I frequently write about the difficulty that all of us face in coping with the constant barrage of information and opinions. On October the 9th, the Government reported the inflation rate for September generating the following headlines from major news sources. All were published on the same day.
US CPI Rises More than Forecast, Stalling Inflation Progress-Bloomberg
America’s inflation is getting back to normal-CNN
Inflation eases slightly in September, as election nears-The Washington Post
Inflation Cools Slightly in September-The New York Times
Inflation rate hit 2.4% in September, topping expectations-CNBC
Inflation falls to 2.4%, lowest in three years-Axios
Inflation slowed again, new CPI report shows-USA Today
So, was this good or bad news? Are things getting better or worse? These headlines demonstrate why so many people’s views regarding the health of the economy are totally divorced from the facts. Those who only read headlines can easily be swayed by the widely differing tones of these attention grabbers. Of course, the answer is better informed citizens who dig more deeply into the actual data and analysis, but that may be too much to ask of a populace that lives on sound bites.