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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BGR who wrote (73592)	1/14/2000 12:44:00 PM
From: Mike M2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, few gov'ts have proven themselves to be worthy of the peoples trust. Power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely - this is why many favor restricting government's power. Have you noticed that all the changes in the governments economic statistics serve to support the new era beliefs. One of the most blatant examples in the implementation of chained dollar GDP. The government decides that because computer prices have fallen but performance has improved that the real dollars exchanged understate the real growth of the economy. What really matters though are real dollars that change hands PC makers report their results in real dollars not chained dollars. No other government in the world uses this method. See business Week July 12 ,1999 feature " Economic Trends" Robert Gordon. See also the Survey of Current Business - Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Mike ho ho ho TL & EV!

To: BGR who wrote (73592)	1/14/2000 2:47:00 PM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

<<, and I think that the Govt. is doing an excellent job and have a lot of trust in Govt. statistics. >> We know where you stand on that. Have ever been involved in a document that was prepared for the Government, which eventually will be a public release? I have.

To: BGR who wrote (73592)	1/14/2000 3:21:00 PM
From: Freedom Fighter	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, Experience and maturity has made me suspect of anyone who has a vested interest in presenting subjective data a certain way. It isn't my distaste for government or my views on the market that makes me suspect. It's really hard to find anyone older than their mid 20s who hasn't learned that spinning the facts and data are part of the political game. Tax and spending issues are an even bigger part of the election and reelection process. No one wants to raise taxes or cut spending because they will lose. You can accomplish both without having your name attached to either course of action by adjusting the CPI number. Many spending programs are tied to it and so are taxes as a result of bracket creep. So what you have here is a way of solving economic issues without making difficult political decisions that can change election results. The same thing can be said about many commercials, salespersons, etc.... The seller is only going to tell you the good stuff. As an investor I'm forced to think the same way about government data as I do when I buy private goods and services. Unfortunately, the CPI is such a subjective and difficult thing that reliable data is probably impossible even with totally honest intentions. I've seen both sides of the debate on GDP growth and CPI. I just ignore most government stats now and look at what I know is real. I know what interest rates are and I know what my companies are really earning. Wayne