Wisdom

The Cost of Government 'Safety'

"Every time something really bad happens, people cry out for safety, and the government responds by taking rights away from good people."

-- Penn Jillette,

FMC Barometers

Numbers as of last Friday close.

• Gold: 1,219.60 (-3.40)
• Reuters-Jeffries CRB: 194.16
• Total Govt Spend as % of GDP: 36.5%

[Total = Federal, state & local
Source: usgovernmentspending.com]

• Quarterly Gross Output (GO): $42.7 trillion +5.6% (Real GO for Q4 2017)

What is Gross Output?

Why are these numbers important?

Shadow Stats Snapshot

ShadowStats alternate economic indicators are based on the methodology of noted economist John Williams, specialist in government economic reporting.

• Unemployment:
  BLS: 4.05%
  Shadow Stats: 21.5%
• Inflation:
  November Year-to-Year: 2.87% (CPI-U*)
  Shadow Stats: 9.9%

*[cpi-u is the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation rate for all urban consumers]