In Search Of History

When America Was Truly The Land Of Opportunity

For [early immigrants] America was truly the land of opportunity. For the first time in their lives, many were truly free to pursue their own objectives. That freedom released the human energies which created the United States. There were few government programs to turn to and nobody expected them. But also there were few rules and regulations. There were no licenses, no permits, no red tape to restrict them. They found, in fact, a free market, and most of them thrived on it. 

-- Milton Friedman,

Shadow Stats Snapshot

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

• Unemployment:
  BLS: 4.44%
  Shadow Stats: 22.2%
• Inflation:
  August Year-to-Year: 1.73% (CPI-U*)
  Shadow Stats: 9.4%

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