Strategist: Fed Is “Gaslighting the Public” with a New Word

Not long ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell rehashed the word “transitory” in reference to U.S. inflation, prompting backlash on social media. Making matters worse, the Fed is now using a new word to spread confusion, according to one economist.

Reportedly, Tom Barkin, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, declared that expectations for inflation “have been loosened – not de-anchored, loosened – for both price setters and price receivers.”

Statements like this tend to fray at the Fed’s credibility. Certainly, “loosened” isn’t the right word for how American “price receivers” (i.e., consumers) feel about the future of inflation. Maybe “de-anchored” is a little bit more accurate, but really the best word would be “despondent.”

Just to recap, a University of Michigan survey found that in March of 2025, U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to its lowest level since November of 2022. Moreover, one-year inflation growth expectations increased from 3.3% in January to 4.3% in February, to 4.3% in March.

So, you can believe what the central bankers are telling you, or you can believe the data that’s right in front of you. Does this look like expectations for inflation are only “loosening”?

Courtesy: Yahoo Finance

Once again, the Federal Reserve is asking the public to choose the narrative over common sense, and over what your eyes can clearly see. Oftentimes, the elitists expect the public to embrace their version of reality despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary.

By the way, financial market participants don’t see eye-to-eye with the Fed at all. Currently, the markets now see 3.3% inflation growth over the next two years, marking the highest since March 2023. Amazingly, market-based inflation expectations have more than doubled since the Federal Reserve’s “pivot” began in September of 2024.

Evidently, the public and the markets aren’t buying what the Fed is selling. With that in mind, Bear Traps Report strategist Craig Shapiro took Barkin to task for claiming that inflation expectations “have been loosened – not de-anchored.”

In response to Barkin’s statement, Shapiro wrote that the Federal Reserve is “trying out a new word to continue gaslighting the public into the idea that inflation expectations are still ‘well-anchored.’” Shapiro added, “Don’t believe your lying eyes.”

Notably, Barkin hedged his bets by basically saying that the future is impossible to see. “With all this change, a dense fog has fallen. It’s not an everyday, ‘forecasting is hard’ type of fog. It’s a ‘zero visibility, pull over and turn on your hazards’ type of fog,” Barkin proclaimed.

Courtesy: @KobeissiLetter

It’s odd to see a central banker claiming he can’t see the future through an impenetrable fog, while also publicizing his strong opinions about inflation expectations. Regardless, market participants are placing their bets while the American middle class struggles just to make ends meet.

To me, Barkin’s “zero visibility” declaration is just as frustrating as his “not de-anchored, loosened” chatter. In effect, the Federal Reserve is relinquishing all responsibility for its actions because the future is “foggy.”

In any case, Shapiro’s criticism of Barkin is understandable. Going forward, don’t be too surprised if Fed officials test the waters with a variety of buzzwords and catch phrases, hoping to distract the public from the real issues confronting the American economy in 2025.