U.S. Delays Key Inflation Report as Stagflation Worries Mount
By Brian Daitzman
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” - Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)
Americans are paying more for groceries, rent, and gas. At that exact moment, the government shelved the dataset that explains why. No explanation, no timetable, no numbers — just silence where clarity should have been. What sounds like a technical delay reverberates far beyond the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It ripples through markets, households, and the fragile trust that binds citizens to their institutions. The missing report is not just about inflation. It is about whether the public is entitled to see the truth it has already paid for.
Obfuscation As Governing Philosophy
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) abruptly postponed its consumer expenditures report, the dataset that determines how inflation is measured in the year ahead. No explanation was given. No new date set.
Last year, when the release was delayed, the agency cited an error and announced a rescheduled publication; this year it offered neither explanation nor date. The absence is striking because the report is central to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which shapes interest rates, wages, and the daily cost of living. Critics warn the delay is not accidental but political.
https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/us-delays-key-inflation-report-as
They don't want to look bad.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.