Many people are aware that most of the economic statistics released by the government have been altered in ways which make them fraudulent.

There have been two main reasons why the US Government reports figures which are not reflective of reality. First of all, figures are made to look better than they are, in order to make Administrations seem more efficient and successful. Second, figures are fudged in order to cheat people out of what is rightfully theirs.

For example, had the government not changed the method of calculating the inflation rate in America over the past twenty-five years, a person receiving $1,000 per month in Social Security benefits would rather be receiving about $1,700 per month.

It is not so much that the government alters numbers–it doesn’t change 8%, say, to 6%; what it has done is to change formulas, indexes and what is included or excluded. In calculating the core rate of inflation, for example, upon which Social Security increases are based, statisticians now exclude the costs of energy and food! In other cases, statistics have simply not been reported.

Were we to return to the methods of calculating and reporting economic data, which were used in 1980, we would be shocked at the deterioration of America’s economic health and of the wealth and buying power of its citizens. In order to suppress public outrage, politicians simply changed the rules of measurement.

– Raphael O’Suna, Haiku