{"id":64355,"date":"2021-01-02T02:15:51","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T10:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=64355"},"modified":"2023-05-12T10:39:57","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T17:39:57","slug":"black-coffee-2-jan-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id64355-black-coffee-2-jan-2021.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: A Thief In the Night"},"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

Well … the New Year is here — but I’m still more than a bit wary. Here’s hoping that 2021 turns out to be much better than 2020.<\/p>\n

Off we go …<\/p>\n

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

— Milton Friedman<\/strong><\/p>\n

A robber who justified his theft by claiming that he actually helped his victims because his spending gave a boost to retail trade, would find few converts — but when this theory is clothed in Keynesian equations and impressive references to the ‘multiplier effect,’ it unfortunately carries more conviction.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Murray Rothbard<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? A new survey that asked Americans about the current state of their finances discovered that a whopping 55% of us consider this year to be “a personal financial disaster<\/a>.” Among employed respondents, 70% say they need an immediate raise to continue making ends meet — and 62% plan on taking on a second job in 2021 to meet their financial goals next year.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, the hospitality industry continues to be decimated by the pandemic as American continue to stay home and travelers avoid hotels. How bad is it? Well … for the week prior to Christmas, the US hotel occupancy rate was an anemic 37% — that’s 26% lower compared to the same period in 2019. Perhaps even more disturbing: For the first time ever, the industry breached one billion unsold room nights<\/a> in a single year. Speaking of disturbing hospitality …<\/p>\n