{"id":46014,"date":"2017-11-18T04:15:13","date_gmt":"2017-11-18T12:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=46014"},"modified":"2024-11-26T10:15:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T18:15:37","slug":"black-coffee-18-november-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id46014-black-coffee-18-november-2017.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Road to Zimbabwe Runs Through America"},"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

Can you believe Thanksgiving is almost here? Wow! Where did this year go?<\/p>\n

“Inflation is taxation without legislation.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Milton Friedman<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The last duty of a central banker is to tell the public the truth.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Alan Blinder, former Fed Vice-Chairman<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Don’t look now, but John Hussman is warning of a very significant convergence<\/a> of the ‘Hindenberg Omen’ and the ‘Titanic Syndrome.’ I know. But that’s the first time that’s happened since July 2007, which is very close to the last time the markets topped. Uh oh. On second thought, it’s probably nothing. Again.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? For the first time since 2012, real average hourly earnings have declined for three straight months<\/a>, dragging the year-over-year growth in real earnings down to just 0.4% — that’s the weakest growth since April. Then again, for most Americans, real wages — and the purchasing power it represents — have been flat for nearly 50 years.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In fact, stagnant real wages is one reason why the average American worker must now work more than 111 hours<\/a> to earn enough cash to purchase an equivalent quantity of S&P 500 stocks. That is the highest level ever.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, I see that hyperinflation has returned to Zimbabwe<\/a>. Supermarket prices have skyrocketed by as much as 150% during the last two months alone. Not surprisingly, the Zimbabwe central bank is blaming the price hikes<\/a> on “greedy” retailers. In reality, hyperinflation is always<\/em> the result of a greedy government printing funny money to live far beyond its means. Imagine that.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, signs of hyperinflation are everywhere. At least a strong case can be made when a daVinci painting sells for half a billion dollars, as it did this week — even though some scholars doubt the work’s authenticity. No, really<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> With that in mind, how much would you pay for this painting by Cy Twombly<\/a> that was sold at Christie’s auction house on November 15th?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> If you said you’d be willing to sacrifice $45 million of your hard-earned money for that particular piece of, um … “art,” then you would have been more than a million dollars under<\/em> the winning bid<\/a>. Yep. The world has lost its collective marbles, folks. And if that doesn’t convince you that the US dollar is a mere shadow of its former “almighty” self, then I don’t know what will.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> On the other hand, most people know how to get a lot more bang for their bucks than the schmo who threw away $45 million on a canvas that looks like it was painted by a toddler. Take the Florida woman who was charged with fraud after she walked into a Walmart and bought $1800 worth of electronics for $3.70<\/a> by allegedly replacing the bar codes with other clearance item price tags. (h\/t: Tom Draper)<\/em><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, that kind of chicanery is nothing compared to the stuff happening at Christie’s. Don’t ya think?<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of scams, Simon Black observed this week that the American pension fund Ponzi scheme is currently 113 times larger<\/a> than Bernie Madoff’s financial con job — and growing every day. That’s pretty scary when you consider that Madoff bilked investors out of $65 billion. (Yes, the reader is expected to solve this particular math problem on their own. Go ahead; it’s worth the effort.)<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, when it comes to Ponzi schemes, nothing compares to the dollar-based international monetary system. And there’s a good chance that the coming financial avalanche<\/a>, which is also growing larger with each passing day, will eventually be the trigger that results in the implosion of the world’s major fiat currencies. If not all<\/em> of them.<\/p>\n

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

Thanksgiving is America’s second favorite holiday. Here are some numbers to know about turkey day:<\/p>\n

1621<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The year of the first Thanksgiving, a three-day feast.<\/p>\n

46,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The estimated number of turkeys killed annually for Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

5<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The number of days required to thaw a frozen 16-pound turkey in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

4500<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Calories the average American will consume at a traditional Thanksgiving feast.<\/p>\n

229<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Grams of fat the average American will consume on Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

$4,450,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The amount of money spent online during Thanksgiving weekend last year.<\/p>\n

Source: USA Today<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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

[poll id=\"189\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

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

Do you have insurance for your cell phone(s)?<\/p>\n