The government wants you to believe inflation is real. They point at price tags. They cite the Consumer Price Index. They act concerned. But here’s what they don’t want you to notice: diesel now costs more per gallon than vintage Chanel No. 5, and nobody is asking the hard questions about why.
According to official figures, US prices rose 3.4% over the past 12 months. Three-point-four percent. A number so modest it barely registers as news—until you realize that number is doing serious work in the background. It is quietly explaining why your grocery bill looks like a hostage demand, why your car’s fuel tank costs what a decent dinner used to, and why the government keeps insisting everything is fine.
The real tell? Diesel has crossed the $6-a-gallon threshold. That is not inflation. That is a lifestyle choice. That is the market telling you that you can now afford to smell like a working truck, and the government is counting on you being too distracted by the absurdity to notice they have been slowly repricing your entire life.
So yes, inflation exists. But it is not a crisis—it is a feature. It is the invisible hand of the economy gently suggesting that maybe you should start wearing diesel as a signature scent, because at this point, it is cheaper than actual perfume and twice as honest about what is really going on.