme going. You know they are just following the Edward Bernays playbook. They want you to believe it’s for your own good. Do you think it’s for your own good?
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” – Edward Bernays – Propaganda – 1928
Brilliant article!!!!
I’m STEAMIN’ MAD.
I was pretty philosophical about life this evening before I read it. Of course I KNEW all this stuff (I am not dead y’know), but the case was so well presented and the pace so relentless, that It’s a good thing I’m out of the U.S. or I’d do a “Mad as Hell and not gonna take it” number and probably get locked up.
I’m still waiting for California to release 2016 individual health insurance rates, while I’m paying $4.39 a gallon for gas in Palm Springs. You’d think the price of oil had gone back up to $125 a barrel given that $4.39 a gallon price, but oil is actually hovering at only $51 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the California Governor and Attorney General just look the other way while the oil companies fuck the living shit out of us. Hell, I need a tube of Preparation H every time I fill up my fucking gas tank, and the price of that stuff hasn’t gone down either.
I may have to move back to Las Vegas, just to afford living expenses. And Las Vegas is a shithole even WORSE than Wildwood, NJ. Trust me on that, Admin.
Anybody who believes any of the lies coming out of the BLS or any other Federal agency is either a moron or a gullible fool.
Couldn’t read it all – I was getting the upchuck feeling.
FYI, the owners equivalent rent is known as the ‘imputed value’.
Very good and detailed; provides a combined explanation of the various CPI elements along with the Gov’t lies.
I can name two of the unseen yet powerful forces doing the devil’s work, bureaucrats and administrative law judges.
Great article, Admin and all oh-so true and correct.
Question is, what do we do about it? Surely it may take more than the Elephant or Donkey because it’s they who exist to perpetuate the fraud and corruption.
@VegasBob
We are paying around $2.45/Gal for gas here in TX……there’s something else going on in CA…..I don’t pretend to know what it is……it’s possible that the gas in CA is at an equilibrium because people continue to buy it at $4.50 without cutting back………….but until people start raising the question, we might never know….BTW, did you hear that Bruc…..katlin Jenner received some kind of made up award from ESPN?
On another note, did you see how cheap Silver is? Good luck buying it at a reasonable amount over spot……….
I drive a diesel in CA. Diesel prices are at 2.85-3.00 a gallon, but gas is off the charts. Way over $4.00. CA gov’t intervention of some sort I am sure.
@BOOSH!
Cali has special blends of gasoline due to air quality rules. So the oil companies concoct phony “shortages” of the special blends and then hike the price, which was about $2.39 here back in February. By March they’d gotten gas up to $3.99 before it fell back to around $3.59 a few weeks ago. If he had balls instead of a pussy, the governor could shove it right back up the oil company CEOs’ assholes by simply suspending Cali’s clean air rules temporarily, instantly ending the phony shortages of special blends of gasoline. Eventually the oil companies would stop trying to fuck Cali motorists with their bullshit.
I heard about the TransJenner’s ESPN award, supposedly for “courage.”
My gay friends are all pissed off at me because I told them that Jenner would have displayed true courage by doing his little “coming out” party back around 1990, when transgenders were not socially acceptable.
To wait decades for social acceptability until one is 65 years old is NOT courage. It’s opportunism.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where virtually everything presented to us is either lies or delusion. I freely admit that I radiate cynicism, but cynicism is just an unpleasant way of telling the truth.
The numbers are rigged, the money is a numerical entry in a computer that is meaningless, as is the debt racked up, I get it. The question is how does all this end? It ends in WAR. The artificial numbers, the artificial currency, and the fictional unserviceable debt all end in death and destruction. The Game Goes on until it doesn’t. World War happens before the U.S. Dollar implodes, war is the next major event in this Fourth Turning. Carry on……….
Jim
Another brilliant article. You’ve been doing this for years. If there’s a better example of someone other than you in the blogger world or elsewhere who fits the definition of “soldier on,” I’m all ears. For those of you who don’t understand the term or what I just said, it’s a very high compliment. Now then, some suggestions.
1) You may wish to distill all these statistics into an indictment of how badly these trends impact the middle and lower classes. Those are the people who are getting blasted. You have said all this before and may wish to summarize
2) Take a look at the impact of the price of energy, your gas and electric bill, and ADD this to the avalanche of increased costs in #1 above that are burying the lower and middle income earners.
3) If you add all the relevant factors on an ANNUAL COST INCREASE BASIS, it is a true shitstorm for the middle and lower classes. Send your analysis to your local, state, and federal politicians. I’m sure the ship of state will be righted within centuries. Heh.
Soldier on, amigo.
Great article, chief. Analysis and explanation is what you do best.
I don’t post much anymore. I’m working everyday either on my job or on my farm. I have had this sense of urgency fall on me. I give us less than ten years before war will visit the Continental United States, most likely a Nuke will hit us. Remember what Einstein said “I don’t know how World War III will be fought, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones. Smart man right there! Normalcy bias will lead you to believe the numbers matter, they God Damn sure don’t mean a thing. One cannot apply standard accounting principles to a corrupt system that can alter or change the balance sheet at will. All the major banks were bankrupt in 2008, the Fed recapitalized the banks with computer entries. The whole fucking banking system is smoke and mirrors. It’s like sitting around and debating how David Copperfield made the Jumbo Jet disappear. Solid Fucking Waste of Time.
Let’s talk about how life will be after WW3. Let’s talk about how we survive when the trucking industry falls in war time. Within one week your local water treatment plant does not get the chemicals and supplies it needs to clean your tap water, you are fucked.
Normalcy bias chokes the hell out of most that post here. They think all this crazy shit will somehow work it self out. Buy some Gold, buy some silver and bloviate about a corrupt system in its death throws and somehow a suburban existence will remain plausible. That’s fucking crazy, that individual will be referred to as a victim in the future. The Fourth Turning means nothing to those that post here. This blog was heavily based on the fourth turning, that’s how I arrived here in the beginning. I’ve read the damn book at least five times. Each fourth turning is worst than the last. What does that mean to you? Let me tell you what that should mean to you. If you live anywhere but in a rural location with a damn good water well which you can hand pump water from and the means to self sustain yourself without modern Conveniences you’re probably fucked. Oh well when you’re at a certain point in life you just lay down and bitch, to tired fight, to old to win, so you pick up your violin and play your best Waltz as the Titanic takes on water.
Continue your ensemble it’s soothing to the sheep.
VegasBob says: My gay friends are all pissed off at me because I told them that Jenner would have displayed true courage by doing his little “coming out” party back around 1990, when transgenders were not socially acceptable. To wait decades for social acceptability until one is 65 years old is NOT courage. It’s opportunism.
OMG, Bob, does this mean that The Donald is not the brave libertarian who speaks the unspeakable truth about immigration? That he doesn’t really need Secret Service protection because incensed Hispanics aren’t plotting revenge? El Chapo didn’t break out of his cell to personally slap the Donald for exposing Hispanics as serial rapists and ass grabbers?
I was shocked when he broke the news about unchecked immigration, I wondered why this had not been brought up before. Surprise, folks, it’s not the cops killing negroes, it’s illegal aliens dressed as cops.
Ok just one, not two, just one person explain to me how any of the numbers mean a fucking thing. Please, just one! So why the fuck talk about the numbers when anyone with an IQ above 100 knows it’s all bullshit? Give me some information I can put to work. It’s like the Jack Nicholsons line in the movie As good as it gets ” i’m drowning here and you’re describing the water” Fuck tell me how we make it when our on time delivery system fails. How do we make it when Medicare and Medicaid implode. Who’s going to be the one to take the elderly and psych patients out back and put a bullet in their heads when, in the very near future, we can no longer care for them. I digress, you get the picture, what I’ve just laid down in, intellectual circles, are what’s known as wicked problems. There are no answers, at least for those who don’t see it coming, I got answers, I’ve got a plan, I will not be a victim. How bout you. Please enlighten me,
Admin, question to you. How many more articles about corrupt Government numbers, fraud and abuse will it take before you think my redneck ass get’s the picture? Evolve or die, your readership gets it.
Poor Ole Tripple S has dementia, his old friends are made new daily. He still thinks the southwest has plenty of water, I schooled his ass about three years ago on the coming water shortage and he blew me off, you can lead a horse to water. Don’t pay attention to Tripple S accolades Admin, he’s protesting to keep his golf course green as we speak. LMFAO
Sensetti says: Normalcy bias chokes the hell out of most that post here. They think all this crazy shit will somehow work it self out. Buy some Gold, buy some silver and bloviate about a corrupt system in its death throws and somehow a suburban existence will remain plausible.
I think Stuck said he was done with doom. He is aware of the coming shitstorm but he can’t stop it. None of us can. All we can do is look and prepare to die with dignity, eyes wide open.
Sensetti, I think war is coming, but in the usual place. Europe. It’s just too expensive and logistically difficult to get to us. Prepping is good. Getting a place out of the cities critical. Look at greece. The assrape of a country. We aren’t that close. Prepare, but don’t despair
Ky-o-tee says: All we can do is look and prepare to die with dignity, eyes wide open.
God Fucking Damn, first one out of the gate makes my point perfectly quoting someone I respect who will be consumed in the first wave. What the fucks wrong with you people? The victim mentality is beyond my ability to digest.
Dog you and Stucky go ahead and prepare to DIE with, .,,,with dignity, LMFAO, I’ve got many thousands of dollars of preparations I’m going to throw at the dilemma before I bend over and get fucked. I really don’t have the capacity to understand the victim mentality. Hell, I plan on prospering, I’ll do better after the war. Why? I’ve invested my time, money, and thought processes to not only surviving but prospering.
Dog you are very correct about one thing the prepare to die mentality permeates most of the comments posted here these days. Sad, like a bunch of section 8 tenants, someone fucked up my game, it’s not my fault, guess I’ll just die. SMDH
starfcker so you think an intercontinental ballistic missile cannot reach our shores.
Someone tell me why analyzing the numbers the government puts out is anything but meaningless. It’s like trying to make sense out of a schizophrenic individuals ramblings, waste of fucking time. Of coarse no one will Challenge me on this point if they have the ability to reason. But carry on, sorry to fuck up your lets die with dignity Group conversation.
BTW I really think you all might Qualify for government check. Tell them your diagnosis is walking corpse syndrome. Google it
Man the fuck up get some balls. Jesus H Christ us Irish should own the world. Fuckin Joos, we got work ta do!
One Mo Thang, if you agree with me you are wise beyond your peers. If you disagree with Me hyphenate your name with the word victim. God Damn Pussies.
Any you sons of bitches want to educate the casual on looker tell’em what you got on stand by, ramble the fuck on. Poor Ole Flash has a 38 revolver and a single bullet. He’s going to place the barrel to his right temple and eliminate the struggle. Well, shit, at least the dudes got a plan, gotta give’em that. Poor Ole Stuck will die from a Perirectal abscess, as a result of a willingness to die with dignity.
What the fuck is my point. The game is rigged, prepare for war it’s coming to you. Fuck all this noise about meaningless bullshit.
ACDC ROCKS trust that
I’ll answer both. An ICBM could reach us no question. Not many other countries have the long range ones. Russia. that may be it. They don’t want ours headed that way, so that probably won’t happen. Re jim’s statistical analysis, I find it very valuable. I send it out to a dozen of my friends and it goes on from there. Concise, easy to understand, and most people don’t know where to look for stuff like that.
starfcker says: jim’s statistical analysis, I find it very valuable. I send it out to a dozen of my friends and it goes on from there.
Sorry there’s Zero actionable information in the above article. If there is tell me where it’s at.
Starfcker what new did YOU learn from the article. The Government numbers are bullshit, worthless, meaningless, FUCK, I get that. How many more examples do I need. Watch this, JCPenney and Sears will eventually end up filing bankruptcy and going out of business. How many more fucking times do you need to tell me that, I get it, tell me something new, tell me something I don’t know. They are building a brand-new outlet mall next to the bass pro shop at the same time they’re closing retail space down all over town. I get it, it’s fucked up and bullshit. I don’t need another goddamn article telling me we got too much fucking retail floor space I understand that. Tell me something I don’t fucking know. Now do you understand where I’m coming from ? I want some actionable information I can put to work. Do describe the fucking water to me, I know we are drowning, tell me how to win, tell me how to make it to shore.
Once I got the big picture figured out, it took me a number of years to do so, all the rest became Elementary.
Guess what people, the U.S. will continue to print money to pay its bills and Prop the stock market up until some outside force intervenes. I can Easily see this lasting another 10 years. Just take a look at Greece, they will get another bailed out with digital money one more time. Why? Because numbers don’t matter anymore, accountants are absolutely fucking worthless in this environment. Everything they learned in school does not apply here. Debt is money!
Someone anyone tell me where I’m wrong. Tell me why Stucky won’t end up ass fucked somewhere down the road.
I hope this series of posts satisfies those that have been sending me emails wondering where I’ve been.
Sensetti , EVERYBODY got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.( Mike Tyson)Don’t mean to knock your chair out from under you but….you might not be as prepare as you think.All it takes is one sickness (AWD) and your life could be over.I wish you the best ,I wish all here the best but from my view dying is not so bad.I plan ,prep and prepare but I have also made peace with God just in case.
It appears Sensetti may have been hitting the bottle while preparing for Armageddon.
Sensetti said:
“Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!”
I suspect it’s the alcohol talking but if you have learned all there is to learn here, m o v e o n. You have apparently reached a new plateau grasshopper but newbs discover admins brand of wisdom every day just like you did all those years ago. Admin may not be putting out reams of “new” info but for many he is connecting dots with info they may not have come across or heard explained in admin’s excellent style.
The diverse array of topics and comments by regulars and drive by’s keeps the place relevant, entertaining and educational.
FWIW, you’re just cocky and confident enough in your plan you might never see it coming. Maybe that’s part of the plan?
excellent analysis, admin. I now feel much richer understanding just how much poorer I actually am.
Sensetti definitely has a burr under his saddle. Great article admin I love the way you pull it all together. Time for my run, if the shit hits the fan I want to get a running start. Bug out bag is packed just in case, back up bike just in case there is no gas. I just have to be in good enough shape to stay ahead of the zombies.
Bob.
Damn , WTF is Sensetti gibbering on about?…too much alcohol I suppose. And FWIW, if ol’sot-brain cares to know…I believe wholeheartedly that suicide is a mortal sin and therefore would never contemplate it .Besides I consider myself fortunate to have a ringside seat at one of the all time epic paradigm shifts ever recorded in the annals of the history of mankind.
Also, it just may be that Sensetti has had his head up Tom Cotton’s neocon puppet ass for so long that brains cell have died off leaving him in a perpetuals state of delusion…poor kid…misplaced faith will do that to you.
chow.
OT …this is shaping up to be one entertaining election to be.
The Donald’s wife
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versus Jeb’ wife.
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just thought I’d throw that out for a little diversity in the thread, cause diversity is out strength and Jebs’ is definitely strong.
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I agree with Sensetti on the one hand. But, as I’m writing this, it’s Sunday morning. I’m on my second cup of coffee, and I’m not even hung over. Had three St. Arnold’s last night after the kids went to bed. Perhaps my approach will be slightly different than his.
I don’t have as much interest in the story of the numbers anymore. I still read TBP for the comments, and I value what all have to say. I always read every comment by llpoh, Stucky, admin, SSS, and some of the other Big Dogs here. I like Stephanie’s input, as it shows me one perspective from a younger generation. And she’s got Moxie, as she hung around, long after you guys verbally beat the living shit out of here. Kudos for that! I value everyone’s thoughts on our future. I’ve even taken everything Billy has written and put it into the cogitator and let it swirl around in there. In my head, I’m writing a post on race relations, which is greatly influenced by Billy’s thoughts. I digress, but the point is, I don’t have as great an interest in the micro-minutia of the various government lies and their presentation of the facts.
I do, however, have a great interest on what all the storylines means to us, the average people, caught in the trap. I think Jim has done a great thing with TBP and is the best aggregator site on the web. Whether I want to see the increase of militarization, the collapse of Greece, the political dog-and-pony show that is the Presidential election, the race wars, etc, it’s all right here on TBP. All these competing story lines are important, because it draws out the larger tapestry of where we’re headed, as a nation, as a culture, as a people, etc. Everyone takes their own best course of action, based on how we believe the story line will evolve: llpoh has bugged out and moved to the back woods of Austrailia. Sensetti has a bunker of doom fortress somewhere only a horse will take him. Stuck is stuck in NJ because he has an obligation to care for his parents. (You really should look into coming to Texas: Summer is a mother-fucker, but it only lasts for 9 months out of the year!) Billy is developing his doomstead with his tribe in the hills of Kentucky somewhere.
The point I agree with Sensetti on is that the missing ingredient from TBP is, “What Next?” If we all accept that our future is different from the past we’ve all known, what do we do with that? How much different will it be? Sensetti goes out on the far end of the spectrum and believes nuclear war is our future. Others, like SSS, believes…..Well, I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I think he takes a more conservative, traditional approach. And every frequency of the spectrum in between.
I’ve often thought about writing various columns on the types of preparation we can do, because that type of column would at least present answers. Jim is gracious enough to allow anybody to post anything they want. But, the truth is, all of that information is covered out there on the web. There’s nothing I would write that would be original, in terms of what I’m doing to prep.
For me, I get great value out of Jack Spirko’s “The Survival Podcast.” He presents prepper information under the tagline, “Helping you live a better life, if times get tough or even if they don’t.”
Recently, I planted several different kids of mint in the garden. Why? Because he did a one hour show on it, and it made sense to me. You can listen to the show yourself to see if it’s the right course of action for you. Sensetti & Billy may think it a waste of time and prefer to stock up on new weapons and ammunition, but I’ll bet TE has some mint growing somewhere.
For me, I have TBP and TSP bookmarked as my two favorite sites. TBP always give me good overview of everything that’s developing and helps me to weave the storyline into a way that makes sense for me. TSP helps me to take action in a way that makes sense to me. I don’t necessarily read every story on TBP, and I don’t necessarily listen to every podcast on TSP. But I follow both closely enough that I can take action that makes sense to me.
I think the larger storyline is we have to develop some cohesiveness, as a community. We have to recognize that The Powers That Be are dividing us along many different lines: Black vs. White, D vs R, rich vs. poor, etc. We need to recognize that fact, and group together into whatever communities we live in, both online, and, most importantly, in the real world.
All of us agree that Something Wicked This Way Comes. What that something is, we all have our own ideas and have to formulate our own plans.
I think Sensetti might be in a bad mood because his Republicans are performing unmentionable acts upon his posterior.
What? an article on the CPI without an analysis of Hedonic Adjustment!
When Mr. Quinn explains Hedonic Adjustment people will be even more pissed off.
I’m not drinking at all, just shaking the house. Yes, I’m in a bad mood, yes the GOP is fucked up. I guess Donald Trump is going to get the nomination and Hillary will be our next black President.
IndSer states it very well: “You have apparently reached a new plateau grasshopper but newbs discover admins brand of wisdom every day just like you did all those years ago. Admin may not be putting out reams of “new” info but for many he is connecting dots with info they may not have come across or heard explained in admin’s excellent style.”
I second that! As one who bailed out of the rat race twenty years ago and took Robert Prechter’s “Crest of the Tidal Wave” to heart with respect to fundamentals, shortly thereafter began a serious hunt for land enough (outside the US) to have a farmlette, I agree with the “angry man’s” emphasis on food and water preps, but fortunately for me I was at an age and in a position to act upon it; many are not and are just now coming to understand the danger they may be in in the not-too-distant future, so I strongly support Mr. Q’s noble effort to educate them while entertaining them as well. That goes for many commenters as well.
One thing about survival Sense-setting seems t have missed: it ain’t easy to go it alone and a community is a valuable asset; this blog is a virtual community I value highly, as should he.
THANK YOU!!!
SAY IT THE WAY IT IS. THE TRUTH HURTS BUT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. WE NEED HONEST LEADERS THAT ARE NOT AFRAID TO TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON. BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES ARE CORRPT TO THE CORE AND THE ELITES ( POLITICS, NEWS MEDIA, HOLLYWOOD) ARE ALL IN BEDTOGETHER. THIS COUNTRY IS NO LONGER BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE OR OF THE PEOPLE. THE SILENT MAJORITY MUST ACT WITH THEIR FEET AND WITH THEIR VOICES. SPECIAL INTERESTS HAVE USED THEIR POLITICAL POWER TO PUSH THEIR OWN SELF INTERESTS. WE MUST VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT ( EVERYONE’S) AND GIVE NOTICE TO THE MEDIA AND CORPORATE ELITES ( THEIR COMPANIES ALSO) THAT WE WILL CHANGE THIS MESS THEY HAVE MADE AND THEY CAN WORK WITH US OR AGAINST US.
WELL SAID
WE MUST HAVE THE TRUTH RETURNED TO OUR SOCIETY. WE MUST THROW OUT THE ELITES ( ALL ENCUMBENT POLITICIANS NOT CLEARLY SHOWING THAT THEY ARE WOKING FOR ALL THE PEOPLE). WE NEED TO SEND MESSAGES TO CORPORATE AMERICA AND THEIR ELITIST CEOS ) HAT WE WILL STOP WATCHING THEIR TV SHOWS AND PURCHASING THEIR PRODUCTS. IN AMERICA TODAY, OUR GOVERNMENT (CONGRESS. PRESIDENT, SUPREME COURT JUDGES) HAVE CREATED A COUNTRY WHERE MAJORITY OPINION MEANS NOTHING-ONLY POWERFUL MINORITY SPECIAL INTERTESTS ( HOLLYWOOD, BANKERS, CORPORATE ELITES, GA/LESBIAN GROUPS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS). WE ARE NOW PUNISHED PUBLICLY BY ACTIVISTS & MEDIA WHEN E SPEAK OUR OPINIONS. WE ARE THE MAJORITY AND WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO GO ON ANY LONGER. I AM NOT A TRUMP FAN BUT I RESPECT HIM FOR TELLING THE TRUTH. WENEED TRUTH TELLERS. WHY HAVE WE ALLOWED THE TEAPARTY TO BE DIZED WHEN THEIR ONLY FAULT IS THAT THEY HAVER RAVE ENOUGH TO STANDUP FOR THE TRUTH AND FAIRNESS,. OUR FATHERS AND MOTHERS AND PREVIOUS GENERATIONS FOUGHT FOR WHAT WE HVE. UNLESS WE DO SOMETHINGABOUT THIS, WE WILL BE TURNING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY OVER TO OUR CHILDREN. S THAT WHAT WE WANT???
“Dog you and Stucky go ahead and prepare to DIE with, .,,,with dignity, LMFAO,” —- Sensetti
“Poor Ole Stuck will die from a Perirectal abscess, as a result of a willingness to die with dignity….” —– Sensetti
Why are you bringing ME into this, when I said absolutely nothing??
For the record, if and when TSHTF, AND if it turns into a true zombie-like evnvironment … then, yeah, I’d prefer to die with dignity …. which to me means means a Swift&Painless death. I have zero desire to “live” in a world for years on end where surviving daily is in question. I’m 60 … lived a full life already … lived longer than most humans who were ever born … and, I’m somewhat curious what’s on the “other side”
I’m not afraid of death. It sounds like you are.
(And if you truly believe there is no such thing as dying with dignity … then I suggest you visit folks who have no chance of surviving such as in an intensive care unit, a cancer ward, … etc., who are being kept alive my machines and/or drugs.)
The government lies to us? This ain’t exactly a stop the presses moment. Health care costs will reduce by $2500 per family. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Not a smidgen of corruption at the IRS. We will get to the bottom of the VA scandal. Benghazi was the result of a video, Iran won’t get nuclear weapons, and my favorite, John Kerry doesn’t have a horse face, it’s just a series of bad camera angles. I don’t know why you act surprised every time the BS, sorry BLS statistics come out.
Sensetti
You think there is no value to Admin’s analysis, and that’s why you don’t comment. Well … in just the past week I wrote about masturbation in America (surely you find value in that! lol) and “the way we were” .. and you didn’t comment there either.
It seems your interests have narrowed to …. prepping (and beer, women, and weightlifting). Well, “prepping” is a fairly boring topic to write about. I mean, how many different ways can you say “Buy ammo! Buy gold!”.
Lemme ask you — would you even be prepping had you not been educated here … by Admin … about the dire straights we are in? You’re not the ONLY person in the room. We are ALL at different levels of understanding. You are at an advanced level. Many tens of thousands of people visit here monthly … so, I’m sure there are people just in the beginning stage of understanding. If for no other reason, Admin should (must) continue writing for them.
I’ve always liked you, Sensetti. Still do. You’ve been missed. But to shit on Admin by saying his analysis is worthless … well, it is rude beyond measure. And yes, it IS shitting, and not just an opinion you are offering.
Lastly, it seems the more you prep, the angrier and bitter you are becoming. You can’t be happy about that.
James Watterson
No paragraph breaks makes it difficult to read. And it’s annoying.
ALL CAPS makes it almost impossible to read. And it’s real FUCKING annoying.
I’m betting you’ve been told that before. But, you don’t give a shit.Therefore, neither do I give a shit about whatever it is you wrote.
Sensetti, here’s new yowker Trump speaking to rednecks in Hot Springs , Arkansas two days ago. Enjoy.
Sensetti’s cat
Ms Freud and I went to Trader Joes this morning. Our bill was $178.
Just two of us. ONLY food … no paper products, plastics, aluminum foil, etc. We did buy some things we don’t need to replenish on a weekly basis … olive oil for $10 … but, mostly perishable food for the week. We don’t skimp on quality because you ARE WHAT YOU EAT, so we have no problem paying $15 for an organic chicken.
Median weekly gross earnings for;
— no high school diploma ………. $488
— high school diploma ………….. $668
— 4yr college ………………………… $1,193
I really have no fuckin idea how a large section of America survives … especially families with growing children.
Stuck, they survive by not buying the $15 chicken.
Stuck, they survive by not buying the $15 chicken. And hey, flash, even though they are both immigrants, only one of those candidates wives bothered to learn to speak english. Wanna guess which one?
Stuck, sorry I got you mixed in this Sensetti thing. (You redeemed my throw away die-with-dignity comment nicely) He used to be even-keeled but now he sounds like a crank. It happens to folks who burn out on doom.
Church folks go through it too. I mean, they are constantly warned of hell and damnation. On the other hand, they are constantly provoked with miracles and wealth beyond measure. Eventually, they don’t believe anything.
You are right, all that prepping fucked him up, I think Sensetti got there while waiting for the end. There is a Julio Iglesias song that describes his malady, it says, I forgot to live.
Heck, even Paul urges the flock to stop waiting for the rapture and get to work. The end will take care of itself.
“They can’t let the plebs know the truth. ….. If they were to admit inflation is rising, the Fed would be forced to raise rates.” ————- Admin
I can understand that the plebs are fooled.
I do not believe either the BLS or Fed is fooled. The BLS in order to fake the numbers MUST first know what the true numbers actually are to fake them. Admin’s analysis — fantastic as it is — is not rocket science. It’s basic maf. SURELY, all those Ivy Leaguers and other-smart-people at the Fed MUST know they are being bullshitted by the BLS. Although it is fun to mock their ignorance, they just can’t be THAT stupid .. to not understand basic math.
Something else is going on but, I don’t know what it is.