{"id":35325,"date":"2016-01-16T03:15:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-16T11:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=35325"},"modified":"2016-01-17T19:27:13","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T03:27:13","slug":"black-coffee-the-blurred-line-between-fiction-and-nonfiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id35325-black-coffee-the-blurred-line-between-fiction-and-nonfiction.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Blurred Line Between Fiction and Nonfiction"},"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

Here we go …<\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> The latest US employment data<\/a> shows that 292,000 new jobs were created in December, while the unemployment rate held steady at just 5.0%. Sounds great, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> At least one mortgage industry website certainly thought the report was positive. In fact, the MReport said the December jobs dispatch was so good that it actually “outdid itself<\/a> once again.” Yes, “once again.”<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, those who were willing to dig into the dirty details came to a vastly different conclusion. David Stockman notes that, after taking into account the usual government statistical hocus pocus, only 11,000 new jobs<\/a> were actually created. Well … at least here in the real world.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Even worse, there were just 8000 new manufacturing jobs<\/a> created in America last month. Yes, just 8000 — with<\/em> the hocus pocus — in a country with a population of 325 million people. And this is supposed to be good news?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> As financial analyst Dave Kranzler more aptly observes, unless you’re living in a fantasy world, “The (total jobs) number reported is not even remotely credible<\/a> when put in the context of what’s happening to the U.S. economy.” Frankly, Mr. Kranzler is being too kind.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, a lack of well-paying jobs that can actually support a family is no doubt the reason why, despite being seven years into a so-called “recovery,” 93% of American counties still haven’t recovered<\/a> from the last recession. I know, I know … we’ve got to be patient.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, Obamacare is so expensive, fully one in three Americans are cutting spending<\/a> on food, rent and other essentials just to afford the healthcare premiums. Forward!<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> On the bright side, our broken healthcare system would be so much worse if the $2500 in annual healthcare savings<\/a> promised to average American families by all those Obamacare advocates before it became the law of the land was actually a bald-faced lie. Oh wait …<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, the US stock market had another rough week, capped off with big losses on Friday<\/a>. The Dow is now back to levels not seen last August. For the week, the Dow was down another 2.4%, the S&P fell another 2.2%, and Nasdaq lost 2.7%. Ouch.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> For the year, the stock markets are even worse<\/a>: the Dow is down 8.2%, the S&P is off 8%, Dow Transports have plunged 10.9%, the Nasdaq has lost 10.4%, and the Russell 2000 has disappeared into the abyss, losing 11.3%. (And yet, I sleep like a baby at night.)<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In his State of the Union speech this week, President Obama insisted that, “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.” No, really<\/a>. By the way, I had no idea the President read Len Penzo dot Com.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> But seriously, folks — if the American economy isn’t<\/em> declining, then how do you explain WalMart’s decision to shutter 154 stores<\/a> in the US? Yes, that<\/em> WalMart.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> I’m sure Puerto Rico doesn’t think any talk of economic decline is fear mongering and lies. According to none other than US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, the American territory and so-called 51st state “is in the midst of an economic collapse<\/a>.” Not a recession — economic collapse<\/em>. Is he a fiction peddler too?<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Finally … three winning lottery tickets split the $1.5 billion<\/a> — yes, billion — Powerball jackpot this week. Believe it or not, one of those tickets was sold at a local market that is literarily just down the street from where I live.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> No, it wasn’t my ticket.<\/p>\n

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

[poll id=\"96\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

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

Have you seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet?<\/p>\n