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"I Sure Am Glad There's No Inflation"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

I sure am glad there's no inflation, because these "stable prices" the Federal Reserve keeps jaw-jacking about are putting us in a world of hurt.

We are constantly bombarded with two messages about inflation:

1. Inflation is near-zero

2. This worries the Federal Reserve terribly, because stable prices are deflationary and deflation is (for reasons that are never explained) like the financial Black Plague that will wipe out humanity if it isn't vanquished by a healthy dose of inflation (i.e. getting less for your money).

Those of us outside the inner circles of power are glad there's no inflation, because we'd rather get more for our money (deflation) rather than less for our money (inflation). You know what I mean: the package that once held 16 ounces now only holds 13 ounces. A medication that once cost $79 now costs $79,000. (This is a much slighter exaggeration than you might imagine.)

Our excellent F-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft cost us taxpayers $54 million a piece. Now the replacement fighter, the wallowing collection of defective parts flying in close proximity known as the F-35 costs $250 million each--unless you want an engine in it. That'll cost you extra, partner.

Despite all these widely known examples of rampant inflation, every month we're told there's no inflation. Just to reassure myself there's no inflation, I looked up a few charts on the St. Louis Fed's FRED database.

I have to say, I'm scratching my head here because the cost of things has gone up a lot since 2000.

The consumer price index is up 38% from 2000. Now if somebody were to give me a choice between getting 10 gallons of gasoline and 10 gallons minus 3.8 gallons of gasoline, I'd take the 10 gallons. So how the heck can a 38% increase be near-zero inflation?

If I took $38 of every $100 you earned, would you reckon I'd taken next to nothing from you? Do you earn 38% more than you did in 2000? If so, congratulations; most people can't answer "yes."

Urban-area rents are up 56% from 2000. Now this is even worse inflation, because you just paid $156 for what used to cost you only $100.

State and local government taxes are up 75% since 2000. And this doesn't even include the rip-off fishing license fees that have gone through the roof, the boat registration fees that have shot to the moon, and the legal-looting parking ticket that used to be $12 and is now $60.

Taxes naturally rise with the economic expansion due to rising population, which has gone up about 13.8% since 2000: from 281 million residents of the USA to 320 million in 2015. So taxes rising a few percentage points each year along with growth and population would make sense. But 75%?

I've got a real treat for all you parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents who are planning to put the kids through college: the costs have only risen about 100% since 2000. That means instead of scraping up $80,000 per kid (assuming they can get all their required classes and grind the thing out in four years) you now need to scrape up $160,000 per kid.

The price index for college tuition grew by nearly 80 percent between August 2003 and August 2013. Now to make this apples to apples with the rest of the data here, we need to add in the nearly 5 missing years: from 1/1/2000 to 8/1/2003 and from 8/1/2013 to 8/1/2015. I'd say putting the increase at 100% is being conservative.

I sure am glad there's no inflation, because these "stable prices" the Federal Reserve keeps jaw-jacking about are putting us in a world of hurt. If we had honest-to-goodness inflation, that would push us right over the edge.

 

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Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:59 | 6393519 JustObserving
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Inflation is near-zero

Just look at how we fix inflation:

Chapwood Index shows real inflation in US.

In 2014, it was 9.7% - 1212% of official US inflation (0.8%)

http://www.chapwoodindex.com/

The Chapwood Index reflects the true cost-of-living increase in America. Updated and released twice a year, it reports the unadjusted actual cost and price fluctuation of the top 500 items on which Americans spend their after-tax dollars in the 50 largest cities in the nation.

Alternate inflation charts from Shadowstats shows inflation at least 3% to 7% higher than official statistics:

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-29/inaccurate-statistics-and-threa...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:09 | 6393601 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

If we went back and calculated from the '79 inflation formula, before they started seriously started hiding the shitty things, it would be a lot worse. The same thing with GDP and unemployment..."Its not a depression unless WE say so".....

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:25 | 6393690 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

I laugh when the progressive liberals in my state raised the minimum wage and then indexed it to inflation starting next year.  They just unknowingly fucked over the very people they are trying to help.  Social Security recipients are also being fucked in the ass, but at least they are getting something back.  People 45 and younger wont see any SSI.  It will get eaten alive by inflation.  Its just another TAX.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:36 | 6393752 Jethro
Jethro's picture

45?  Man, I think that you're being optimistic. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:42 | 6393791 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

Well, you are right.  Its probably 60 and younger, not 45.  But I'm talking to you like a government official, full of bullshit.  =)

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:48 | 6393832 Creepy A. Cracker
Creepy A. Cracker's picture

Damn!!!  I need to increase my rents.  I havent gone up 50, plus, percent since 2000.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:33 | 6394049 The9thDoctor
The9thDoctor's picture

This worries the Federal Reserve terribly, because stable prices are deflationary and deflation is (for reasons that are never explained) like the financial Black Plague that will wipe out humanity if it isn't vanquished by a healthy dose of inflation (i.e. getting less for your money).

Deflation is "bad", because it is easier to pay back nominal debt with inflated currency. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:40 | 6394305 N2OJoe
N2OJoe's picture

Unless you're one of those rare people who's income has stagnated during the whole 10% per year non-inflation.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:41 | 6394318 lordylord2
lordylord2's picture

Rent is at all time high. Inflation is too low.  One of these statements is wrong.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:11 | 6394420 onewayticket2
onewayticket2's picture

tuition is skyrocketing....but soon, democrats will offer up "free" college.

 

mark my words.  it IS coming.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:16 | 6394443 GubbermintWorker
GubbermintWorker's picture

Ain't any such a thing as "free".

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:20 | 6394468 onewayticket2
onewayticket2's picture

of course not....but her voters dont know that.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:23 | 6394491 GubbermintWorker
GubbermintWorker's picture

And they're the ones, along with all taxpayers, that are going to pay for that "free" edumication, lol!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:34 | 6394530 onewayticket2
onewayticket2's picture

"useful idiots"

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:42 | 6394572 pods
pods's picture

My asshole is 86% wider than it was 10 years ago, no inflation.  Pffft.

pods

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:11 | 6394712 JamesBond
JamesBond's picture

When I left the states 3  years ago a vending machine candy bar was 75 cents.  I'm back in the states for a month and now its $1.25!   Thanks to all the assholes that made it possible.

 

 

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 07:59 | 6396630 Took Red Pill
Took Red Pill's picture

and the candy bar is smaller, too! But there's no inflation because TVs are cheaper!

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 00:00 | 6396213 Midas
Midas's picture

In the future we will be able to get a law degree at Costco.  And wait until you see what Starbucks has to offer....

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 01:50 | 6396353 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

Hello, welcome to Costco, I love you.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 08:28 | 6396682 Rikky
Rikky's picture

BE QUIET I'M BATIN!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:30 | 6394806 laboratorymike
laboratorymike's picture

But, but Norwayyyyy! /joke

I get that line a lot. But people forget that Norway has 5 million people, and makes so much oil money that they have a sovereign wealth fund (savings) equal to ~$200,000 per person. IOW they can waste money and get away with it for now, though I'm sure FSA will find a way to blow it.  Meanwhile, in the USA, we have ~$100,000 in debt per taxpayer, which doesn't include liabilities like the $6,000 per taxpayer in guaranteed student loans, for starters.

Then again, you can't ask such intellectually demanding questions to people with a public school education.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 06:48 | 6396521 new game
new game's picture

all works til the dolla pucks and nobody wants gov bonds, oh wait the fed will buy them. shit yea, wtf could go wrong, ha. watching euro land, monetizing a failed currency. and then there is japan.

wow, how long can this go on til the math kicks in. hmmm, zirped til fail. ten years after, soneone will say, we should have known....

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:50 | 6393842 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

If you don't need food, clothing, education, healthcare, shelter, energy, yield on savings, and all you need is DRAM then inflation looks pretty tame.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:29 | 6394029 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Talk to Greece.  The rest of the EU is fleecing them.  Unemployment stays high while oil and food prices stay high.  Massive inflation, massive depression.  Does Greece own their CDS?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:58 | 6394135 Sofa King
Sofa King's picture

Question:  How to the fed define inflation?

I would love to find all the shit that does not rise double-digits, year after year and tailor my lifestyle around those items.

Should be sitting pretty if I do that; then again i'll probably just have a rental unit in Detroit full of TV's and doo-dads and be living-off Ramen Noodles and faucet water.

 

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:44 | 6394321 N2OJoe
N2OJoe's picture

Unfortunately that stuff doesn't exist. What they do is Hedonic Adjustments which say if the TV you bought this year is (arbitrarily assumed to be) 200% better than the TV available last year, but it's price only went up by 100%, then that is a 50% deflation by their measure.

It doesn't matter that the price actually doubled, they count it as having been cut in half.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:19 | 6394460 Totentänzerlied
Totentänzerlied's picture

Yes it's the EU's fault that Greece's economy has never been "productive" enough (by the prevailing ecomonic definition) to be a first world country. Definitely the EU's fault that "Refined Petroleum (35%), Packaged Medicaments (3.1%), Aluminium Plating (1.9%), Non-fillet Fresh Fish (1.7%), and Raw Cotton (1.7%)" don't afford it Mediterranean socialism aiming for cis-Alpine living standards. Categorically the EU's fault that a quarter of Greece's imports are refined oil - and that Greece has no oil fields of its own (well, no, as I recall it has one offshore field).

Just another energy beggar trying to be a chooser ... who could possibly have foreseen its collapse!?!?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 17:28 | 6395003 Kaervek
Kaervek's picture

Guess the ones who took them in never thought it possible for Greece to default

 

don't make me laugh

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:49 | 6394600 44magnum
44magnum's picture

DRAM is up too!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:32 | 6394524 Obamamerica
Obamamerica's picture

Just wait until they nationalize the 401K's and IRA's and give you a nice Obamabond that pays .01% securely until you die at which point the govt confiscates any remaining balance. Of course withdrawls will be taxed at 35% and these contributions will be mandatory at a rate of 15%.

 

Ain't America great...we cry over a hunted lion and say "ho-hum" to the harvesting of viable baby organs who's proceedes go to fund the DNC.

 

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:53 | 6393520 Soul Glow
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The fact that people don't know inflation is rampant shows how docile the populous is.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:59 | 6393553 BandGap
BandGap's picture

Some are paying with money they earned. They know.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:05 | 6393586 invisible touch
invisible touch's picture

wake me up when mass starts to riot, in couple of decades...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:59 | 6393886 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

America has been fleeced.  Food prices are higher than ever and this affects the bottom line more than anything because for poor people food is a large part of their budget but for rich it is nothing.  When you are thinking about buying a yacht you don't care if a price of a burger has doubled in the last 7 years.  If you are poor then you eat McDonalds or you cook your own food.  But if you are poor you are likely dumb - sorry it's true - and you won't learn to cook.  You'll look for handouts, eat chea[ food, and die poor.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:21 | 6394473 GubbermintWorker
GubbermintWorker's picture

More of a case that dumb poor folk are too lazy to learn cooking. That would take some effort and since they have generous handouts, for now, they would rather use their EBT cards and continue watching so called "reality" TV.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:34 | 6394531 Obamamerica
Obamamerica's picture

what most American's buy now is not "food"...its a nutritionless GMO hybrid food stuff full of carcinogens, estorgen, and fattening substances. 

 

But yes...that has gone up in price too!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:27 | 6394019 messymerry
messymerry's picture

...a couiple of decades, eh???  More like a couple of years.

;-D

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 02:40 | 6396379 invisible touch
invisible touch's picture

not gonna happen. never.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:13 | 6393554 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

The power of propaganda.

It eventually fails 'cause while it may fill empty heads, bullshit doesn't fill empty stomachs.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:05 | 6393590 vq1
vq1's picture

Elizabeth Warren eloquently explained that although the price of "optional goods" like electronics, (processed) food and clothing have become cheaper due to globalization- However "non optional" expenses like the ones ZH mentions have skyrocketed. Which means when the middle class is frugal by not purchasing "optional goods" it doesn't help them very much. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:15 | 6393632 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Fuck that twat, shes as fake as they come...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:37 | 6393756 kralizec
kralizec's picture

Wouldn't do that, not even with your unit...and what Prog politicritter left or right isn't a fraud?  But to your point I agree, she is one of the more repugnant ones slithering about...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:27 | 6393707 OilCaptain
OilCaptain's picture

You'll find that Fauxcahontas quotes won't get many upticks here.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:40 | 6393780 kralizec
kralizec's picture

Jeesh, what douchenozzle down-arrowed that?

I guess they buy that BS above, eh?  After all if people are paying more for necessities but the brain-numbing gizmos are affordable there is no such thing as inflation...

Probably makes sense...if your head was up your butt for decades...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:27 | 6394503 GubbermintWorker
GubbermintWorker's picture

Well, ZH has it's fair share of trolls.  Some of them are paid to downvote and offer up their employer's messages. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:02 | 6393908 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

Saw her in a snippet played on O'Reilly last night - trying to defend Planned Parenthood. She should be made to watch those videos every day, and to watch a late term abortion video too.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:51 | 6394113 rejected
rejected's picture

Yea,,, good thing they didn't have 'legal' abortion in Bethlehem awhile back.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:04 | 6394666 Obamamerica
Obamamerica's picture

The Bible talks about those blinded by sin. She could watch those video's 24/7 and not see anything wrong. See someone kill an insect or smelt and she'd wail about how unjust and racist America is

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:05 | 6393930 vq1
vq1's picture

sheesh. I noticed. Would it have been better to just mention what she said without quoting her? I mean the statement itself is factual. 

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 06:02 | 6394404 Vullsain
Vullsain's picture

Yeah, thats how they roll around here. It is like a pavlovian response. If a liberal says it then they will call black, white, like you are reading Alice in Wonderland or something.

I sorta understand the visceral reaction from what little I know about her social PC liberal stances...But neuroscience purports that we also have a logical/rational brain. The article and vq1 quote of Warren were regarding crony economic-financial policy and resultant real inflation.

What is also amazing is the liberal defenders of Obama, the there is nothing Obama can do about it herd :(  who also support Elizabeth Warren and her exceptional stance against the banksters. You would think there would be some cognitive dissonance, actually my bad, sheep do not have that sort of cerebral functionality. But they would for sure be hypocrtically howling to the moon if a Republican was POTUS and the banksters had been let off and vigorously rewarded , as they have under Obama...

Warren should be given credit on her stance in opposition to Obama regarding financial reform and his aid and support of the bankster/oligarchy/political cartel via his appointees/legislation/executive decisions. In this area she has more knowledge and has shown more balls than any other Democrat or Republican. Here are a couple of links to get started, unless you are a part of  the willfull ignorance crowd.

Obama in Retreat Thanks to Elizabeth Warren-Led Opposition to Plan to Appoint Another Corporate Stooge as SEC CommissionerElizabeth Warren Declares War on SEC Chairman Mary Jo WhiteElizabeth Warren Throws Down Gauntlet, Calls for Genuine Financial ReformElizabeth Warren Strikes Back as Citigroup Tries to Blackmail the Democratic PartyThe Administration’s Dishonest Response to Elizabeth Warren’s Attack on Secret Investor Arbitration Panels in Trade DealsYellen Defies Congress, Defends Greenspanian General Counsel Scott Alvarez After Elizabeth Warren GrillingSenator Warren and America Win in a Skirmish in a Long Struggle Against Wall Street’s CoupElizabeth Warren: Remarks on Citigroup and its Bailout Provision in the Cromnibus BillElizabeth Warren Blasts New York Fed President William Dudley

There is much, much more information on her stance against Obama, Congress, the Fed and the banksters to investigate. It will be for nothing in the end, the oligarchy will pit the FOX/MSNBC crowds against each other so that the real tyranny in plain sight is hidden from view.

And for the down voters, is it to much to ask that you actually read the quote what vq1 posted. It is only one sentence. You Can Do It!!!!!!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:28 | 6394027 steelhead23
steelhead23's picture

Funny how when you speak truth to power you're suddenly labeled a fake.  Sheep.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:58 | 6394138 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

Funny also how the Federal Reserve Corporation always tells us inflation is near zero while the US Dollar they manage has lost 98 percent of it's value since FED inception in 1913.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:11 | 6394423 Fahque Imuhnutjahb
Fahque Imuhnutjahb's picture

 

 

Some of that can be attributed to speculation.  Investors see the things that folks perceive that they have to have, and the things they actually do have to have.

For the time being, many discretionary items' demand hasn't waned significantly, but it will, so Coach and Michael Kors etc..are just now staring down the barrel.

Where as, folks gotta eat, consume electricity, purchase insurance and seek shelter---so those are the fall back position/ risk off plays; thus the prices are driven

up.  What's interesting is that collapsing commodity prices are not readily translating into a reduction in costs for consumers; maybe it's attributable to a time lag,

or maybe due to M&A, and defacto cartels, margins are being goosed by the differential between raw materials and finished goods.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 08:22 | 6396672 Agstacker
Agstacker's picture

You think food is optional?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:18 | 6393980 SilverFish
SilverFish's picture

Oh, they know. It's just most people have no idea what to do about it and even if they did know, they wouldn't have the stomach to do it. Instead, they just stand under a tree like a bunch of monkeys howling for the monkey they think has the best hair, or says the right things, or because that monkey is a woman and that particular monkey must be anointed king, because they believe that THIS TIME, the monkey will lead them all to better things.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:48 | 6394101 rejected
rejected's picture

Most of the public educated have no clue what an ounce is.

Ya know,,, maybe they're reducing a bad thing (the ounce) so I won't get sick. Thank you FDA!

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 05:46 | 6396477 Crush the Infame
Crush the Infame's picture

They know it's happening; they just don't know WHY it's happening because who is going to tell them?  Schools?  Government?  Media?  The only people telling them are their crazy unmarried uncle that they don't want to end up like because they have evolved to do whatever it takes to reproduce and ensure the survival of their offspring. 

It's monkey see, monkey do and most humans imitate success and in most points of history optimists are the most successful.  Pessimists are always right in the end, but the price they pay for that is not enjoying the free fall to the ground (SPLAT!). 

It's like dropping people out of plane with no parachute but telling them first that they are jumping into a bottomless world.  The pessimist will insist that they are going to meet the ground eventually, but the optimists don't want to hear that because 1) they are enjoying the ride, 2) even if they are wrong they don't figure there is much to be done about it now anyway.  So the optimist is laughing and smiling until just before impact while the pessimist is terrified for the entire ride, and the only reward is to die knowing that he was right.  Choose your pill; no one said knowledge would be bliss, in fact, quite the opposite. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:55 | 6393533 astoriajoe
astoriajoe's picture

"2. ... and deflation is (for reasons that are never explained) like the financial Black Plague that will wipe out humanity if it isn't vanquished by a healthy dose of inflation"

Bad for banking, not humanity. They don't say its bad for humanity, they just say its bad.

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:17 | 6393975 daveO
daveO's picture

Deflation=insectidcide for the parasites. Inflation= bailouts and bonuses at everyone else's expense.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:55 | 6393536 Sofa King
Sofa King's picture

See earlier comment on cost of "Cheese Fries with Gray"

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:55 | 6393537 wisebastard
wisebastard's picture

We cant have inflation because Merica is the greatest nation on Earth.................DUH

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:56 | 6393544 Government need...
Government needs you to pay taxes's picture

This highlights what I've been experiencing.  Stagnant income, rising costs of everything useful.  IT CANT GET BETTER TIL THE PRINTING PRESS STOPS.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:57 | 6393547 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Good article, the only thing missing is health care.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:06 | 6393595 Hype Alert
Hype Alert's picture

The MSM ignores it when talking inflation, so why shouldn't everybody.  Mine's doubled since Obamacare.  That's pretty close to 100% if you do it right.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:10 | 6393612 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Mine too. Also massive deductibles now. Health care basically became catastrophic.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:44 | 6393801 Implied Violins
Implied Violins's picture

Tell me about it. If things get any worse, it might actually be better to just go to the pharmacy when I'm sick and demand pills from behind the barrel of a gun. Wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the newest crime wave: forcing docs to heal you at gunpoint, without having robbed a bank first. Of course, if things are already that bad...why not do both?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:54 | 6393861 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Actually, this has been done. Someone locally facing incredibly high medical bills, used a gun to rob a bank. He hoped if incarcerated he'd get get better healthcare. I'm not sure if it worked but I used to work for a lab that had the county jail contract and the prisoners got good routine lab work. Monitoring for HCV and HIV levels etc. I'm assuming they got the meds too and those aren't cheap.

Miffed

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:15 | 6393964 BandGap
BandGap's picture

My grandfather put a brick through a shop window so he'd get arrested. It was during the Great Depression, it was winter and he was starving.

Signs of the times.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:21 | 6393991 daveO
daveO's picture

As the jails fill up, desperate people will have to ramp up their crimes to get a free room. So, if you're gonna do the crime, pick a politician who voted for it.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:11 | 6393616 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

Hey, but once you're unemployed and busted out of the middle and working class it's free!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:46 | 6393820 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Yes, it's sad to hear of elderly parents losing all to pay medical bills. At today's prices, it goes quite quickly. Healthcare today has become just another asset grab.

Miffed

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:33 | 6394526 Totentänzerlied
Totentänzerlied's picture

Utterly pales in comparison to the "asset grab" orchestrated by their generation against the entire planet and their descendants.

The medical bills (those not covered by the ridiculously lavish "insurance plan" circle-jerk conduit scheme known as Medicare) are not the issue. The issue is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per year - what was formerly one's entire bequest to one's survivors - to prolong a miserable depressed senescence for anywhere between a few months and half a decade. It seemed cheap at one time - to morally bankrupt mathematically retarded fools.

The people made their choice, the health of the geriatrics is priceless, the future of the society is worthless.

The greediest generation in history would happily mortgage their own grandchildren to pay for one more day of vegetal dementia. In fact, they already did!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 18:25 | 6395157 Vullsain
Vullsain's picture

But "Death Panels" and all.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:47 | 6393828 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

I don't want the "care" that segment of "the herd" gets. Neither do you. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 11:58 | 6393550 vq1
vq1's picture

if you feel things are getting more expensive, its a sign that you are not working hard enough.

-the establishment

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:04 | 6393559 Cast Iron Skillet
Cast Iron Skillet's picture

you just need to eat chicken instead of beef ... poof! no inflation. that's the way to gov figures.

(or generic dog food instead of that expensive Alpo ...)

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:10 | 6393610 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

...eat bugs instead of beans...poof!  no inflation.

...walk instead of drive...poof!  no inflation.

...die instead of live...poof!  no inflation.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:35 | 6393722 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

Death solves all problems -- no man, no problem.

-- Joseph Stalin

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:25 | 6394010 daveO
daveO's picture

15 years ago I could buy leg quarters at .17/pd. on sale. Now, they're never less than .69/pd. on sale. Up 400%. 

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 00:14 | 6396228 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Never mind the salmonella inflation.

There are also residual nutritional benefits in paper, the ink, and the workboots too.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:01 | 6393566 lehmen_sisters
lehmen_sisters's picture

Great article, i just thought to myself..." Why the fuck doesn't anyone else show these charts, they are public FRED charts"....I forget that the truth is treason. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:02 | 6393570 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

It all depends on what class you're in.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:55 | 6393574 Dubaibanker
Dubaibanker's picture

Ask the ones who have lost their jobs....or don't have incomes.... or live on minimum wage.....and tell them there is no inflation...and preferably ask them after midnight......

Better still go to South Africa, Russia, Nigeria and Brazil as well as Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Pakistan - where the currencies have dropped over 100% in the last few years - and ask them : HOW IS INFLATION DOING?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:03 | 6393576 homebody
homebody's picture

Good thing that my garden carrots are still as cheap

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:16 | 6393638 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Only if you save your own seeds. The price there is higher too.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:05 | 6394165 Bay Area Guy
Bay Area Guy's picture

Not to mention the cost of water.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:32 | 6394275 gmrpeabody
gmrpeabody's picture

They got every angle covered...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:06 | 6393592 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture
ER LOCKED DOWN over Chickenpox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSZNjTbBBag

 

We've gone from nutty to epic retard in this Country. Vaccine Wag the Dog.

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:07 | 6393599 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

Hi Charles,

No body understands inflation... I must admit. not you, not zh, and not anyone listed on everyone's blog. I will tell the world what the theory of inflation is but I want to know if there is any one in this entire world who knows the complete theory of inflation.

http://just-a-thought-from-thinair.blogspot.com/2015/06/nobody-understan...

 

http://just-a-thought-from-thinair.blogspot.com/

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:19 | 6393657 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Very douchie post. I am not refreshed. 

If you really had something of merit to share, why be such an ass talking about how no one but you understands inflation? It could be true, but I hate you so much after the tone of this post there is no way I would click your toxic little link. 

If you are trolling, score! Ya got me. I think you suck so bad I am willing to stop and tell you.

Bye.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:58 | 6393848 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

Question:  If you're too stupid to realize that insulting everyone and acting like a pompous blowhard isn't the best way to get people to read your blog, why would I think it worthwhile to read anything you've written?

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:23 | 6394003 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

you don't have to.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:23 | 6394005 Professorlocknload
Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:36 | 6394057 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

thanks for the link. I follow Mish. They are all good and smart people. But, there is something missing in  his analysis. I will provide him with the general theory of inflation on his post as well as other blog ... and many other VIPs  including the presidents and the prime ministers.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:22 | 6394767 Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs's picture

Mish is a clown on inflation/deflation. No wonder you follow him.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 18:11 | 6395107 Freedom Pilot
Freedom Pilot's picture

Yes he is.  As I recall, he fails to understand that there are two types of credit - only one of which has an inflationary effect.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 18:11 | 6395109 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

"follow" means read. I read the work of many people even if we don't agree on issues.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 01:22 | 6396334 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

Mish says there are 8 different definitions of inflation.  He is wrong.  There is only ONE definition of inflation.

Inflation is the increase in money supply.

That's it.  That is the definition.  Now, the politicians and media will use that word incorrectly all day long, every day, but that shouldn't surprise anyone.  They are all idiots.

Inflation does not mean interest rates.

Inflation does not mean prices.

Those things are inter-related, along with supply and demand, but they are ALL SEPARATE THINGS.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 10:10 | 6397095 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

Serenity Now... finally I found someone .. that is you... who is talking sense... very good comment!!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:34 | 6394039 rejected
rejected's picture

Probably a government employee of some sort,,, they all think you have to punish people to do something... like tax cigarettes and other fun things that are none of their fk-ing business a zillion percent.

Edit: You might consider paying ZH for the ad.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:42 | 6394850 r101958
r101958's picture

Yep! That's it thinair, you are the only one anywhere that understands inflation. /sarc

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:24 | 6394009 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

that you stopped by was good. And, I still do not hate you.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:17 | 6394454 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

I apologize for being harsh. I normally am not, but the tone of your post was arrogant. Usually arrogant needs a 2 x 4 to the head to wake up. I hope you get what folks are trying to tell you. 

You can let people know you wrote something and ask them for their feedback.

You can say, "I believe I have some insight on inflation that might be novel, tell me what you think."

Do you see the difference vs what you chose to do?

No one is interested in someone announcing that they are a know it all. Just make your case.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 17:24 | 6394988 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

no sir, my judgement is not based on votes. I a not a politician. yes.My stance will not change even if I an down millions to none. Make no mistake each time someone insults me ... it is on zerohedge .. it is not on you... 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:22 | 6393998 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

To those who always throw insults at me: When I address to zh and or the author of the article, then my comment is for them. If you do not like you do not have to stop by to throw insults at me. Why are you fighting with me on behalf of zh? I already saw so many against one .... enjoy your victory. Only zh has the right to insult me.... none of you has that right. if you can't even differentiate between right and wrong what are you doing here? I remember how you watched the Germany vs Greece with beer. I don't even know if zh is a human or a machine... is this how you annonymously worship the annonymous? 

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:43 | 6394058 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

I don't have the right to insult you?  Really? 

Go hug your participation trophies and don't worry--people will read your blog.  You deserve it.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:28 | 6394257 JohnG
JohnG's picture

Fuck you asshole I'll insult anyone who needs it.

BFYTW.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 18:15 | 6395118 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

did zh send you? and how many people have you done that to. i hope you spare the people you respect.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:35 | 6394290 inhibi
inhibi's picture

You write and act like a child, ur post has little analysis, and u seem to think more about how others perceive you as opposed to content.

 

The fact that you would say that nobody knows the theory behind inflation is ludicrous. How many texts, papers, books have you read on inflation? 1 or 2? Have you looked at the history of the American dollar, the Brazilian real, the British pound? How can you even global assertions on a subject so tired to the politics and economics of the time? How can you make assertions at all? 

You're work should speak for itself.

Now get a grip on reality. You know nothing about working hard or the humility that comes with trying to further our understanding about a complex subject that hundreds of smarter people devoted their life to.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 21:39 | 6395831 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

Judging by your comments, it seems you know the concept. You don't have to tell what the concept is. Can you honestly tell whether you know or not?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:27 | 6394023 rejected
rejected's picture

There are verrry few here that doesn't know that inflation is the increase in money supply and what we're mocking is price inflation,,, a symptom of monetary inflation.

That said,,, let us have our fun...

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 10:11 | 6397102 fromthinair
fromthinair's picture

you make sense too.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:08 | 6393603 RXJ1532
RXJ1532's picture

Most likely the FED is solely using WAGE inflation as the main and possibly the only gage of inflation. In fact, since 2000, usual weekly wages have fallen 3.7% in real terms. So yes, wage growth, if that is their barameter of inflation, has indeed been deflationary since 2000. How else can these liars keep a straight face when spewing such fetid garbage?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:10 | 6393613 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

Debtors love inflation, savers fear it.

Most of us are debtors (maybe not net but few of us have no debt.)

The Fed knows if there is less money circulating the even more debt will fail and soon we'll be down to fighting over the last one dollar bill.

They are screwed...so are the rest of us.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:29 | 6394030 daveO
daveO's picture

Right. In the old days, it was 3 steps and a stumble.

Now, it's end QE=more debt defaults=stumble.

The slaves are saturated.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:12 | 6393620 SoDamnMad
SoDamnMad's picture

American food manufacturers have spread their tricks to even the Baltics.  We always had flour packaged in 2 kilogram bags but now

everythign has shifted over to 1.75 kilo bags  AND  you guessed it.   The prices stayed the same. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:19 | 6393983 BandGap
BandGap's picture

How about those Canadian beer manufacturers who started in with those 11.2 oz. bottles?

Bastards.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:12 | 6394186 RiverDrifter
RiverDrifter's picture

In my mind, this is how inflation has taken hold that very few people realize.  Cereal boxes are smaller, same price.  Ice cream cartons are smaller, same price.  I've cut way back on the middle portion of the grocery store (where all the processed food-like things are) and stuck to the outer edges of the store (where real food like produce, meats, deli, etc are) but I have kids so I do keep cereal, ice cream, chips, etc on hand and it's a fact....packaging sizes are getting cut but the prices are not.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 01:50 | 6396354 EndOfDayExit
EndOfDayExit's picture

And this is exactly why it is not inflation, but something more like demand erosion. With inflation they wouldn’t need to bother with tricks and reduced sizes, they would just bump up the price. Since everyone would have more money (this is inflation, right?) the price increase would be absorbed without reducing demand. Here they cannot do this – people do not have more money, well, at least, the bottom 90% of them. Hence all these package sizing tricks to help preserve their profit margins. This is producers feeling a margin squeeze.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 01:58 | 6396357 buzzkillb
buzzkillb's picture

All of our local stores are mixing where the food is found. Alchohol on the outer aisles being one. The middle aisles have the frozen food. The cereal boxes appear the same size, but less is inside. Same as chips. Most shelf stickers now don't say what the cost per .oz/weight is so I have to get the calculator out to check what is cheaper, toothpaste especially.

Starting to notice fresh meat and produce are starting to get low everywhere too. Are more people cooking or less?

Also the markets are starting to get robbed more frequently.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:16 | 6393637 GRDguy
GRDguy's picture

Just proves they have to lie first, in order to continue to steal. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:16 | 6393645 thunderchief
thunderchief's picture

What they mean is there is no inflation in the things you don't need in daily life, because now you don't have any money left to purchase those things.

How can there be inflation in things you will never own?

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:24 | 6393668 El Hosel
El Hosel's picture

Not to worry, as long as ONLY the 1% has wages inceasing there can be no inflation by their definition.... Win, winning, winner, for the ones. Fuk Yeah!

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:21 | 6393669 Conax
Conax's picture

My morning Alpo had cardboard in it.

Whhhhoooooooo   OOOooooooooooh.

(Howl of anguish)

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:38 | 6393766 RaceToTheBottom
RaceToTheBottom's picture

I believe you may have been eating part of your house instead.  It happens to me more than I want to admit, lately.

But inflation is low, so no problem.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:30 | 6393717 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Meh, I think I'll go grab a hedonically adjusted iPad for lunch.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:30 | 6393720 Jethro
Jethro's picture

Ha!  They used CPI numbers.  Wonder what would happen with a Chapwood Index comparison?

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:36 | 6393745 chosen
chosen's picture

Everyone knows that government statistics are bullshit.  Rents, medical, food, are all skyrocketing.   The government, controlled by the oligarchs, wants to keep interest at zero so the wealthy can get free money to invest in the markets.    It's all too obvious and digusting.  The oligarchs will soon have to back off as the citizens are becoming restless, despite the massive crackdown by the police.  The police are the agents (mercenaries) of the wealthy, and if they cannot do it, the government calls out the national guard, and the military if necessary.  We live in a police state.  Forget about that democracy illusion.  When the wealthy bought the government, democracy ended.  The government has become a propaganda tool of the rich.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:03 | 6393920 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

Inflation...statistics...theft...FED...money...

This boring stuff makes my head all hurty like.

Hey, have you heard about that evil dentist who kills lions?  He should be killed.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:38 | 6393770 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Inflation is theft. There is no other way to see it.

I remember the first time I asked myself "why is there inflation?" I did not know and just assumed there was something "natural" about it because it seems there has always been inflation. When I learned it was because of printing, it was mind blowing. I had to work through feeling helpless, ripped off, there was a lot to process.

I am just an n = 1. I think most of the US public knows prices go up and "always" have, but they have not had the logical and emotional processing I described. If they did, things would be different. 

I have my students watch Money as Debt to get the point across. When they realize the dollar is backed by nothing, their minds are blown, forever. When they realize that interest will always cause booms and busts to occur and that is what is "natural" in an unmanaged economy based on fractional reserve lending, it is like waking up from the Matrix for a great many of them. You have to be there for them to help them manage their anger, dismay, and disbelief. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:55 | 6393862 slightlyskeptical
slightlyskeptical's picture

Teaching your students the truth will mean that soon you will have no students.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:10 | 6393949 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

I let them know that I have mixed feelings about a University education and the debt they often run up to get one, and the fact they may not get a good job anyway. I tell them that it can be perceived as a Ponzi scam (I have to be somewhat careful). It actaully works great, the audience buzzes when they are allowed to talk openly about these issues. It builds trust, they feel free to ask good questions as we move through the material. 

I have had some drop out of school, it is just true.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:30 | 6394036 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

I am a bit envious of anyone who teaches economics to youngsters.  I'm sure this sounds a bit twisted, since it must be terribly frustrating.

But I would be tempted to ask some very basic questions and sit back, silently, and watch them debate the answers.

Questions like:  "What is money?"  or "What causes inflation?" or "What is capitalism?"

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:29 | 6394263 The9thDoctor
The9thDoctor's picture

The reason why America has so many low-income people, is because America has many economically illiterate people.

If Americans had economic literacy, there would be no payday loan places, no title loan places, no HELOC loans to finance boats that only get used 5 times a year,  there would be no student loans (or at the very least student loans would be used towards a degree that has income potential at the risk of the loan being able to be discharged in bankruptcy).

I used to think it was some giant massive conspiracy for The Man to keep you down, but as I started to reseach this more, I realized that finance is no secret. Conspiracies involve secrets, but finance isn't secret.  I used to learn about finance from a public library computer while working a dead end crappy retail job in the hood.  I even bought a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad from a Good Will.  I wanted to know how to make the rent, pay the bills, and invest what little peanuts I made.  I went through the hoops and hurdles of "promotions" to get an extra lousy $1 an hour, but at the end of the day, it was about the experience to move on to bigger and better things.

The reason why Blankfein and Dimon and others get away with everything, is that they know how finance works.  Meanwhile, the average joe on the street looks forward to their next paycheck to blow at the strip club and bar tabs, and then they get mad at their boss for not paying them enough and "being greedy" for leasing a brand new "company" vehicle.  The thing is, is that same worker can do the same techniques themselves but its easier for them to have stinking thinking, and just point fingers and blame others for their own foolish decisions.

I tell working class people all of the time, how to get ahead, but they refuse to put in the effort.  It's easier to eat a Hungry Man and drink beer while watching ball games on the big screen that they financed from rent-a-center, than it is to spend a lousy few hours a week reading books on how to do better.

I even recommend videos they can watch on YouTube for FREE.  Nope, they "don't have time" because of this or that lame excuse.  Yet they some how can manage to watch 4-hour long ball games, and check their fantasy football scores, and post drunk pics on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.  Their priories are shit, so they become shit. 

You are what you think about.  That's the big "secret" that Earl Nightengale revealed.

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:17 | 6394737 Crocodile
Crocodile's picture

You just described what our sin-nature, an inherited nature looks like.  In medical terms; you described the symptoms and typical of the medical profession, fail to understand the underlying issue much less seek the cure. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:28 | 6394795 d4pwnage
d4pwnage's picture

"I even recommend videos they can watch on YouTube for FREE.  Nope, they "don't have time" because of this or that lame excuse.  Yet they some how can manage to watch 4-hour long ball games, and check their fantasy football scores, and post drunk pics on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.  Their priories are shit, so they become shit. "

That's bad, but even worse I think are the pseudo-intellectuals who spend their time on pseudo-intellectual junk like mainstream news and TED talks.  They think they know everything, they badmouth freedom and free markets, and they try to impose their view of right and wrong on everyone else by voting for violence.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 18:05 | 6395096 Freedom Pilot
Freedom Pilot's picture

I hate to admit this, but it wasn't until I read Mises' Anti-Capitalistic Mentality that I really understood why people hate capitalism.  Once you understand, it changes everything.  Most intellectuals are morons who know of many books but have never read any of them.  Reminds me of this scene from Good Will Hunting where Will rips apart the "intellectual" tool in the bar:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s.

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 01:39 | 6396345 Serenity Now
Serenity Now's picture

The9thDoctor,

Great post.  It should be a feature article.  Finance is not a secret.  Economics is not hard.  They are easy and logical, for those who care.  Unfortunately, most don't care.  

The truth is that most people want something for nothing and for exponents to go on forever.

Both of those desires violate the very core of economics (There is no such thing as a free lunch) and finance (Growth is finite).  But 99% of people don't care.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:59 | 6393891 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

+1

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:56 | 6394383 Crocodile
Crocodile's picture

Well if we followed the way of the Lord, then all the problems would be gone, for who would lie, cheat, steal and murder and not receive actual justice?  Answer is no one.  People actually desire what Christ offers as far as their ideology of what is right and good, even if they, themselves, do not actually practice it.  But they just do not want God in it.  Like wanting heaven without God being there, but the fail to recognize that heaven is heaven because God is there and hell is hell because His righteousness, goodness, mercy and love are absent; what remains is His justice.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 16:23 | 6394770 d4pwnage
d4pwnage's picture

Most people (myself included) have been brought up to believe that inflation is a natural part of a growing economy.  Unfortunately, it's only a small fraction of the population that ever has its eyes opened to the truth.  That's what we need to fix.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 12:46 | 6393816 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

Part of their no-inflation calculation rests upon such ideas as the concept that your new smart phone (which costs 200% of what your last phone cost) offers three times as many features that you never use and most often don't even know they exist. This leads them to conclude that the price of the phone has fallen. Your new smart refreigerator does more (in terms of offering gateways for spies and hackers) and thus offers more value even if the price has gone up as well. You don't replace your car with another car. You replace it with a new super-duper smart car.

As long as we are still paying more every year for the same old "free and compulsory" educational system run by marxists, however, there is at least one factor that does count towards inflation. Absent a huge crisis, this is what you get. You cannot wake people up so long as the tripartite axis of evil -- education, government, and media-- are in the hands of people who desire for everyone to slumber on. Break the most important leg of that stool and the other two will eventually fall as well.

 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:03 | 6393914 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Funny the hidden costs of school. When I was a kid, we went to school. I am sure the PTA did fundraisers and such, but hey, I was a kid, did not know the details. But we did not buy supplies, except maybe paper and pencil.

At all of my son's schools (with the exception of his first one, a private one) they gave him "extra credit" (I shit you not) if you brought in boxes of kleenex, hand gel, extra pencils, computer paper, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. This is on top of the supply list you were required to buy for your kid. 

There was even an odd social dynamic around it, I found out later. Me, I'll buy tissue I know works at a good price and bring them in and think nothing of it. Apparently lower income parents felt the need to buy "name brand products" as a sign of prestige, even when they could not afford it. I heard of a mother who bought name brand even though she could not afford any. Was not going to let her kid go in there with "cheap" stuff. Me I never noticed or gave a shit, nor did my son. If someone had said something about my tissue, I would have told them to get a life and fuck off. 

The point here is that stuff adds up, both the required and the stuff they asked for, for "extra credit." It actually went toward their homework grade (very unethical and teaching the wrong thing, early). So here I will call "inflation" in the sense that things that taxes covered before, get shifted. But it sure does not get counted in the accounting process. 

Teachers also keep "wish lists" and you as a parent can buy it for the class if you like. I bought calculators one year for instance. 

Meanwhile, they buy complex board sized touch computer screens that they often do not ever know how to or learn to use. Bill Gates thanks you very much for your tax dollars for that.

It is hidden in all kinds of places. 

Black boards worked great, they are a thing of the past. 

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 13:44 | 6394085 chosen
chosen's picture

Government-run schools should be banned.  Their goals are: employee compensation 85%, indoctrination 11%, incarceration 3.5%, education .5%.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:39 | 6394303 lordylord2
lordylord2's picture

Accurate but with an error of +- 0.5%

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:50 | 6394357 Crocodile
Crocodile's picture

Actually I would say the goal is indoctriniation 100%.  The other goals are the results of the primary.

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 14:35 | 6394288 Baby Eating Dingo22
Baby Eating Dingo22's picture

Same thing with day camp

On top of the much increased fee that used to provide a kid with an activity-filled day, there's an almost daily added cost for ice cream day, pizza day, painting day, circle jerk day...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 15:38 | 6394546 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

"circle jerk day"

LOL.

I hope it is the cost of lube...

Wed, 08/05/2015 - 17:41 | 6395033 Crocodile
Crocodile's picture

That late middle-school and H.S. activity has become the new norm in the classroom and a distraction to others; especially prevalent among the females...not joking either.  The children reflect another and greater moral issue with the parents imo, which they received from their parents.

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