On the current, the consumer price index, we've been watching to follow inflation, but y'all, it determines how much social security benefits are adjusted year over year. It determines how much your tax bracket will increase year over year. It is the measure of cost of living in the United States comes from the Consumer Price Index,

which comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And they've already raised warning flags saying

we are running out of money to do this.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to Her Money. I'm Gene Chatsky. And we are diving back into the economy. We're diving into a

story. Maybe it seems wonky on the surface, but trust me, it couldn't be more urgent or more

relevant to your life, to your paycheck, to your future. Here's the headline. The head of the Bureau

of Labor Statistics, this is the agency that is

responsible for the monthly jobs report and some of the most critical data shaping our economy

was fired and not quietly. The dismissal of Erica McIntarfer has sent shockwaves through the

economic community why should you care about this because when we lose trust in the

data that sets interest rates determines policy and drives the headlines about

inflation and wages, we lose our ability to plan,

to invest, to advocate, to protect ourselves. And I say this as a woman knowing that women already

faces steeper climb when it comes to pay equity, job security, and retirement preparedness. If the data

gets distorted, make no mistake, we are the ones who stand to suffer most, which is why we have

our favorite economist back with us today. Dr. Catherine Edwards is a leading labor economist.

She's hosted the amazing new podcast,

Optimist Economy. We're going to see if she stands by that title still. And she's been

raising the alarm, calling this firing not just problematic, but potentially catastrophic. So we're

going to unpack what happened, what's at stake, what it means for your

wallet, your work, and your future, because as Catherine Edwards says, this isn't just about

one bureaucrat losing their job. It's about whether we can trust the numbers that hold our

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