{"id":53421,"date":"2019-02-23T02:15:53","date_gmt":"2019-02-23T10:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=53421"},"modified":"2023-12-29T13:44:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T21:44:22","slug":"black-coffee-23-feb-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id53421-black-coffee-23-feb-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Acme Investing, Trading &#038; Retirement Company"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/black-coffee-wile-e-coyote-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-48825\" src=\"http:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/black-coffee-wile-e-coyote-2.png\" alt=\"wile e coyote holding coffee cup\" width=\"229\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/black-coffee-wile-e-coyote-2.png 691w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/black-coffee-wile-e-coyote-2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/black-coffee-wile-e-coyote-2-300x300.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a><em>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n<p>Well &#8230; another glorious week comes to an end, so let&#8217;s get this party started, shall we?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The Bank never goes broke. If the Bank runs out of money, the Banker may issue as much more as may be necessary by merely writing on any ordinary paper.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; From the Rules of Monopoly<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; Walter Scott<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The promise given was a necessity of the past. The word broken is a necessity of the present.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>&#8212; Niccolo Machiavelli<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Don&#8217;t look now, but financial analyst Dave Kranzler notes that: &#8220;The current non-mortgage <a href=\"http:\/\/investmentresearchdynamics.com\/a-financial-system-headed-for-a-collision-with-debt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">personal interest burden<\/a> is nearly 20% higher than it was just before the 2008 financial crisis &#8212; (and) roughly 75% higher than it was at the turn of the century.&#8221; Of course it is. But I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s nothing to worry about. Financial statistics like that are perfectly normal in a thriving economy. Yep. The peak of fiscal health.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, Illinois politicians are looking at <a href=\"https:\/\/wirepoints.org\/asset-transfers-to-pensions-be-afraid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transferring public assets<\/a> directly to state pensions. No, really. Yes, the plan sounds reasonable, but the asset transfers won&#8217;t solve anything because although those government pension funds <em><strong>might<\/strong><\/em> be made more secure, the Illinois government&#8217;s overall balance sheet will remain the same. So it&#8217;s all just an illusion &#8230; just not as slick as this:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N_X_h8cCKcA?start=0&amp;end=129;controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> According to one New York University professor, Illinois&#8217; asset transfer scheme, as well as the governor&#8217;s plan to issue a $2 billion bond will never work &#8212; as if trying to borrow your way out of debt <em><strong>ever<\/strong><\/em> worked. &#8220;There&#8217;s going to have to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/news\/2019-02-21\/illinois-hopes-fix-134-billion-pension-shortfall-issuing-more-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some actual sacrifice<\/a>,&#8221; says the professor. Well &#8230; yeah. Just don&#8217;t tell that to Illinois&#8217; government retirees and future-retirees; they seem to think the gravy train will never end.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Nevertheless, a new survey has found that two out of three Americans are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2019-02-20\/the-spanish-and-french-worry-even-more-about-retirement-than-americans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worried about not having enough<\/a> savings for retirement. And while only 3 in 10 American retirees say they&#8217;ve noticed a decline in their standard of living, Bloomberg warns that,&#8221;It&#8217;s entirely possible that government budget cuts, low saving rates, and weak market returns could make future retirees even worse off than seniors today.&#8221; Ya think?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> As Charles Hugh Smith notes, &#8220;The Fed&#8217;s sudden return to dovishness in response to the stock market&#8217;s swoon telegraphs <a href=\"http:\/\/charleshughsmith.blogspot.com\/2019\/02\/what-happens-when-more-qe-fails-to.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its intent to fire up QE<\/a>. That sets up an obvious question: what happens when QE fails? What happens when the Fed launches QE and stocks fall as punters realize the rally is over, (and) when lowering interest rates doesn&#8217;t spark more borrowing?&#8221; Ooo, I know! Here&#8217;s a preview:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JCoZBc1uHPg?controls=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Oh, I hear ya: <em>What about this modern monetary theory (MMT) that&#8217;s being hyped by today&#8217;s academics and pols?<\/em> In short, MMT posits that a nation can&#8217;t go bankrupt as long as it borrows from itself. In other words, you really <em><strong>can<\/strong><\/em> have a free lunch! Heh. But <a href=\"https:\/\/realinvestmentadvice.com\/mmt-sounds-great-in-theory-but\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">what the MMT charlatans <em><strong>can&#8217;t<\/strong><\/em> refute<\/a> is that MMT actually pays for that &#8220;free&#8221; lunch by slashing the dollar&#8217;s purchasing power, which reduces your standard of living.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Ironically, even the Fed recognizes the folly of MMT. Former Fed President Bill Dudley notes that, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2019-02-19\/budget-deficits-still-matter-sorry-mmt-proponents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MMT didn&#8217;t work out<\/a> well for Germany in the 1920s; or Venezuela and Zimbabwe more recently. The US tried a milder version in the 1960s and 1970s. The result was inflation and America&#8217;s withdrawal from the gold standard.&#8221; True. Then again, Bill, since 1913 the Fed hasn&#8217;t worked out so well for the US either.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, the Fed has done a fine job debauching the US dollar <em><strong>without<\/strong><\/em> the help of MMT, which is why Peter Schiff warned this week that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lhtwkYxIQrM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the real national emergency<\/a> <strong><em>isn&#8217;t<\/em><\/strong> the lack of a beefy barrier on the southern US border &#8212; instead, it&#8217;s America&#8217;s $22 trillion National Debt and $250 trillion in unfunded liabilities. And MMT is a desperate attempt by those with a vested interest in keeping our dying corrupt debt-based monetary system they depend on alive.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Credit:<\/strong><\/span> According to Bill Bonner, at some point: &#8220;All of <a href=\"https:\/\/bonnerandpartners.com\/u-s-stocks-are-playing-russian-roulette\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">these excesses and absurdities will be corrected<\/a>; Mr. Market will take care of that. Then the leverage works in the other direction collapsing asset prices, credit, and the economy. That&#8217;s how the cycle goes. Elegantly. Effortlessly. Inevitably. An excess of animal spirits cured by a shortage of animal spirits. Too much credit cured by too little credit. And a bubble cured by a crash.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Debit:<\/strong><\/span> It should be painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that Bonner is correct: Mr. Market <em><strong>will<\/strong><\/em> fix this. Only this time it&#8217;s going to take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldmoney.com\/research\/goldmoney-insights\/currencies-threatened-by-a-credit-crisis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a global currency crisis<\/a> to set things right. Unfortunately, for most people, that&#8217;s going to result in a significant reduction in their standard of living.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For anyone who still cares, the 91st Academy Awards is scheduled for this coming Sunday. So here&#8217;s a few tidbits on the annual extravaganza:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$44,000,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The total cost of the awards ceremony.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$24,700<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The cost of the Oscar&#8217;s red carpet.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>900<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Hours required for workers to install the red carpet.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$2,600,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The cost of a 30-second ad during the telecast.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$18,100,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The cost of actress Cate Blanchett&#8217;s attire for the 2014 ceremony.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>$150,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The value of the gifts in this year&#8217;s Oscar goodie bag, presented to the show&#8217;s presenters and performers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/blog\/oscars-facts\/19250\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WalletHub<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How would you characterize your home&#8217;s location?<\/p>\n<p><code>[poll id=\"256\"]<\/code><\/p>\n<p><strong>Last Week&#8217;s Poll Results<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What do you enjoy more?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Saving money (70%)<\/li>\n<li>Spending money (19%)<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;m not sure (11%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More than 1500 Len Penzo dot Com readers responded to last week&#8217;s question, and 7 in 10 say they have more fun saving money to spending it. Are they <strong><em>crazy<\/em><\/strong>? Or crazy like a fox?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Useless News: Tax Return<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The IRS returned a tax return after the taxpayer apparently answered one of the questions incorrectly. In response to question 23: &#8220;Do you have anyone dependent on you?&#8221; the taxpayer wrote: &#8220;2.1 million illegal immigrants, 1.1 million crack-heads, 4.4 million unemployable scroungers, 80,000 criminals in over 85 prisons, plus 650 idiots in Washington, and the entire group that call themselves politicians.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On the returned form, someone at the IRS had attached a Post-it Note beside the question with an arrow and the words: &#8220;Your response to question 23 is unacceptable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The taxpayer sent it back to the IRS with his response on the bottom of the Post It Note: &#8220;Who did I leave out?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>(h\/t: RD Blakeslee)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Other Useless News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are the top five articles viewed by my <strong>25,214<\/strong> RSS feed, weekly email subscribers, and other followers over the past 30 days (excluding Black Coffee posts):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id52583-4-habits-and-systems-that-the-wealthy-follow-religiously.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">4 Habits and Systems the Wealthy Follow Religiously<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id14307-why-i-prefer-a-spreadsheet-to-track-expenses-manage-my-finances-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Why I Prefer a Spreadsheet to Track Expenses and Manage My Finances<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id11483-how-to-eliminate-your-financial-problems-without-more-money-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Fix Your Finances Without More Money<\/a><\/li>\n<li>36 Amazing Uses for the Lowly Plastic Grocery Bag<\/li>\n<li>The 9 Biggest Home Repair Scams<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Hey, while you&#8217;re here, please don&#8217;t forget to:<\/p>\n<p>1. Click on that <strong>Like<\/strong> button in the sidebar to your right and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LenPenzo\">become a fan of Len Penzo dot Com on Facebook<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>2. Make sure you <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/LenPenzo\">follow me on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>3. <a href=\"mailto:lenpenzolist@aweber.com\">Subscribe via email<\/a> too!<\/p>\n<p>And last, but not least &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>4. Consider becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/membership-account\">Len Penzo dot Com Insider<\/a>! Thank you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Letters, I Get Letters <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it&#8217;s interesting or not! You can reach out to me at: <strong>Len@LenPenzo.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After my article highlighting <a href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id2148-40-ways-to-improve-your-credit-score-3.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the top 40 ways to improve your credit score<\/a>, <strong>Ken Thomas<\/strong> left this comment:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>There&#8217;s an old saying that, &#8220;If you&#8217;re depressed, you&#8217;re living in the past. If you&#8217;re anxious, you&#8217;re living in the future. And if you&#8217;re at peace, you&#8217;re living in the present.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Okay &#8230; but I&#8217;m hungry. So that old saying isn&#8217;t a lot of help right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this, please forward it to your friends and family. I&#8217;m Len Penzo and I approved this message.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-size: smaller;\">Photo Credit: spreadshirt.com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Well &#8230; another glorious week comes to an end, so let&#8217;s get this party started, shall we? The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-53421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"pmpro-has-access","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Coffee: The Acme Investing, Trading &amp; Retirement Company<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id53421-black-coffee-23-feb-2019.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Coffee: The Acme Investing, Trading &amp; Retirement Company\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#8217;s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe &#8230; Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what&#8217;s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Well &#8230; another glorious week comes to an end, so let&#8217;s get this party started, shall we? 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