Is The Transformation To Jimmy Carter Complete?

3:05 pm EST May 17th, 2006 | Politics | 8 Comments

Consumer Price Report Shows Signs of Inflation

Inflation picked up in April as consumers paid higher prices for gasoline, housing, clothing, medical care and other items, the government reported today.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index, a widely followed inflation gauge, rose 0.6 percent last month, the biggest increase in three months, largely reflecting a 3.9 percent jump in energy prices.

But prices of many other goods and services rose as well. The core-CPI, which excludes food and energy was up 0.3 percent, same as in March, reflecting higher prices for items such as air travel, used cars and electricity.

Inflation sparks selloff

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 187.63 to 11,232.26, Charts) had skidded about 1.7 percent, or 200 points, with two and a half hours left in the session.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 (down 17.42 to 1,274.66, Charts) index sank 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq composite (down 26.47 to 2,202.66, Charts) tumbled 1.3 percent after earlier hitting a new low for the year.

Clearly the answer to all of this is to drill for oil in the Grand Canyon and to push another tax cut for Paris Hilton and Bill Gates. They say we have no new ideas, but they’ve got no good ideas.

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8 Responses to “Is The Transformation To Jimmy Carter Complete?”

  1. frameone says:
    May 17, 2006 at 3:05 pm

    If only Bush were a real conservative you’d see …

  2. CommonSenseDesk says:
    May 17, 2006 at 5:05 pm

    Transformation…

    Remember oil into water ~ or ~ lead into gold ~ how about Bush into…

  3. drpedro says:
    May 17, 2006 at 6:05 pm

    ” A flood of income tax payments pushed up government receipts to the second-highest level in history in April, giving the country a sizable surplus for the month.

    In its monthly accounting of the government’s books, the Treasury Department said Wednesday that revenue for the month totaled $315.1 billion as Americans filed their tax returns by the April deadline. The gusher of tax revenue pushed total receipts up by 13.4 percent from April 2005.

    It marked the largest one-month receipt total since the government collected $332 billion in revenue in April 2001, reflecting a boom in capital gains from stock investors lucky enough to cash out their investments before the bursting of the stock market bubble in early 2000. ”

    Yea the economy is in the toilet, just like the carter years…..and all this AFTER the Bush tax cut!

  4. Oliver Willis says:
    May 17, 2006 at 7:05 pm

    Yet we have record deficits, inflation, real estate deflation, sky high gas…

  5. drpedro says:
    May 17, 2006 at 9:05 pm

    stop it chicken little.

    Our deficit is reasonable as a percent of our GNP. How can you not have real estate deflation when you have 30-40% per year appreciation in some places? Inflation is being held well in check by the Fed, and is partly due to the real estate inflation of the past few years, which has now leveled off.

    Gas prices are STILL not as high in constant dollars as in the 1970′s.

    Anymore fairy tales to share?

  6. Bill L. says:
    May 18, 2006 at 5:05 am

    Well, it’s nice to see the tax cut myth making the rounds again.
    And in case you need it, here’s even more historical data.

    http://www.ombwatch.org/ has plenty of info, as well.

    Inflation is only under control if you exclude things like energy costs, which the Fed does to artificially depress the numbers. As for the deficit, just Google “deficit +danger” and you’ll get plenty of reasons why merely focusing on the debt to GDP ration is so misleading. Even Greenspan, whom I couldn’t stand, warned about the dangers of exloding deficits (but only after recommending Bush’s tax cuts be made permanent, naturally…what an ass).

  7. doug r says:
    May 18, 2006 at 9:05 am

    Gas prices are STILL not as high in constant dollars as in the 1970 s.
    I remember gas prices in the low 30′s and ARCO at 29 cents in the 1970′s. I don’t make 10x what my dad did, though.

  8. drpedro says:
    May 18, 2006 at 10:05 am

    I guess your dad was a better man than you…..

    Oh and bill, google ” alien +area 51″ if you want to learn about REAL danger!