{"id":30799,"date":"2015-04-18T11:09:57","date_gmt":"2015-04-18T18:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=30799"},"modified":"2015-04-20T05:43:27","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T12:43:27","slug":"black-coffee-french-fries-asparagus-and-central-bank-cabbage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id30799-black-coffee-french-fries-asparagus-and-central-bank-cabbage.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: French Fries, Asparagus and Central Bank Cabbage"},"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

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

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Don’t look now, but fast food workers across America went on strike again<\/a> this week, hoping to secure hourly wages of $15. Apparently, burger-flipping and saying, “Would you like fries with that?” requires more skill than it used to.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of restaurant employees who don’t deserve a raise, how about the marketing genius who used a drone to deliver fresh asparagus directly from the farm to a haughty five-star Dutch restaurant this week — only to see said drone crash and burn<\/a> before getting there. Literally.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> And you thought last year’s TGI Friday holiday drone<\/a> — complete with mistletoe and an onboard kiss-cam — was a bad idea. Actually, it was a really<\/em> bad idea. That drone careened into a lady’s face and cut her nose. Um, can you say … “free chocolate lava cake”? (I know I can!)<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> If you’re a so-called “high-earner,” the odds are you’d probably appreciate some free lava cake right now too. A new survey found that one in four<\/a> people who make at least $100,000 annually are living paycheck to paycheck. No, really. And don’t look at me.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last month, the New York Times reported on a Florida woman who has withheld her mortgage payments for five years — but may soon get her home scot free<\/a> anyway. You responsible folks who dutifully pay your bills every month can thank those quirky statute of limitation laws. Or not.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Apparently, individuals aren’t the only ones who are struggling to pay the bills — governments are too<\/a>; in February alone, the world’s central banks dipped into their rainy day funds by selling $57 billion of US Treasury bonds. Wow.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> You know the US is in trouble when hard-working people risk losing their home equity<\/a> and future social security benefits by maximizing their income today. Those who rely on Obamacare subsidies to cover its onerous insurance premiums now have to worry about that.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Liberty demands self-reliance and personal responsibility. Sadly, that’s not the majority mindset today; and Obamacare is just another sad example<\/a> of how otherwise hard-working citizens lose their liberty when they demand the government should “take care” of them from cradle to grave.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The good news is, because a growing number of healthy Americans are realizing they can avoid Obamacare’s premiums and wait until they’re sick or injured to take advantage of it, the healthcare law is now in a death spiral<\/a>. The bad news is, we’ll have to be patient.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, General Electric is getting out of the lending business<\/a>; they’re selling their GE Capital unit even though it has been a giant tax shelter for them over the years. Hmmm. Why would they do that?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Bill Holter astutely wonders if GE sees the writing on the wall and the sale of its undisputed cash cow isn’t “calling a top<\/a> to the entire paper bubble now enveloping the world.” We’ll see, but that makes a lot of sense to me.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> One of the most obvious signs of the “paper bubble” is the perversely-low — if not outright negative — interest rates being offered today. Then again, Ben Bernanke says you can blame those on “a global savings glut<\/a>“. I know. (Insert laugh track<\/a> here.)<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> David Stockman, who directed the US Office of Management and Budget in the 1980s, blames low interest rates on something else: “Financial fraud<\/a> — $15 trillion of securities purchased by central banks with credit made from thin air, and tens of trillions more purchased by gamblers on equally sketchy repo credit.”<\/em> Yes, Mr. Stockman. Yes!<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Finally … A Florida man was arrested last week after he allegedly sold deputies a bunch of “funny money” — on multiple occasions, no less. How did the authorities find this guy, you ask? How else? He posted an online Craigslist ad … for “Legit Counterfeit $$<\/a>.” Heh.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> On the bright side, the alleged scofflaw may end up in prison for a few years — but, like any counterfeiter, he also has a promising future in central banking.<\/p>\n

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

[poll id=\"57\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

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

Have you ever had a personalized automobile license plate?<\/p>\n