Is this not yet another aspect of the funny munny / cooked books produced by a corrupt government and Fed? Sure looks that way to me. The people who have long believed that it is better to LOOK good than it is to BE good are in charge and have been since 2009. The economy has been created in their image... and it IS an ugly little spud too! Right now, we have a fake economy that has been created by artificial stimulus, juggling the books, and a rapidly declining currency. In this environment, there is no real economy, only this fake mess that looks good... on the surface, anyway.

Real inflation is running 10-11% right now... Fed says it is 2.5-3%. Real unemployment is running at 18% right now... Fed and Gov. say it is 9.2% or so. Real US debt rating should be about B to BB. Is there a repeating theme here? S&P had the temerity to say that it is less than perfect... AA+ instead of AAA... then the chief of S&P gets the ax as a reminder to Moody's and Fitch of just who is in charge of this circus.

Fed is keeping the short term interest rates at 0.25% when it should be in the 4-5% range. Saving is not being rewarded as it should be. Work, saving, and investing are what powers a REAL economy. Unfortunately, people are not being rewarded for this productive behavior. No, they are being rewarded for borrowing, spending, and consuming all that they can... none of which produces much of anything.
The odd part of all this is that the bond market, which controls the long term interest rates, is going along with this program. Bernanke is leading them around by the nose... and they ARE following! I can't think of any other time in US financial history when this has happened. One can only wonder what manner of arm twisting has been done behind closed doors to arrange this unique docility.
All of which adds up to a national downward spiral that will be difficult to reverse. It is clear that the empty suits and dresses in DC are not up to the task at hand. Every one of them who voted to raise the debt ceiling should be tossed from the ramparts of power, kicking and squealing all the way to the ground... SPLAT! Repeat as necessary until we have a government that is worthy of this GREAT Nation. 2010 was only the beginning. 2012 will make 2010's results look like... well, a tea party.
In the mean time, those of us who are not fooled by all this cooking of the books, slight of hand economics, and outright lies know what to do. We are exchanging this Federal Reserve funny munny for the REAL thing... as in any of the PMs. It really does not matter which PM you prefer. The thing is to get some of your wealth into physical PMs. These cannot be printed by the Fed and thereby shrunk in value. Silver, in particular, is a screaming buy at today's $35-45 price range.
In a few years, it will become impossible to maintain the current fiction that the US Gov. and the Fed have connived tp create. Like the house of cards that it is, it WILL come crashing down at some point. While we do not know when that will be, we DO know that it is inevitable. At a guess, look for a very serious US financial implosion to occur, probably during the 2013-2015 time span. The tiny ray of good news here is that we do have some time to get ready. Not a lot of time, mind you, but enough time to do the job. Build your hoard of food, useful manufactured articles, tools (especially hand tools), clothing, fuel, firearms & ammo, PMs, and farmland. These are the things that will have REAL value in a world gone insane.
Make no mistake, friends... inflation is caused by the Fed. Since it is their creation, do not look to them for a solution to it. Inflation from 1812 to 1912 was virtually nil. In those days, all US money was backed by gold and silver. Then, along comes the Fed in 1913. The fact that neither the US Congress nor the President had the constitutional authority to do this seems not to have mattered. Gold was removed from the hands of US citizens in 1933. Silver was removed from
US coinage in 1965. In 1971 Nixon closed the gold window, removing the last trace of hard backing from US currency. If you are seeing a silent and invisible but powerful hand arranging all this in the background, you have your eyes open... unlike most of our fellow citizens! During the past 98 years, the value of the US dollar has been inflated down to about $0.03, so 3 cents in 1913 bought the same amount of goods as $1 does today. This continues today with no sign of abatement. So much for saving money in the bank over extended periods!
Back in the 1920s T.S. Eliot came up with the idea that the world would not end with a bang but with a whimper. Look around folks. This whimper is under final construction as we speak. If by some miracle, we manage to avoid a dollar collapse or other similar fate, being prepared for one will still have huge advantages. Being less dependent on the government is a GOOD thing. Having the ability to grow your own food is also a good thing. Protecting your wealth from inflation, which under even the most optimistic scenario possible, is still a VERY good thing. Being prepared is basically a no-lose scenario. Don't talk about it. Don't think about it. JUST DO IT!
