It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …
Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.
Unfortunately, my plane from Boston got in very late last night and I didn’t get home until almost midnight. As a result, I slept right through my Saturday morning — and that means I’ve got an espresso edition for you this week.
I know. I promise I’ll be back next week with a regular edition of Black Coffee for you.
In the meantime, let’s get started …
Credits and Debits
Debit: If you’re one of the millions of Americans without any significant emergency savings, you’re not alone: According to his most recent public financial statement, President Obama has less than $1001 in his savings account too. Wow.
Credit: Of course, unlike most Americans, with declared assets between $1.9 million and $6.9 million, the President does have a substantial net worth to lean on — at least on paper. So there’s that, I guess.
Debit: As the number of quality US jobs continue to dwindle, it’s no wonder most Americans are unable to save. How bad is the decline? In a word: ugly. There are 100 million more Americans today than in 1979 — but 7.2 million fewer manufacturing jobs. Think about that for a moment. It’s okay; I’ll wait.
Credit: The great Ross Perot was right: You can blame the loss of all those manufacturing jobs — and America’s decline — on free trade agreements like NAFTA, which was ultimately passed in 1993. (Insert “giant sucking sound” here.)
Credit: Most people forget Perot received almost 20% of the popular vote for US President in 1992. I suspect that percentage would have been much higher if his running mate, Admiral James Stockdale, hadn’t torpedoed him. Uh huh. That pun was intended.
Debit: Today, our hollowed-out American economy is in such disarray that one poor guy on a New York City subway platform was recently beaten and robbed of his pants and shoes — in broad daylight.
Debit: I know crime in the Big Apple has been climbing ever since Mayor DeBlasio was elected in 2013, but stealing trousers is beyond ridiculous. Then again, pilfering pants is a national phenomenon now: Similar crimes have also been committed recently in Florida, Delaware, and Oklahoma.
Credit: By the way, next year, Hawaiians will be losing their pants too after the Aloha State’s underperforming $205 million Obamacare exchange closes its doors next year due to low enrollment. Yes, Utopia lost. Again.
The Question of the Week
[poll id="61"]
Last Week’s Poll Result
When will you take your primary summer vacation this year?
- I’m not taking a summer vacation this year. (42%)
- July (21%)
- August (17%)
- September (12%)
- June (8%)
More than 500 people answered this week’s survey question on summer vacations. Sadly, more than 2 in 5 respondents said they won’t be taking one this year; and I may find myself in the same boat this year. On the other hand, if you’re still planning yours and want to avoid the crowds, consider taking your holiday next month. Not surprisingly, July appears to be the most popular month for summer sojourns, followed closely by August.
By the Numbers
Here are the Top 10 American locations to visit in 2015, according to Lonely Planet. If you want to keep your pants, you’ll probably want to avoid their top pick:
1 New York City
2 Western South Dakota
3 New Orleans
4 Colorado River Region
5 North Conway, New Hampshire
6 Indianapolis
7 Greenville, South Carolina
8 Oakland, California. (No, really.)
9 Duluth, Minnesota
10 Mount Shasta, California
Source: Lonely Planet
Other Useless News
Here are the top — and bottom — five Canadian provinces and territories in terms of the average number of pages viewed per visit here at Len Penzo dot Com over the past 30 days:
1. Saskatchewan (2.33 pages/visit)
2. Alberta (2.21)
3. Ontario (2.17)
4. Newfoundland (2.05)
5. Quebec (1.95)
9. Prince Edward Island (1.88)
10. Nova Scotia (1.85)
11. Yukon Territory (1.83)
12. Northwest Territories (1.25)
13. Nunavut (1.00)
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Letters, I Get Letters
Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment — assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it’s interesting or not! You can reach me at: Len@LenPenzo.com
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No, thanks. In fact, why don’t you just cut out the middle man and go directly to the NSA?
I’m Len Penzo and I approved this message.
Photo Credit: brendan-c
I couldn’t agree more that New York tops the list. I went there last two years ago and spent so much just to get to places I wanted to go such as Central Park, Time Square, and Museum of Modern Art. I really want to go back but I gotta save much money first.
Dear Friends, If you want to visit the magical, safe, clean world of Giuliani / Bloomberg’s New York City, GO IMMEDIATELY. The “broken windows” theory which resulted in the incredibly low crime / murder rates in New York is now being quickly dismantled in the interest of “fairness”. After 20 years of incarcerating criminals to make the city safe for normal people, there is a new push to end incarceration as punishment for crime because of “fairness”. Oddly enough the incarcerations rates have most oppressed the criminal class and that’s not fair. The new proposals are to release large numbers of the incarcerated, and to give desk appearance tickets instead of incarceration for quality of life crimes and low level drug crimes. Ex Mayor Dinkins is ready to run for Mayor of New York again after De Blasios’s second terms. Go Liberal voters, make “New york city “fair” once more. . I personally have enjoyed New York city enormously under Guliani / Bloomburg for the safety, cleanliness and charm of this most wonderful of cities!
Ha ha! We are vacationing in July and August. Not NYC, but visiting family in NY and PA. We used my hubby’s air miles from 4 years of travel to buy the tickets – out of pocket cost $200 for 4 people, from CA.
Some of those locations look fun though!
Wow … I’m glad to see those air miles paid off for you, Marcia! Seems like my miles always expire before I get a chance to use them.
Heading to North Conway next week! Been there before and vacation a lot in NH. The White Mountains are awesome!