BURIED TRUTHS: From Inflationary Lies Buried by the Government to All that Lies Buried beneath Epstein
What follows my brief report on hot inflation is a brilliant exposé (not by me, so not bragging) that bares the architecture beneath Epstein Island—the government framework of deep corruption.
(If you are not interested in inflation, just skip to the next section; but, first, the simple buried truth that government has intentionally hidden before we delve into the deep complexity that is Epstein.)
Inflation due to tariffs is now rising more quickly than it did last year. You wouldn’t know it based on a quick read of the government’s report last week. Neither would you guess it based on Zero Hedge’s gloss of that report on inflation because ZH emphasized the superficial figures that look good for President Trump. Quite simply, they know what their audience wants to hear, and they pander to their audience. I am one who writes what my audience may not want to hear because, as with Epstein, the most important truths are the ones government refuses to tell you. In this case, the deeper truth tells you why your experience with “affordability” does not square with what you keep hearing from the Trump administration.
Fortunately, we also have economist Wolf Richter’s take on inflation, which is more of a take-it-apart. Richter points out that the government’s headline number for inflation, which ZH wrote so benignly about, was solely held down by the same flaw that the government added to its reports when it shut down for nearly two months and then pretended those two months never happened. As Richter pointed out back then (and now) the skew from omitting two months of inflation data will continue to hold through the year-over-year change all the way until next October, when October and November will finally start to drop out of the YoY measure.
That flaw conveniently crept into the most influential component of inflation, which has long been the most deeply flawed anyway. That is “Owner’s Equivalent Rent” (OER), which is the Bureau of Lying Statistic’s proxy for the cost of homeownership. I’ll let Richter summarize how flawed this report is, so you don’t have to take my word for it. (Since I’m the guy who kept saying tariffs would turn inflation hot again, I want an independent review on that.) Let’s start with the part Richter leads off with, which is the bad news they couldn’t even hide:
The Consumer Price index for core services jumped in January by the most in a year, seasonally adjusted. Core services dominate the Consumer Price Index and include many of the essentials that consumers cannot do without, such as housing, healthcare, and insurance….
So the all-items CPI rose month-to-month by a benign looking 0.17% (+2.1% annualized) in January. But the core CPI (CPI without food and energy) rose by 0.30% (+3.6% annualized) and the core services CPI was hot.
Core services CPI jumped by 0.39% (+4.8% annualized) in January from December, the worst reading in a year (blue line in the chart). It accounts for two-thirds of the CPI basket of goods and services, and that’s where inflation ran hot.
And then we come to Richter’s take on the really, truly fake-and-meant-to-hide-the-truth-about-tariffs inflation:
Year-over-year, the services CPI rose by 3.0% (red). It continues to be pushed down by the CPI for Owners’ Equivalent of Rent (OER), which had been doctored for the September-November period. OER is the biggest component of the CPI basket, weighing 26.2% in overall CPI and over 40% in the core services CPI, and it moves the needle. I discussed these scandalously doctored months here.
In August, the service CPI rose by 3.6% year-over-year, roughly the same pace as in the prior three months. Then came the doctored months. By November, the year-over-year reading had reset at an increase of 3.0%, and that’s where it has stayed through January. Those doctored months produced a year-over-year downshift that will stick around through October.
And then the part about OER that is always deeply flawed in order to understate inflation:
Homeowners experience a lot more inflation, but it is not reflected in CPI. The expenses of homeownership – homeowners’ insurance, HOA fees, property taxes, and maintenance – are not included in CPI, and OER takes their place. Those expenses have soared for many homeowners, and inflation is rampant in them, but obviously not reflected by OER.
OER accounts for 26.2% of overall CPI.
Rent, by the way, got the same two months left out of the measure that will remain out until those same two months fall off next autumn. So, like the Epstein Files, the truth is well hidden.
The Trump government has managed to use the government shutdowns to dishonestly hide as much of the inflation that has already happened as it can. You are already paying that inflation, but their reports will be claiming all year that you are not because of how they left two months out of the most influential parts of the measure and are no more willing to release that information than Pam Bondi is to release the remaining 3-million+ Epstein Files.
Island architecture
Speaking of the Epstain that runs throughout governments past and present, I have posted a link below to an outstanding article by a beautiful young writer who simply goes by the name “Lily.” She is a masterful literary craftsman with a brilliant mind, and she does the most credible job that I have seen of laying out the deepest and worst truths of the Epstein Files—not the most salacious details that readily capture our attention and our ire (and should) over how young girls were abused by the elite throughout society, but the architecture behind all of that depravity—the depths of government control that were interconnected through Epstein.
I am amazed at how adroitly she brings it all together and lays bare the mechanical apparatus. That which sounds like conspiracy theories from many writers finds solid intellectual ground in her exposé, so I will leave you to reading it all from her because she says it all out as one skilled in the craft of clean, clear prose and rooted in historic depth. Her feast for the mind also serves up nicely with the Deeper Dive I put together over the weekend about the arrival of the AI singularity.
I’ll put the link to Lily’s article right up top for you:
“The Epstein Files That Actually Matter”
Economania (national & global economic collapse plus market news)
Amazon has lost $450 billion in value during this historic losing streak.
Serious Delinquency Rates for Subprime & Prime Auto Loans
Inflation Factors (too much money chasing too few goods due to weather, sanctions, tariffs, quarantines, etc.)
Services Inflation Spikes in January, but Bad-Joke OER CPI Pushes Down on Year-over-Year CPI
Companies Set to Unleash Sweeping Price Hikes Thanks to Trump
Wars & Rumors of War (including cyberwar, civil unrest and revolts)
US prepares for long-term military operation against Iran
U.S. Deploys USS Gerald R. Ford to Middle East as Trump Pressures Iran on Nuclear Deal
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Pentagon used Anthropic’s Claude via Palantir in Maduro Venezuela raid
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Russia Pounded By Biggest Ukrainian Drone Swarm Since January Ahead Of Geneva Talks
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Agreements that allow local police to work with ICE skyrocket
Digital Dominance (AI threats, transhumanism, hacks & cyberattacks, etc.)
Dinner Is Being Recorded, Whether You Know It or Not
Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest Unwittingly Reveal the Severity of the U.S. Surveillance State
AI Delusions Are Leading to Domestic Abuse, Harassment, and Stalking
Political Pandemonium & Social Senescence (socio-political issues & events)
DoJ Just Sent Congress the Official Epstein Name List
All of the People, All of the Time: The world wants to be deceived, so let it be
A 2000-Year History Written in Blood
I witnessed Epstein’s post mortem. His death must be reinvestigated
Hillary Clinton Accuses Trump Administration of Epstein Files ‘Cover-Up’
Massie : DOJ Still Withholding Epstein Documents Despite Federal Disclosure Law
Epstein files have brought a wave of resignations and investigations. Here’s the list.
Joe Rogan: Epstein & Friends Are ‘Clearly Demonic’
Member Of Trump’s ‘Religious Liberty Commission’ Fired After Heated Israel Debate
No clear path to ending the partial government shutdown
Deep Domination (globalism, unelected government, unconstitutional government & censorship)
Ray Dalio: The World Order Has Broken Down
Trump’s Secretive New World Order Changes Everything: A Dollar Avalanche Unleashed!
A Pox Upon Us (the plagues, pandemics & health police of the 2020s)
Off-the-Beat News & Just Plain Offbeat News
Updates: FBI analyzes glove DNA as Savannah Guthrie renews plea for missing mother’s return
Coffee Tied To Lower Dementia Risk, Harvard-MIT Study Finds
Doomer Humor
And now about the real bad inflation that is about to come
This is the stuff that will make the buried truths that were enabled by the government shutdowns look timid compared to what is coming. This is the torrid flow that companies are now openly saying they have swallowed whole by taking it out of their profit margins, but which they are no longer able or willing to keep suppressed …
