{"id":57700,"date":"2019-11-09T02:15:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T10:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=57700"},"modified":"2019-11-12T05:55:04","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T13:55:04","slug":"black-coffee-9-nov-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id57700-black-coffee-9-nov-2019.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: The Chorus of Cassandras Continues to Grow"},"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

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! In the meantime, why don’t we get this show on the road? Then I can start mine …<\/p>\n

In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— George Orwell<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘How did you go bankrupt?’ Bill asked.
\n‘Two ways,’ Mike said. ‘Gradually, then suddenly.’<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— from Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? This week billionaire investor Ray Dalio proclaimed that “the world has gone mad and the system is broken<\/a>.” He warned that, negative interest rates, woefully insolvent pension funds, and the growing wealth gap between the rich and poor “are unsustainable and can no longer be pushed as it has been since 2008. ” As a result, he believes that “the world is approaching a big paradigm shift.” It certainly is, Ray.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of insolvent pension funds … nowhere is the absurdity of gold-plated government pensions<\/a> across America more apparent than Chicago where, according to Wirepoints, the average recently-retired Chicago Public School teacher gets to retire at age 61 and collect $2.2 million in benefits over her lifetime — despite contributing just $35,500 over 30 years. Oh … and those pensions are guaranteed by the taxpayers — most of whom have no<\/strong><\/em> pensions of their own.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> To put it another way, on average, Chicago public school teachers receive a $72,000 annual pension<\/a> and begin drawing benefits at age 61. In comparison, the average annual Social Security payment in Chicago is just $16,000 and the maximum<\/strong><\/em> benefit for someone retiring at age 62 is $26,500. Meanwhile, the Chicago teachers’ pension fund is less than 23% funded<\/strong><\/em>. Yeah … this won’t end well.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Hey … here’s something else that won’t end well: Bloomberg is reporting that bitcoin’s historic price increase in 2017 from $750 to $19,783 was entirely due to manipulation. According to the report, “a Texas academic says a single market whale<\/a> was likely behind the misconduct, seemingly with the power to move prices at will.” Even so, the people who got in on the ground floor are pretty happy. Er … at least I think<\/strong><\/em> they are:<\/p>\n