[jfengel]

Of course they did.

The surprising part is that it hasn't resulted in more inflation. We just got new figures; inflation was 2.4% last month. For all of 2025, inflation was 2.7%.

Those aren't great numbers, of course, but they're not a crisis. It's actually slightly less than the 2.9% for 2024. (Admittedly, a number that was treated as a crisis at the time.)

TFA says a total of $285 billion was collected -- almost $1,000 per person. That's not a number that just gets lost in the wash. So why isn't it showing up in other numbers?

[jqpabc123]

So why isn't it showing up in other numbers?

Possibly because the numbers are being cooked by a political appointee.

[jfengel]

It's entirely possible. I haven't heard concrete accusations of them messing with these numbers, but they're clearly doing it with other numbers.