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The Calm Before the Tyranny: May's Inflation "Victory" Masks the Next Economic Ambush

Derek Wolfe Jun 12, 25

The New Normal: Economic Lies in Digestible Doses

The Bureau of Labor Statistics just handed down their May CPI numbers with all the pomp of a papal blessing: a 2.4% annual increase, they say—just a tick up from April’s 2.3%. Supposedly "tame," supposedly "on track." But here’s what they don’t tell you: this isn’t stability. This is engineered perception management.

Beneath that 2.4% lies a stew of distorted metrics and base-effect sleight-of-hand. Inflation isn’t cooling—it’s crouching. The moment tariffs, supply disruptions, or credit convulsions kick in, it’ll pounce.

Tariffs: A Hidden Tax on the Masses

New tariffs have started to ripple through the economy. And let’s be clear: tariffs, no matter who implements them, are just taxes by another name. They punish consumers, not policymakers. Slap a 10% duty on imports, and it’s the average citizen—not the bureaucrat—who picks up the tab.

Economic studies already estimate that households could be paying thousands more annually because of this. That’s not economic stewardship—that’s wealth extraction disguised as policy.

Gas Prices Down? Enjoy It While It Lasts

Fuel prices dropped nearly 3% from April to May, down 12% year-over-year. Great news, right? Don’t get comfortable. That’s not market health—it’s global slowdown fear. Falling oil prices scream recession, not recovery.

And signs of inflation are already peeking through the cracks. Appliances up 4.3%, toys up 2.2%—this is the prelude. Once the tariff-buffered inventories run dry, prices will jump. What looks like “disinflation” today is just a time-delay fuse.

The Fed’s Fantasyland

Economists are clapping over inflation hitting the Fed’s mythical 2% target. But here’s what they don’t say: the Fed invented that number. It’s not a divine commandment—it’s a political tool. A pretext for endless tinkering, manipulating, and backstopping.

And history is littered with their failures. Every time the economy overheats or freezes, it’s the result of their prior interventions. Yet here they are again, playing doctor while ignoring the disease: a centrally managed economy that defies natural market discipline.

This Ends How It Always Does

For now, sure, inflation looks “under control.” But that’s only because we’re looking through the wrong lens. The long-term rot is still spreading—debt, credit fragility, moral hazard. And the further we stray from sound money and voluntary exchange, the deeper the eventual correction will be.

This isn’t about parties. It’s not about personalities. It’s about principles—and whether we’re going to keep letting unelected bodies distort the price of everything from gasoline to groceries, based on political convenience and economic fantasy.