Do you really think that you are going to uncover something that the majority of them have missed?
I don't think they would even try to "uncover" something like this. And I don't think they'd report it if they
did find it. It's really not a matter of whether they "missed" something that I found, or that they couldn't find something that I found. The professional financial propagandists wouldn't even
try to find something like this, because it would not be in their be in their best interests to do so.
In addition, actually documenting this kind of manipulation is difficult, since previous numbers are not readily available to most people. The only reason I was able to find them is because I downloaded the Industrial Production numbers the Fed published previously on 10/30/06. So I'm
providing a comparison of current statistics with previous statistics that is not readily available to most people.
And isn't it convenient how
all previous numbers were revised
downward? Isn't interesting that they
overestimated each and every number? Do you think that's an accident? Do you think the Fed just happened to
overestimate every single number? Since the Fed seems to downwardly revise it's previous statistics in every single area it records numbers for, shouldn't that make anyone a little suspicious? Could there be some motivation for overstating the original numbers? (Like maybe a "profit" motive?) Isn't it interesting that they never publicize the
downward revisions of previous numbers, while the Bush administration widely publicizes
upward revisions of BLS employment numbers? Doesn't it seem "politically motivated" to publicize
increases in previously stated economic numbers, while remaining silent about
decreases in previously stated numbers?
Yes, the guys in the street are watching this stuff and reporting on as much
positive stuff as they can find, while trying to debunk as much negative stuff as possible. And they're having a difficult time with the latter, since so much negative "stuff" is coming out, and very little positive.
This just means that investors think the stock market will go up, and that they'll be able to make money off that increase. And it is in their best interests to continue to falsely talk up the economy, so others will invest, driving stock prices still higher.
The dollar may have "advanced" over the last week, but the longer term trend is downward. It took $1.20 to buy 1 Euro earlier this year. On Friday it took $1.30 to buy 1 Euro. That's roughly an 8%
decline in the value of the dollar since earlier this year. Below is a copy of 2 longer-term Euro-vs-Dollar charts from "futuresource.com." (The top chart shows roughly an 8-month period, while the bottom chart shows a 2-year period.)
It looks like the long-term trend of the dollar is downward, despite a 1-week bump.
The CPI is
the most manipulated number the government publishes. Through the use of "hedonics," as well as selective inclusion (and exclusion) of certain items, the CPI calculation gives a much lower estimate of inflation than many analysts believe exists.
This definitely
is a good thing. However, the cause for the improvement is due to decreased American consumer purchase of imports, due to decreasing overall consumer spending power. Exports were virtually unchanged.
Record Corporate profits probably have something to do with that. Even still, this minuscule increase is not enough keep the U.S. from sliding further into debt. Every year that there's a budget deficit, our national debt increases. This year is no exception. And the annual deficit reported by the Bush administration is much less than the true deficit. An accrual method of accounting puts it at almost $500 billion, and this still doesn't include the off-budget "emergency" appropriations for the Iraq War.
Though I do follow the point you're making about what constitutes a "dispassionate observer," I disagree with your suggestion that my "politics" is affecting my ability to be a dispassionate observer.
To the contrary, I look at all of the numbers and draw my own conclusions. I use the views of experts only to validate what I already believe. I disagree with most economists on the current benefits of unrestricted free trade. Though I
am registered with one of the major political parties, I disagree with the elite leadership on many things, including their illegal immigration position of (apparent) advocacy of open borders and guest workers.
In fact, it is my very own "dispassionate observer-ship" that causes me to consider changing my current party status to a 3rd party.