Monday 12 November 2007

The Big Government Inflation Game

When it comes to the official government inflation figures, these often understate true increases in the cost of living, due to the statistical reporting methods used. As the famous old adage goes, there are "lies, damned lies and statistics", and nowhere could this be truer than here. One trick is to reduce the real price still further if the assumed quality of an item included in the basket of goods has gone up in quality. For example, a 2007 computer could be classified as ten times more powerful than a 1997 computer, and even though they have the same retail price of say, £1,000; the figures are adjusted downward due to the increased processing power: whether you really needed that extra processing power, or whether it is even possible to buy a 1997 specification computer is not considered. Another trick is replacement, or substitution theory, where, say, if high quality beef rises in price, then it is assumed that many households will trade down to cheaper beef, or even some other type of meat.

Neither of these sound like correct ways to measure price increases in anything, but they do sound like nice ways to massage the true inflation figure downward.

What's the best way to get yourself and your savings outside of the inflationary, currency devaluation, welath destruction cycle? Buy Gold and Silver, and any other commodities you use in your daily life. Historically proven to usually work.

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