They tell us the truth, right?  Not so fast… Today you learn one specific and truly heinous way that the government lies to YOU about the economy… and how it can be a DISASTER for your finances.  It’s time to put your “big boy” or “big girl” pants on, folks, because it’s about to get ugly.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode 117.----------Hello, SDI Nation.  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like YOU.Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark, my friends.  Actually… it’s Washington DC where the foul stench originates, and it gets stinkier on the first Friday of each month when the feds release news stats  about unemployment in the United States.We’re not going to talk about statistics and computation and that sort of thing today.  We’re going to talk about the reality of willful deceit from the government, and why it’s so important for you as a Self-Directed Investor.  This is a rubber-meats-the-road kind of episode.Let’s imagine, for a moment, that you’re evaluating an investment.  Maybe it’s stock in a construction company or a consumer electronics maker.  Maybe it’s rental property in the heartland.  Maybe it’s the formation of your own business.It doesn’t really matter… whatever the case, your investment ultimately relies on one thing for success:  Customers.  And not just customers, customers who have the wherewithal to spend money and buy, buy, buy!And, by and large, that relies on one thing:  a well-employed populace.  Whether there are able-to-buy customers in the world isn’t something that’s merely nice to know… it’s critical.And, of course, the government very helpfully provides information about the unemployment rate in this country on the first Friday of every month.  The last such announcement was for the month of July, when the national unemployment rate was 5.3% - the lowest of the entire Obama presidency.But, my friends… something is wrong.  Something is terribly wrong.Do you know anyone who is unemployed?  I certainly do.  Do you know anyone who has been unemployed for a very long time?  Again, so do I.In fact… while there are fewer unemployed than at the height of the economic collapse… anecdotally, it still seems to me like there are a whole lot of able-bodied people who either aren’t working, or who are working at menial jobs, far below their potential and below their experience level.And there’s something else that’s totally wrong.  The output of this country is barely moving at all.  Economic growth in the first quarter of this year didn’t even reach 1%... and the second quarter was reported as being “strong”… even though the growth rate was only about 2%.Folks, this is not good.  There’s fundamental weakness… but to hear the government say it, everything is hunky dory.But it’s not… and those of us who are self directed investors simply do not have the option of drinking the Koolaid.  We, by virtue of our acceptance of responsibility for our own financial success, simply must be aware of the REALITY… despite what Washington DC would have us to believe.So here’s a painful example of how they’re lying to you… and expecting you to be stupid enough to trust them.The basic way that the unemployment rate is calculated is by dividing the number of people who are unemployed by the size of the labor force.Simple enough, right?  But here’s the problem… the Obama administration radically altered the definition of unemployment.  To me, a person is unemployed if they want a job and don’t have one.  But did you know that by Obama’s new rules, there are literally MILLIONS of people who do not have a job, and who would be THRILLED to get one… but none of them are being counted as being Unemployed?It’s insanity.  It’s blatant deception.But that’s not where the travesty ends.  Do you know who IS COUNTED as being employed?  Anybody who makes $20 by cutting a neighbor’s lawn… and anybody who works just a few hours a week flipping burgers to make ends meet.Let’s dig in here just a bit, my frien