She grabbed the raw data sheets—the paper copies, untouched by algorithms—and ran. Through the Montana dark, with only a headlamp and the memory of every unadjusted chart she’d ever loved. The January spikes. The November dips. The beautiful, messy, honest chaos of a real economy.
The motel manager, a woman named Delia, slid a crumpled memo across the counter. “They left these in Room 12.” not seasonally adjusted
Because NSA data includes every holiday, weather event, and calendar quirk, the line graph of NSA data looks like a jagged mountain range. It makes it difficult to spot the underlying direction of the economy. She grabbed the raw data sheets—the paper copies,
While NSA data offers clarity, it has a significant downside: The November dips
If you're in the market for something like this, I suppose it's worth considering. But don't expect me to be raving about it or anything.
By dawn, she reached a truck stop with a payphone. She called the one person who’d understand: the old archivist in the Salt Lake City Federal Reserve basement. He still kept not-seasonally-adjusted records on microfiche.