{"id":72536,"date":"2022-04-30T02:15:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-30T09:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=72536"},"modified":"2022-07-31T08:55:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T15:55:41","slug":"black-coffee-30-apr-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id72536-black-coffee-30-apr-2022.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: A Fistful of Dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hurricane-flags\"<\/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 busy week is crossed off the list. So without further ado, let’s get right to the commentary …<\/p>\n

A decent cowboy doesn’t take what belongs to someone else – but if he does he deserves to be strung up and left for the flies and coyotes.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Roy Bean<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all get the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summer. The poor get it in the winter.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

— Bat Masterson<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The “official” inflation rate as measured by the CPI has remained above 2.5% for 13 consecutive months. And while that may seem like a long time, you should know that there was a period between 1967 and the early 1980s where CPI stayed above 2.5% for 188 consecutive months<\/a>; a period characterized by similar macro forces serving as tailwinds for higher consumer prices. The good news is: If we are<\/strong><\/em> destined to break that dubious record, we only have to endure these runaway price increases for another 14 years!<\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Unfortunately, for the policy makers in Washington DC, macroeconomist Peter Schiff noted this week, “Americans care more about rising gas and food prices than the political class would like. So they trot out (politicians) to explain how government spending actually reduces inflation, and push pseudo-economic ideas<\/a> like modern monetary theory to explain why more federal spending is always the cure.” Of course, government spending funded by increasing the currency supply is precisely<\/strong><\/em> why prices are now rising uncontrollably. And if you don’t believe me<\/strong><\/em>, just ask the late great economist Milton Friedman:<\/p>\n