Eat oats!

Official inflation numbers are very low and do not correspond with the reality people face when they shop. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reports inflation at 1.1%. This post shows year-over-year increases for basic staples such as wheat (74%) beef (18%) and coffee (27%).  I have been occasionally recording food prices to do my [...]

What business can learn from government statisticians

UN Statisticians tooted  their own horns Wednesday, and showed their numerical prowess by scheduling World Statistics Day date on 20.10 2010.  They even made a video that highlights the importance of the “availability of high quality statistics at the national, regional and global levels,”  the “unbiased official statistics” and “objective and accurate information” government statisticians provide (see [...]

Don’t trust the stimulus job-creation numbers

Politicians love telling voters that stimulus spending creates jobs. Just Google “stimulus created jobs” and you will get about 3,200,000 results. For example, the Congressional Budget Office says President Obama’s stimulus package created up to 3.3 million jobs in the second quarter of this year. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Obama’s stimulus program created 150,000 jobs in [...]