Shadow Government Stats - The Alarming Truth About Government Economic Reporting

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with this web site. I only find it to be very interesting and informative. I think it is a hidden gem.

Intro

The Shadow Government Stats (link) is a website dedicated to re-calculating the major economic statistics that we all feel the government is intentionally fudging to make the economy and themselves look better. Shadowstats claims that the quality of government reporting has deteriorated sharply in the last couple of decades and I would full-heartedly agree with them.

The government published stats just feel wrong. The shadow stats charts feel more accurate to my personal everyday experience.

Example 1. Unemployment Rate

The government says unemployment rates are back to normal. This feels wrong. There are something like 95 million Americans out of work (source) and many cannot find work (source).

This Shadow Stats graph reveals a more accurate picture of the situation.

_{Image posted Courtesy of ShadowStats.com}

Example 2. Inflation

The government has been claiming that inflation is low and that we are in danger of entering a deflationary cycle. Every time I go to the grocery store proves them wrong. I think that this Shadow Stats graph depicts a more accurate answer. Inflation for the average person is alarmingly high.

_{Image posted Courtesy of ShadowStats.com}

Example 3. GDP Growth (actually its contracting)

Last example: the government claims that GDP growth has rebounded but it seems to me that more people are struggling each year and the amount of money available per capita is going down. This Shadow Stats calculation for GDP indicates that the American GDP seems to actually be contracting. If you add in population growth the story gets even worse.

_{Image posted Courtesy of ShadowStats.com}

_{Images posted with the inclusion of a "Courtesy of ShadowStats.com" note below each chart as per the permissions instructions from the web site.
Sections 29, 29.1 or 29.2 of the Copyright Act of Canada is a statutory exception that permits the limited use of figures for the purposes of research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism or review and news reporting. That is the intention of the use of these figures in this post. Other major jurisdictions (USA, Europe etc) grant similar exceptions.}