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If you can't read clearly, LTC, have some SP4 proof your written work.
Oh look at Fakey trying to pretend he can relate to us military folks and our ranks. LOL
He fails to understand that as a LTC I had a lowly 2LT doing my proof reading, why waste the talents of a SP4?
LMFAO. Yes way back when I was a butter bar my LTC did that to me, LOL. Except I can't even remember the Air Force's acronym of Lt Col. I think that was it, LOL.
huh...weren't you just praising Reagan for lowering the inflation rate, which was partly done by changing how the housing prices were calculated? The change to owner-equivalent rent was in 1983.Part of the problem with the inflation stats is because the housing numbers skewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww them.
huh...weren't you just praising Reagan for lowering the inflation rate, which was partly done by changing how the housing prices were calculated? The change to owner-equivalent rent was in 1983.Part of the problem with the inflation stats is because the housing numbers skewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww them.
I know why it was done. My point was that it had a lowering effect on the inflation rate. Rightly so in this case.huh...weren't you just praising Reagan for lowering the inflation rate, which was partly done by changing how the housing prices were calculated? The change to owner-equivalent rent was in 1983.Part of the problem with the inflation stats is because the housing numbers skewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww them.
That change was to separate the investment side of owning a house from the cost of living aspect. Back then, nobody anticipated that the Government would enable a huge speculative bubble via the Fannie Mae- Freddie Mac enabling of liar loans.
View attachment 32000
CPI Housing Prices and the Great Stagflation Seeking Alpha
See changes, which they admit happen, are for our "good". How is it good for the retired, if it doesn't keep up with real inflation?
Do you believe the inflation rates the Gov't is reporting?
Do you believe the inflation rates the Gov't is reporting?
They keep claiming lower CPI, aka Inflation is low, but when I go to the store the basket of goods I buy seem to be much higher than before.............
Soooooooo.......Who else believes that prices have gone up more than the BLS CPI reports...........In other words have they changed the way they calculate inflation to make it look better than it actually really is today.....
Peter Schiff doesn't think so and actually used some standard basket of goods over the years and believes they are purposely changing the basket of goods to give a false, lower, inflation rate. It's an older video but it makes the point.
What says you?
A must read on the topic is
Addressing misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index
It explains a lot of the concepts that are misrepresented by the likes of John Williams and Peter Schiff.
But BLS isn't trying to measure what YOU are experiencing. It's trying to measure the general rise in prices for the country.A must read on the topic is
Addressing misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index
It explains a lot of the concepts that are misrepresented by the likes of John Williams and Peter Schiff.
Oh I read the propaganda, thing is, Mr. Schiff's version seems a lot closer to what I'm experiencing.
But here's what he fails to mention:Another stunning example is found in health insurance costs, which is a major line item for most families. According to the BLS we can all breathe easy on that front because their "Health Insurance Index" increased a mere 4.3% (total) in the four years between 2008 and 2012. Interestingly, over the same time, the Kaiser Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance showed that the cost of family health insurance rose 24.2% (5.5 times faster).
In other words, because of difficulty in collecting prices, the part of the premium used to cover medical costs is NOT included in the Health Insurance Index, but in the Medical Care Index (which increased 14.4% from 2008 to 2012. That's still far short of what Schiff is claiming, but considering that he's quoting family health insurance not total, there will be many differences in what is being measured.The weights in the CPI do not include employer-paid health insurance premiums or tax-funded health care such as Medicare Part A and Medicaid. Currently, the index employs an indirect method for measuring price changes for health insurance premiums. Under this indirect method, the medical care index will not be affected by changes in policy characteristics, such as modifications to policy benefits and utilization changes. The approach implicitly assumes that the level of service from individual carriers is strictly a function of benefits paid. While other components may affect the index, such as more convenient claims handling or a 24-hour nurse line, their effects are probably small. This indirect approach factors medical insurance premiums into two parts:
Most expenditure for health insurance goes to the first item above, and reflects insurers' payments for medical treatments. The CPI allocates this portion to the indexes that account for medical care items (i.e. physicians' services). Thus, the weights for most of MCS indexes reflect out-of-pocket expenditures plus allocated health insurance benefit payments. (It is for this reason that providers' reimbursements from insurance companies are valid prices for the CPI.)
- Changes in the prices of medical care items covered by health insurance policies
- Changes in the cost of administering policies, maintaining reserves and, as appropriate, profits.
The price change that the CPI uses for the remaining weight, changes in the retained earnings of health insurance carriers (the second item above), is the product of two relatives of change:
Source: How BLS Measures Price Change for Medical Care Services in the Consumer Price Index
- The change in the retained earnings ratio, and
- The change in the cost of medical items from elsewhere in CPI medical care.
Then why does MIT's Billion Prices Project match BLS' numbers so closely?Couple that with the advantages of keeping reported inflation down for the government and it isn't a reach to see the numbers are cooked.
[ According to the BLS we can all breathe easy on that front because their "Health Insurance Index" increased a mere 4.3% (total) in the four years between 2008 and 2012. Interestingly, over the same time, the Kaiser Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance showed that the cost of family health insurance rose 24.2% (5.5 times faster).
See, thats the problem. The doctored numbers, they're real, because the government says so. Your situation, and that of the rest of us, doesn't count because it is anecdotal and being anecdotal is of no value.Kaiser reflects my experiences. Here's an idea, since I'm a consumer make the rate reflect what I buy.
Well, sure. as I showed, the health insurance index does not and is not meant to measure the full change in insurance premiums. But that's not deception or manipulation, just the realities of collection. It measures the non-health care part only[ According to the BLS we can all breathe easy on that front because their "Health Insurance Index" increased a mere 4.3% (total) in the four years between 2008 and 2012. Interestingly, over the same time, the Kaiser Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance showed that the cost of family health insurance rose 24.2% (5.5 times faster).
Kaiser reflects my experiences. Here's an idea, since I'm a consumer make the rate reflect what I buy.
Well, sure. as I showed, the health insurance index does not and is not meant to measure the full change in insurance premiums. But that's not deception or manipulation, just the realities of collection. It measures the non-health care part only[ According to the BLS we can all breathe easy on that front because their "Health Insurance Index" increased a mere 4.3% (total) in the four years between 2008 and 2012. Interestingly, over the same time, the Kaiser Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance showed that the cost of family health insurance rose 24.2% (5.5 times faster).
Kaiser reflects my experiences. Here's an idea, since I'm a consumer make the rate reflect what I buy.
