Project Inflation

America’s Hidden Economic Crisis

“Why wasn’t I told about Project Mayhem (Inflation)?”

These haunting words from Fight Club resonate across America today, as the latest inflation report unveils a harsh reality: the United States is entangled in an economic upheaval as destructive and pervasive as Tyler Durden’s infamous Project Mayhem. While Durden’s chaos aimed to dismantle consumer capitalism, “Project Inflation” is quietly eroding the purchasing power of everyday Americans. The December inflation numbers confirm what Americans have feared: we are in the grip of an inflationary storm not seen since the 1970s, a crisis that is unraveling the economic stability of every American.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) tells one story as many from the Federal Reserve state that inflation is coming down, but the real narrative unfolds in the lives of everyday Americans. The headline inflation rate rose to 2.9% year-over-year in 2024, up from 2.7% in 2023. The “core” CPI, which conveniently excludes the essentials—food and energy—climbed even higher, hitting 3.2%.

**The chart below shows you the price increase on the headline number and the red line is the 2% target the Federal Reserve is chasing, versus what the actual price increases we pay on a daily basis.

Based on the headline number, the government & Federal Reserve state these are manageable numbers at 2.9%, but beneath the surface, the cost of living is out of control.

Consider this:

• Eggs are up 36%.

• Beef roasts are up 7%.

• Ground beef is up 5%.

• Car insurance? A staggering 11% increase.

These are not luxuries. These are necessities. While the government and Federal Reserve touts a modest inflation rate, families are hemorrhaging money just to survive. Since 2020, Americans have lost 22% of their purchasing power based on official statistics, that’s an average inflation rate of 5.5% a year.

But when factoring in the soaring costs since 2020, food up 30%, and shelter up 25%, these increases are higher than what has been reported in the headline numbers.

“First rule of Project Inflation is you DO ask questions.”

For decades (2000-2019), Americans drifted through a haze of complacency, lulled by the illusion of stability. Inflation was dismissed as a faint whisper, overshadowed by the tech bubble’s burst in 2002 and the housing crash that brought the economy to its knees in 2008—two devastating recessions and stock market plunges of nearly -50%, all within six years. This was framed as progress’s price, a necessary evil. But beneath it all lurked a darker truth: since the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971, prices have relentlessly climbed at an average rate of 4% annually, along with our annual government deficits. The Federal Reserve’s so-called 2% inflation target? A cruel & cynical illusion on us, the American people.