Let Them Eat Hamburger

Nothing has changed in government since the beginning of time. Neither has the consequences.

In the late 1700’s the French Ministers told the King & Queen there was great unrest in the people due to the increasing price of bread. Marie Antoinette sluffed it off with the now infamous statement, “then let them eat cake!” Not long after the King & Queen lost their heads. In the 1990’s Michael Boskin, Pres. Clinton’s Minister of Labor Statistics along with Alan Greenspan, decided to reduce inflation by changing the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was calculated. Heretofore, the CPI was determined by pricing a set list of goods from year to year. The difference between current prices and last year’s prices was the inflation rate. The culprits decided that by substituting some of the goods priced, a lower CPI could dupe the people. An actual example was substituting hamburger for steak since burgers were cheaper than T-bones. The inflation rate went down. From then to now, the government has said inflation has averaged 3-5% a year. Using the original basket of goods including steak, the real CPI today is 13.7%. I suppose dog food has now been substituted for hamburger. You know its true when you go to buy something.

That worked so well, the Clinton Ministers decided to also reduce unemployment. One long adhered to measure was to sample 60,000 households in different areas. By eliminating 10,000 Inner-City households where unemployment was higher, the rate went down. Un-be-knowing to anyone, Bubba Clinton added back the 10,000 Inner-City households at the end of his administration, thereby, giving Pres. Bush an automatic increase in unemployment during his first year in office. It’s time for government heads to roll again.