Black Coffee: Haughty Hot Dogs, Naughty Potatoes & Dead Men Walking

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.

Let’s get right to it this week …

Credits and Debits

Debit: The gap between the rich and the poor is wider that it’s ever been. In fact, according to a new Oxfam report, the richest 62 people in the world now own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. In 2010, it was 388 people.

Debit: For the record, the same Oxfam report also noted that the top 1% have more wealth than the remaining 99%. Then again, I suspect most of them earned it. No, really. (Politicians, central bankers and their fellow cronies excluded.)

Debit: Meanwhile, Norway’s biggest bank has called for a national ban on cash. They say such a move would put an end to black market sales and money laundering — never mind the loss of privacy it would bring. The true motive, however, is this: a cash ban eliminates the possibility of bank runs. Even worse, it gives the state complete control of everyone’s wealth.

Credit: Besides, as one commenter noted, if they get rid of cash:“How do you pay the lawn boy?” True; true. Or any other cash-based service provider, for that matter.

Debit: Of course, the growing calls for a cash ban are the result of negative interest rates being issued by the world’s central banks, including the Bank of Japan which announced it was finally going negative this week too; after all, nobody in their right mind would keep physical cash in a bank if they had to pay one to hold it.

Debit: Yes, this is the same Bank of Japan that just last week steadfastly denied that it would adopt negative interest rates anytime soon. Heh. Imagine that.

Credit: The BoJ’s move to negative rates — despite saying they wouldn’t a week earlier — is just more proof that you should never ever ever believe anything a central banker says.

Debit: By the way, interest rates are the “price of money” — and the fact that they’re negative indicates there’s far too much cash sloshing around the world economy. In essence, it’s another signal that the system is hopelessly broken and the world’s fiat currencies are dead-men walking. Psst. That means your dollar-based retirement savings are too.

Credit: Think about it: How valuable can fiat currency be if the banks are paying others to borrow it? On the other hand, I can assure you that central banks are not paying anyone to take the gold in their vaults. Quite the contrary. Why? Four words: gold is real money. (Yes, yes … and silver too.)

Debit: Speaking of dying currencies, I see Venezuela’s bolivar is losing value so rapidly now that the IMF estimates inflation in South America’s socialist paradise will be 720% this year. Forward!

Debit: Fiat currencies aren’t the only thing with one foot in the grave these days; the beard fad is killing razor blade sales. Being the contrarian that I am, the current boom in bristle-faced men prompted me to shave off my beard last year. (For what that’s worth. I know, I know … not much.)

Credit: Don’t look now, but McDonald’s has introduced chocolate-covered French fries to their menu. The bad news is you’ll have to go to Japan to try them. On second thought, maybe that’s the good news.

Debit: Then again, maybe I’m being too hard on the Golden Arches; at least I can still get a McDouble there for about a buck. Compare that to the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where a hot dog cost $43. And change. Roll your eyes if you want, folks; but it included grilled onions and mustard — at no extra charge.

(The Best of) By the Numbers

Calorie counts of various foods:

231 Calories in a small serving (2.5 oz) of French fries from McDonald’s. (Without chocolate sauce.)

236 Calories in a baker’s dozen of fried breaded shrimp.

227 Calories in one avocado.

290 Calories in one serving (4 fl. oz.) of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream.

33 Minutes of jogging required to burn off one serving of Chunky Monkey.

80 Minutes of walking needed to burn the same number of calories.

Sources: Calorie King

The Question of the Week

[poll id="98"]

Last Week’s Poll Results

Do you like your name?

• Yes (86%)
• No (14%)
• No, and I want to change it! (5%)

Almost 900 people responded to last week’s question and it turns out that 1 of every 20 Len Penzo dot Com readers dislike their name so badly that they want to change it. Yikes. That seems high to me. For the record, I like my name. I really do. However, my parents tell me my given-name was a last minute decision; the original plan was to name me Daniel.

Insider Notes: A Basic Preppers’ List for the Apocalypse

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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 out to me at: Len@LenPenzo.com

From Lauren:

I think you sometimes take your personal responsibility thing a bit too far. Life can be complicated you know.

Yes, that “personal responsibility thing” can be really annoying; but I’m not a big fan of “personally irresponsible Fridays.”

I’m Len Penzo and I approved this message.

Photo Credit: brendan-