{"id":28329,"date":"2014-12-20T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2014-12-20T18:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=28329"},"modified":"2015-01-03T13:04:56","modified_gmt":"2015-01-03T21:04:56","slug":"black-coffee-da-plane-da-plane-welcome-to-fantasy-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id28329-black-coffee-da-plane-da-plane-welcome-to-fantasy-island.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Da Plane! Da Plane! Welcome to Fantasy Island."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"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

Happy holidays, everyone! We’re in the home stretch; less than four shopping days until Christmas.<\/p>\n

Okay, off we go …<\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> This week’s public service announcement is a reminder that Obamacare fines are going up<\/a> in 2015. That means you audacious scofflaws out there who fail to buy healthcare insurance next year will be fined $325 or 2% of household income, whichever is greater.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> So … if Obamacare is truly the awesome financial deal for Americans that its advocates insist it is, then why did the Grubers<\/a> who wrote this dubious law feel the need to impose fines in order to coerce people into buying it? Hello? Is this thing on?<\/p>\n

Credit: <\/strong><\/span>If you’re unsure of the answer, just ask somebody like Vermont governor Peter Shumlin, who is shelving his plans<\/a> for single-payer healthcare — a.k.a. Obamacare on steroids — in the Green Mountain State because it’s economically unfeasible. How refreshing; he’s a realist. I guess utopia will have to wait.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, Airbus stock hit a 52-week low on Tuesday after the company hinted that it may finally stop production<\/a> of its ill-conceived money-losing A380 superjumbo jet due to lack of demand<\/a>. Just more proof that bigger is not always better.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Despite Airbus’s woes, the markets were on fire<\/a> this week. West Texas crude saw its best day in more than a year, it was the S&P 500’s second-best week in two years, and the Dow had its best three-day run in three years, climbing more than 800 points during that span. Wow.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, the phenomenal turn-around<\/a> in the markets was all because the Fed announced this week that it wouldn’t raise interest rates<\/a> — at least in the near future. Okay — but why not? After all, we’re more than five years into an economic recovery now. Or are we?<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> As the markets climb, so do the risks<\/a>. As CNBC notes, this week: “Congress loosened regulations on high-risk investments that ignited the 2008 crisis, regulators cut minimum down payments on home loans, and global indebtedness, as a share of world economic output, reached record levels.”<\/em> Why? Because it’s necessary to keep this Fantasy Island illusion going.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> And it is<\/em> all an illusion. It strains credulity to believe that the economy is healthy enough to justify record stock prices when 65% of American children live in households on federal aid<\/a> programs, 20% of Millennials live in poverty<\/a>, and 46 million Americans are on food stamps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Actually, there are more than a few people who believe the financial markets haven’t crashed yet only because of what has become almost-daily massive interventions<\/a> by the US government’s so-called plunge protection team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In fact, the manipulation<\/a> is so obvious now that they don’t even bother to hide it anymore. Eventually — some say soon<\/a> — the illusion will be broken and reality will reassert itself. Unfortunately, that will immediately lead to a sharply reduced standard of living for most Americans.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Thankfully, there’s a silver lining: After the collapse, America will no longer be able to consume more than it produces — at least not without real financial repercussions — and that<\/em> will eventually lead to a renaissance of domestic manufacturing<\/a> that will, once again, allow the US to regain its status as an honest<\/em> economic powerhouse.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, I’m talking about the good ol’ days<\/a>: Before the nation — and its financial system — was completely corrupted by greedy politicians in Washington and their Wall Street cronies.<\/p>\n

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

The Airbus A380: by far, the largest commercial passenger airplane in the world. It’s also a commercial flop.<\/p>\n

853 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Maximum passenger seating capacity of the superjumbo airliner.<\/p>\n

261.75 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>The plane’s wingspan, in feet.<\/p>\n

0 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Airports in Brazil with taxiways big enough to accommodate the A380.<\/p>\n

2007 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Year the first A380 was delivered. (Singapore Airlines)<\/p>\n

$25,000,000,000 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Airbus’s cost to develop the A380.<\/p>\n

11 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Airlines that have bought Airbus’s superjumbo plane so far.<\/p>\n

0 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Number of A380 buyers from the United States.<\/p>\n

0 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Airlines in India, Japan, South America, and Africa that have bought the plane.<\/p>\n

$400,000,000 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>List price of an A380. Market pressure is forcing Airbus to offer a 50% discount.<\/p>\n

725 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Number of A380s Airbus estimated it would sell.<\/p>\n

420 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Superjumbos Airbus estimated in 2006 that it had to sell in order to recover its A380 investment. (That number is arguably higher now.)<\/p>\n

318 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>A380s ordered so far. (Only 138 have been delivered.)<\/p>\n

Sources: New York Times<\/a>; BBC<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=\"39\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

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

How much was the most expensive Christmas gift you ever purchased for somebody (other than yourself)?<\/p>\n