Check Out Joe Biden’s CPI Flexible Price Index Hockey Stick

by
Steve MacDonald

Marxism fails because even in a free market, experts can’t predict what will happen. There are too many moving parts in the US Economy, including the changing needs or whims of the 330 million Americans. But Marxists will be Marxists.

Democrat majorities almost immediately wrestle the economy into a chokehold. The Biden Era, may it be brief, got right to work on Day One (to borrow from F.Joe’s mentor Barry O) even though the economy had responded in the days and weeks after the November Election.

Sorry, the October to January election.

The markets, the people, knew a Democrat president would meddle, and they promptly responded to the Trump loss. Millions of little triggers and switches clicking and moving. All the data began looking like the Left’s beloved Mann Made Global warming hockey stick.

None of it is favorable to Democrats.

One of those metrics is the Flexible Price Consumer Price Index (CPI) minus food and fuel.  FOod and fuel – two things you buy often and whose costs impact you most were removed decades ago for political reasons. Just like the number of homeless, body counts in necessary and unnecessary wars, and Deaths with or from COVID, you get the idea.

These metrics are all supped to tell us something about the economy’s direction, and flexible prices (as opposed to sticky ones) are more volatile. When they make big swings, it’s because of some sudden problem that makes them more expensive. There are plenty of factors, but none are good news for consumers.

The last time this index was this erratic was the 1970’s most of it during the Carter Administration and unsettled until after Reagan was in office for long enough to set things right – though that was also when they removed food and energy, so there’s that.

But food and energy prices are skyrocketing, and they are not part of this index, so Biden and Democrats have a hockey stick of a problem.

 

Flex Consumer Price Index minus food and fuel Fed Version

 

Year over year, this isn’t good. Record-setting has never before been seen, bad. Since Biden took office, there’s been an almost 20% rise in flexible prices from the previous year.

The difference (rise in prices) from February 2020 to Fed 2021 was 1.1%. A year later (Feb 2022), the prices in this index had risen 19.76%.

Hockeystick.

And no food or energy price changes are included.

You’ve been to the gas station on the way to the grocery store. But not to worry. Biden has authorized one million barrels of oil a day to be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help Democrats stay in elected office.

But you might want to ask how sending that oil to Europe will help with that or – for the record – Americans struggling with high energy prices and rampant inflation on track for recession.

None of which will appear in the inflation numbers but may appear in poor polling for Biden supporters and their candidates.

 

 

Author

  • Steve MacDonald

    Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

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