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"They Are Gaslighting Us! Crazy Inflation Is Here
But The Fed Is Denying That It Even Exists"
by Epic Economist, PM 6/24/21
"Our leaders are trying to convince us that the things we can see happening right in front of our eyes are not actually real. But the truth is that ever since the health crisis started, our politicians in Washington have engaged on the wildest spending binge in U.S. history, and the Federal Reserve has conveniently introduced monetary policies that helped to create the most splendid financial bubble of all time by injecting trillions upon trillions of freshly printed dollars into the financial markets. And the result of all that couldn't be different from very painful inflation for millions of American workers. Prices are dramatically rising all across the economy. But Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and many other politicians in Washington are insisting that even though they pumped all of this money into the system, the overall inflation rate has been hardly affected by it. They are “gaslighting” us, and it is just so outraging.
Just look at the housing market. Home prices skyrocketed over the past twelve months, and although everyone needs a place to live, not everyone can afford to have a roof above their heads anymore. Did you know that over the past year home prices have risen a staggering 23.6 percent? According to an updated report released by NAR, in May, the median existing-home price rose to $350,300, an absolute record high. The report highlighted that "the annual price appreciation was the strongest in data going back to 1999. Median sales prices have climbed sharply since rising above $300,000 for the first time last July".
But even in face of all this, the Fed keeps insisting that it is is perfectly capable of maintaining low inflation rates. John Williams of shadowstats.com disclosed in recent days that if the official rate of inflation reported honest numbers it would already be well into double digits. At least 11 percent, he estimated. In some categories, we can even see triple-digit inflation. For example, despite having decreased this month, lumber prices are still 252% higher than they were a year ago, which is also making projects that involve kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, and additions that require framing significantly more expensive as well. A year ago, lumber prices were at $400 per thousand board feet. Since then, they shot up to $1,600. That's not normal at all, but even so, Powell just told Congress that he is not alarmed by any of this.
But how are we supposed to believe nothing out of the ordinary is going on if even the price of basic food items is skyrocketing? A year ago, the wholesale price of chicken wings was as low as 98 cents per pound. Today, it’s at $3.22, having more than tripled. It’s a meaningful difference, however, it seems that our leaders dismiss the severity of the inflation crisis because they ultimately want us to get used to the absurdities of the "new normal". Another crazy example of how inflation is affecting the economy can be observed in what is happening to used car prices. Some of them are now selling for prices that used to be seen in brand new vehicles. The average used vehicle cost rose to $26,457 this month, according to car market tracker Edmunds.com.
In the past 12 months, used vehicle prices on average have jumped 30%. As a consequence, many weird situations where high-demand vehicles are selling for more than they did when they were new are occurring all over the nation, as explained by Alex Yurchenko, the company's senior vice president of data science. At the moment, consumers who need to replace a vehicle don't have much of a choice. "Unfortunately, if you need a vehicle, you'll need to pay the price," Yurchenko said. And the same situation is happening across all segments of the economy. When it comes to food prices, that it's even more worrying because it means that if you cannot keep up with rising prices, you won't be able to afford enough food for you and your family.
We have never seen inflation rates spiraling out of control like this before. But government officials will continue to tell us that everything is okay over the coming months even as economic conditions continue to deteriorate, our purchasing power continues to collapse and our living standards keep being downgraded. Several experts have been warning that if nothing changes, we're about to see an epic inflationary collapse similar to what happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic. If our leaders continue to flood the system with money in a desperate attempt “to save the economy”, they will end up drowning an entire nation. They may try to spin the truth for as long as they want, but the clock is ticking, and time is not on their side."
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