If this year, I go out and buy a pound of all purpose flour and it cost 20% more than last year, then there was simply a 20% inflation. However, the government does not do things that way. One thing I have found, the government likes to twist things. First, they don’t make comparisons of the same thing from one time to the next. I don’t know how all they do it and I don’t really care.

I don’t go by their announcements of inflation from one year to the next. This is my index. I go by visits to the store. Last year, each time I went to the store, it cost me about $125. Now, each visit cost me about $225. By my calculations, that is not quite 100%. However, my buying has changed. We used to eat steak once or twice a month. We haven’t bought steak at the meat counter once this year.

I used to dream about a nice New York cut. Now, when I get to the meat counter, I just go flying by. I don’t even look. My eyes don’t even go in that direction. We used to go to a steak house once or twice a year. Now, never. That part of inflation cannot be measured.

My best guess, since Old Joe took over, the real inflation has been about 100%, maybe a bit more. Of course it has been spread over four years. The hitch is that it is not 25% per year. At 25% per year, it is more that 100%. Moreover, most of the inflation was in the first year. As election year has approached, they have done as the can to cut down on inflation. What inflation there is, they hide from us.

I’m not even going to try to do the math, but you and I know the real inflation. You and I know that we are not only paying twice as much but we are also buying 15 or 20% less.

The last time the the government made a release about the inflation they said it was something around 2.5% or so. I can’t remember the exact amount. It doesn’t make a whole lot of difference anyway. They just put all the numbers into their little magic formula and come out with any number they want.

However, let’s say it is 2.5%. Four years ago that would not have meant as much as now. However, now it is 2.5% of twice the price. That makes it the equivalent of 5% for the 3 year period.

Besides the fact, they are not likely including as much. Moreover, I don’t think they like to include what we really like to buy. Truth be told, it was more like 3%, which is the equivalent of 6%.

How does it feel to not be able to trust what the government, which expects you to believe it all?