Obama también trucha la inflación

Leemos en el último reporte semanal de John Mauldin:

It seems the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the CPI next week, will treat the subsidy received by those 800,000 car buyers who bought a car in the "Cash for Clunkers" program as if the price of a car fell by $4,500.

This does several things. It will decrease the inflation used to adjust the GDP for this quarter. Not the end of the world, but annoying But what really matters is that the CPI is used to calculate Social Security increases and interest paid on TIPS.

If I tried to defraud one of my clients using such accounting legerdemain, I would be shut down, sued, and taken to court (at the minimum) by the host of regulators who look over my shoulder. And I should be! You don't make such changes in the rules to your own benefit. But that is what the BLS did.

Al final parece que Cristina tenía razón y Obama sí se está copiando de nosotros. Y al mejor estilo Moreno, el BLS (el equivalente a nuestro INDEC) en lugar de computar el precio de los automóviles a precio de lista, lo que hace es registrar el precio deducido el subsidio del gobierno bajo el programa "Cash for Clunkers".