Tag Archives: consumer price index
Mass Delusions of Cupcakes and Credit
According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent during the first quarter of the year. Like the economy, something doesn’t feel quite right about this number. But what is it, really, that … Continue reading
The Consequences of Lard
The Labor Department reported last Friday that consumer prices increased 0.3 percent in March. More importantly, however, when adjusting for the increase in prices, worker earnings fell 0.4 percent during the month. What this means is that wage earners are … Continue reading
Titanic Myths and the End of Consumer Capitalism
Next month marks the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic’s star-crossed demise into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. To commemorate the occasion, the April edition of National Geographic features a cover story on the grand ocean liner and … Continue reading
Sowing the Seeds of Mass Inflation
Around the time Elvis Presley choked on his last pill the impossible happened; inflation and unemployment increased simultaneously. Economists were confounded. According to the Philips curve there was supposed to be an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment. When the … Continue reading
