Why We Should Be Glad That The US Government Is Not Like Argentina's Government

The government of Argentina has taken actions to impair the independence of its central bank and it has also caused its statistical agency to report inflation numbers desired by its president.  Many conservatives in the US would like to impair the independence of the Federal Reserve, and many claim that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) misreports unemployment and inflation data at the behest of the Obama Administration.  In other words, critics of the Obama Administration  claim that the US government operates like the government in Argentina.

This article is critical of on the claims made by right wing conspiracy theorists in the US who claim the BLS under reports inflation in the US.  It does a good job of explaining some of the difficulties that arise in the measurement of CPI and it concludes that the measurement of household rents, which represent 30% of the CPI, has elevated the CPI in the US.  Rents have increased in the US because the large numbers of foreclosures has increased the demand for rental properties.

There is a link in this article to a tweet by Jack Welch, the former GE CEO, who accused the BLS of under reporting the unemployment rate just prior to the 2012 election at the request of the Obama Administration. Welch refers to the Obama Administration as the "Chicago guys" which connects Obama to the shady history of how government may have operated under Democratic mayors in the past.  Welch has become one of the leading right wing conspiracy theorists in the US.  His thoughts have found their way to the editorial pages of Rupert Murdock's Wall Street Journal.  

We have lots of problems in the US, but one of the things that we should be thankful for is that we are not like Argentina.  We should be glad that US institutions like the Fed and the BLS maintain their independence, even when they are under heavy pressure to serve politicians.  Right wing conspiracy theorists may be projecting their own way of thinking about the operation of government onto the Obama Administration.