{"id":48570,"date":"2018-04-28T04:15:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-28T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=48570"},"modified":"2021-10-10T09:03:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T16:03:09","slug":"black-coffee-28-april-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id48570-black-coffee-28-april-2018.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: ‘X’ Marks the Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"black<\/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

Another glorious week comes to an end. Off we go …<\/p>\n

“When the President signs this Act, the invisible government by the Money Power, proven to exist by the Money Trust Investigation, will be legalized. The money power overawes the legislative and executive forces of the Nation and of the States.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Rep. Charles A. Lindbergh, on the bill which established the Fed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Napoleon Bonaparte<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Don’t be alarmed, but the number of Americans filing unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in 48 years<\/a> last week. Oh, I know what you’re thinking: With the “official” unemployment rate threatening to fall below 4%, it won’t be long before there won’t be enough workers to mow our lawns, wash our cars, and take our orders at the local McDonald’s. Talk about doom and gloom.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> With such a hot job market, it’s hard to understand how nearly 25% of fully-employed millennials still require help from their parents<\/a> to pay the bills because wages should be skyrocketing. And since we all know US government economic data is beyond reproach, I think it’s safe to say that one in four “fully-employed” millennials are actually pulling a fast one on Mom and Dad. Obviously.<\/em><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The truth is, wages are definitely not<\/em> skyrocketing; in fact, they’re only growing at a very modest annual clip of 2.7%. Unfortunately, 18 of 20 US metropolitan areas saw home prices grow at an even higher pace<\/a> — and 16 of those saw home price growth of 5.4% or higher. Yes, that’s double<\/em> the average wage growth. Does anyone else see a problem here? Okay … then how about here:<\/p>\n