{"id":74372,"date":"2022-08-27T02:15:31","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T09:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=74372"},"modified":"2023-05-12T11:07:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:07:32","slug":"black-coffee-27-aug-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id74372-black-coffee-27-aug-2022.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: More Sticker Shock"},"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

I hope everybody had a wonderful week. And with that, let’s get right to this week’s commentary, shall we?<\/p>\n

The result of the inflation was to undermine the foundations of German society in a way which neither the war, nor the revolution of November 1918, nor the Treaty of Versailles had ever done. The real revolution in Germany was the inflation, for it destroyed not only property and money, but faith in property and the meaning of money.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Alan Bullock, Hitler: A Study in Tyranny<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If it weren’t for electricity, we’d all be watching television by candlelight.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– George Gobel<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? At least 20 million American households — that’s roughly 1 in 6 homes — are behind on their power bills as soaring electricity prices spark what Bloomberg is calling the worst-ever crisis<\/a> in late utility payments. Uh oh. Here’s hoping those households don’t depend on an EV to get to work.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The “good” news is an Executive Order was issued that forgives Americans<\/a> with $10,000 in US federal student loan debt, thereby making suckers of everyone who went to college and paid their own way or already paid off their student loans, as well as those never<\/strong><\/em> went to university. Frankly, I’m not sure how such a decree is even constitutional. Doesn’t the “power of the purse” belong to the House? Twas a time when fiscal laws had to originate there. Oh, well. In the meantime, consumers can expect higher inflation, while taxpayers get stuck with the bill. Although, ironically, many college grads – and their professors – say otherwise …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Believe it or not, skyrocketing utility prices are an even bigger<\/strong><\/em> problem on the other side of the pond. It’s bad enough that the German producer price index climbed 37% last month. On Monday, the already skyrocketing price of electricity climbed another 25% – yes, in a single day. This was after select zinc and aluminum smelters in the European Union announced they were shutting down<\/a> due to excessive energy costs. You can bet the impacts of these runaway energy prices will be more broadly felt when Europe’s winter freeze finally arrives.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of freezes, a survey of 700 US executives reveals that 52% of them have implemented a hiring freeze, and half are either actively considering or planning to reduce headcount<\/a>. The survey also found that more than 40% of them are rescinding job offers, while a similar total are reducing or eliminating sign-on bonuses. Yikes. Let’s just hope any headcount reductions end up bypassing America’s under-appreciated technical workforce, most of whom put in extremely<\/strong><\/em> long hours under incredibly harsh conditions slaving their days – and nights – away for “the man.” If you don’t believe me, watch this:<\/p>\n