by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
Last summer, the Federal Reserve wanted you to believe that inflation was a thing of the past.
Sure, just about every category of consumer goods had increased in price. Electricity rates had increased 5% year over year. Rent and housing costs were up 5%. Hospital care had become 6% more expensive. Food prices were up. Fuel prices were up. Auto insurance had risen by a whopping 18.6%.
Yet, bizarrely, the overall inflation average was just 2.9%. And based on that number alone, the Federal Reserve had all but declared victory against inflation.
We knew it was BS. And, after diving into the numbers, it didn’t take us very long to realize why.
It turned out that, back in the summer of 2024, used car prices were falling dramatically— down around 11% year-over-year.