When you create your own formula to measure you can make it seem low. And when you operate in secrecy we have no idea if the numbers you are measuring are correct.

The formulas may not be secret but they are certainly not accurate. Gold is rising along with all other commodities. Gas prices, food prices are all rising but not included in the "official" number because they would show too much inflation.

I couldn't copy the chart for some reason but here is the link:

MIT and ShadowStats Agree: Inflation Around 9%

No one believes those numbers any more. The general public doesn't believe the official unemployment rate numbers either. Also, I would like to add that the subprime problem was not contained and the banking system was not strong.

read more here:

Why Bernanke is Wrong on Inflation

I would suggest you read up on shadowstats before using their numbers. Are you aware that their findings have never been independently verified, and several of their calculations have been proven to be false using their own data and alleged formulas?

-I don't know if I would say "regularly"....but they certainly pump money into the economy during certain election cycles and then withdraw money from the economy at other times.

-The fact that I was referring to was that Jefferson and others were aware of the perils of the concentration of power in the hands of those individuals that create money. It was a topic they discussed and debated. You may disagree with him but to suggest he was ignorant of the problems involved/addressed by central banking is simply incorrect....and that is a fact.

-You want an example of the current politicians in Washington disregarding the Constitution? Really? Ok, try the Heath Care bill. That is completey unconstitutional. The government has no right to make you buy health insurance. None.

You may have a good point about shadowstats, I haven't looked into them in depth. I'll have to doublecheck.

I know the inflation rates published by the government are a joke. The standard of living of the average worker in the US has been flat since the '70s.

I disagree. In the seventies average families did not have the internet, three color televisions, two and a half cars, smartphones, unlimited long distance calling, cable, 2000 albums stored on an ipod, eat out 3.5 times a week, wear name brand clothes, or have as much living space in there homes as we do today. By every quantifiable measure I can think of people have a better standard of living today than they did 30 or 40 years ago.