What is not mentioned here is the much more significant decline in buying power. For example, the cost of Thanksgiving dinner was 13% higher this year compared to 2010. Energy and food, both a lot higher and going higher as US wealth is being redistributed out of the country.
Between January and April 2011, the LDS church had to raise the prices around 40% their members were paying for groceries.
That chart proves what I already knew. We’re near the bottom. Not low enough to get “free” government perks but high enough to pay for everyone else’s gimme programs.
It’s good to be above average, but to your point costs are higher than in prior years. Energy and healthcare stand out at my consumer level purchasing those products. But they also get the double-whammy of increased expenses to businesses (increase cost = higher consumer prices).
Also to what extent are people feeling more confident anywhere on that chart that their income is more or less secure than in recent years past? Or of gaining employment at all? I think the conditions imposed by Obama on business hurt us on this revenue side as well.
Because they have removed necessities like food and fuel from the cost of living index they would not count it anyway...
Check out http://www.shadowstats.com to understand how dishonest our current government inflation indicators are... The measurement system has been repeatedly changed to reduce measured inflation... Which also means that our real rate of growth, inflation adjusted, is negative - meaning that we continue to be in decline in real terms.
One more example of the giant lie that is modern, statist, corporatist, fascist government in the USA. You can get more honest reporting now on “Russia Today” TV than you can get from the MSM. Incredible.