Trade the Congressional Effect: How To Profit from Congress's Impact on the Stock Market

Split Government Favors Real Returns

My concern in the Beyer study is primarily about using the S&P and accepting the CPI as an honest measure of inflation is that it just doesn't make sense in my own personal life. A trip to the gas station costs twice what it did three years ago. I know that last year my careful wife purchased weekly groceries that cost about $180 per week. I have been trying to lose weight for a while, and as a result I know that I'm eating exactly the same thing I ate a year ago. I am proud to say I have lost 15 pounds over that time with the kind of exercise you get from writing a book for the first time. Call me for my recipes. Today, the exact same amount of food costs $260. It is nearly a 44 percent year-over-year increase, but we're told by the government that there's been a negligible increase in inflation. It's simply not credible, and the average person knows it's not credible. The fate of the dollar and the emotion of purchasing power is not the main focus of this book, but it is safe to say that Congress thrives on the continued debasement of the dollar. Therefore, I think the best way to look at who's better for the stock market, whether it be the president, the Democratic Senate, Republican House, a gridlocked government, and so on, is to look at it on a real return basis using gold and the change in price in gold as a deflator. For most investors, the job of a long-term investment in the stock market is to preserve purchasing. If the S&P goes up ...