Dear Editor, I found your web site as I was doing some in depth research on inflation. In looking at the CPI published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis you'll notice three columns. The column on the right shows the "Annual Percent Change (Rate of Inflation)" which appears to be the one you publish on your web site. However, if you do the math and take the years 2006 & 2007 as an example, you'll see that in 2006 the CPI (center column) was 201.6. If you then add 2.9% (right column) you get 207.3 (center column) for 2007. The column on the right merely reflects the percentage of change over the previous year and is not the true inflation we're having. According to the … [Read more...]
Goodbye M3 – What is the Government hiding?
by Tim McMahon, Editor I'm surprised we haven't heard much in the news about this but as of March 23rd 2006 the government will no longer be publishing the M3 money supply data. Most people probably say "Who Cares?" Right? But you should care! And here's why: "The Federal Reserve tracks and publishes the money supply measured three different ways-- M1, M2, and M3. These three money supply measures track slightly different views of the money supply. The most restrictive, M1, only measures the most liquid forms of money; it is limited to currency actually in the hands of the public. This includes travelers checks, demand deposits (checking accounts), and other deposits against … [Read more...]
