{"id":25251,"date":"2014-05-24T08:15:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-24T15:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=25251"},"modified":"2024-04-27T11:19:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T18:19:14","slug":"black-coffee-doggie-bags-burger-king-and-bogus-bucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id25251-black-coffee-doggie-bags-burger-king-and-bogus-bucks.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Doggie Bags, Burger King, and Bogus Bucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Let’s get right to it this week …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> I see Italy has decided to give its sagging economic performance metrics a boost by including prostitution and illegal drug sales<\/a> in its gross domestic product calculation. No, really.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, the politicians in Roma say they’re only following orders; apparently, European Union rules now mandate<\/a> the inclusion of hookers and blow in their GDP data. Well … that’s one way to, um, stimulate the economy.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> At least the Europeans still maintain some<\/em> standards: For example, the French ban ketchup<\/a> in their school cafeterias, and doggy bags are still out of bounds<\/a> in the Continent’s restaurants. I hear they love Grey Poupon<\/a> too.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> And you thought the US went overboard when it modified its GDP calculation<\/a> last year. It’s just one more sign that the powers that be are getting increasingly desperate to maintain the illusion that all is well with the worldwide debt-based economic system.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> By the way, this is the same EU that passed a rule in 1995 banning farmers from selling bananas with too much curve<\/a> in them. I know. It’s a wonder how any<\/em> of us manage to get out of bed each morning in one piece without help from our government masters.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> <\/strong><\/span>Remember all of the Obamacare advocates in the press who proudly touted<\/a> the Veterans Administration as a shining example of government-managed healthcare? Paul Krugman even dared to let his guard down; he claimed the VA was proof that socialized medicine “worked.”<\/p>\n

Credit<\/strong>:<\/span> I wonder if Mr. Krugman would be willing to trade his current healthcare provider for the socialized VA healthcare system and the incompetent bureaucrats<\/a> who run it. Something tells me he wouldn’t — and who could blame him?<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of healthcare, 11 million Americans<\/a> are now collecting disability benefits; yet another all-time record. Unbelievable. Thank goodness the Fed keeps creating billions of dollars out of thin air every month — after all, those monthly checks have to be paid for somehow.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, our profligate ways are rapidly devaluing everyone’s US dollar-denominated savings and creating inflation overseas in emerging markets — which is why the rest of the world is now fed up<\/a> with the dollar being its reserve currency.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> What’s that? You say you don’t believe the world wants to end the dollar’s so-called exorbitant privilege? The same privilege that has provided Americans with an artificially high standard of living for more than 50 years? Believe it.<\/em> In March alone, Russia dumped 20% of its dollar-reserves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, Russia and China just signed a deal to bypass the buck<\/a> and pay each other in their domestic currencies for future banking, finance, and capital-market transactions. Sadly, most Americans are blissfully unaware of the implications, thanks to the lack of media coverage.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> For his part, Paul Craig Roberts — who was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan — claims the Fed is now surreptitiously buying<\/a> US Treasury bonds through Belgium in a desperate attempt to disguise the world’s growing lack of confidence in the dying dollar.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> No, Mr. Roberts’ very<\/em> plausible claim didn’t get picked up by the mainstream media either. Maybe they were too busy reporting on more important issues: like the latest winners<\/a> of Dancing With the Stars. Or The Voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Finally … After 40 years, Burger King is scrapping its famous “Have It Your Way” slogan. As for the new tagline<\/a>, well, it’s now: “Be Your Way.” Huh? Maybe somebody would like to explain, because that makes absolutely no sense to me.<\/p>\n

Credit<\/strong>:<\/span> No matter what it means, the change was immediately noticed by Burger King’s competitors. According to one message board commenter<\/a>: “Not to be outdone, McDonald’s has countered with its new slogan: I be lovin’ it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amaze your friends at dinner tonight with these Burger King facts:<\/p>\n

1953<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Year the first Burger King opened; it was located in Jacksonville, Florida and known as Insta-Burger King.<\/p>\n

1957<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Year Burger King introduced the Whopper.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of buns in Burger King’s Big King sandwich.<\/p>\n

13,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Approximate number of Burger King restaurants, worldwide.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Burger King’s rank among all hamburger chains in terms of total restaurants. (McDonald’s has more than twice as many stores.)<\/p>\n

91<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of countries with at least one Burger King restaurant.<\/p>\n

Source: Motley Fool<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

What type of milk do you prefer?<\/p>\n