I like to research numbers to write my articles.

Yet it is hard to find actual numbers as far as government receipts, government spending, economic growth, and wages.  Almost all the numbers we see are inflation-adjusted (what they call real numbers) instead of actual numbers.

I believe that the actual numbers are far more important than the inflation-adjusted numbers because the cost of living is not even close to uniform throughout the country, and that goes especially among age groups.

Actual raises and bonuses are rising much faster than previous years, yet we get articles like the following meant to depress workers by telling them their wages aren't really rising:

In fact, despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today's real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago.  And what wage gains there have been have mostly flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.

It should be noted that all of the young, the less educated, minorities, and others who were discouraged from getting a job and now all of a sudden have more opportunities because of Trump's major tax cuts and deregulation and have gone to work have received a 100% real raise. 

Then there's the cost of goods and services that are used to calculate the cost of living formula, which is used to calculate real spending, real wages, and real tax receipts.

Does anyone actually believe that the cost of living goes up for everyone at the same rate?  That is what the real wage increase calculations imply.  How often do most people buy houses, remodel houses, pay college tuition, buy cars, eat out, pay for funerals, etc.?  Medical expenses also vary widely along with everything else.

Think of the cost of living in most small, medium, and slower growing large towns versus San Francisco or the greedy D.C. area.  House and rent prices do not go up much at all in most rural areas in the U.S.

Most of us have grown up and learned to adjust our personal expenses based on what we make, not based on a national basket of goods, and a 3% raise plus additional take-home pay because of the tax cuts is very real to us especially compared to what we received under Obama.

What goods and services are included in CPI?

The CPI measures costs in these areas, according to the BLS:

• Food and Beverages (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks)
• Housing (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture)
• Clothes (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry)
• Transportation (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance)
• Medical Care (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services)
• Recreation (televisions, toys, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions)
• Education and Communication (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories)
• Other Goods and Services (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses)

If we want to figure out a way to destroy jobs, destroy opportunities to move up the economic ladder, and make more people dependent on the government (which, I believe, is the Democrats' goal), a good way is to have a national minimum wage of $15 no matter what the economic conditions are and what the cost is in cities throughout the U.S.  Prevailing wages have oppressed minorities and the poor for over eighty years, and a national minimum wage would compound the problem.  Also, a $15 minimum wage in San Francisco would not solve their homeless problem.

I believe that the way the government uses inflation to calculate everything has caused government entities throughout the U.S. to go broke.  Everything is essentially on automatic pilot.  If anyone proposes a spending freeze or small increase, it is called a drastic cut by the media, and Democrats and Republicans just give in.

Most government workers receive cost of living increase plus a spread, and a significant number also receive step increases.  This causes the gap to widen between what government workers make and what private-sector workers make.  It also causes a compounding in the underfunding of generous government pensions.

No matter how much money the government takes in, it is never enough.  The government is truly greedy.  It is an absolute shame that many of the richest counties in the U.S. are around D.C., where they produce nothing but headaches for the rest of us.

Here are some absolutely truthful statements that are valid precisely because Trump is trying to give the power and purse back to the people from the ever growing and powerful government:

The economy is growing much faster than it was and what was predicted.  People of all races, both sexes, and all education levels are getting more job opportunities than ever.  Raises and bonuses are rising faster than they have in years.  Take-home pay is rising for all wage groups because of the tax cuts.  Corporations' profits, jobs, and spending are rising faster than they have in years.  Tax receipts are rising nationally faster than they have in years and faster than expected.  Consumer and business confidence is also high.  The number of people on food stamps, disability, and unemployment has also been falling.

Instead of reporting this good news, the media, as unpaid campaign volunteers and stenographers for Democrats, report that "real wages" aren't really rising.  They obviously want to depress the public and go back to a slower economy and more dependence on the government.

At least since Obama was elected, we have been hearing about a blue wave.  Someday, they will probably be right, but so far, we have had a huge red wave.  I hope the people pay attention to their wallets and not the overwhelming amount of negative reporting because the media want to elect Democrats.

Here is a simple question for journalists and other Democrats: shouldn't the reduction in food stamps, unemployment benefits, and disability count toward the tax cuts paying for themselves?