{"id":76789,"date":"2023-01-21T01:15:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T09:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=76789"},"modified":"2023-01-24T08:26:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T16:26:38","slug":"black-coffee-21-jan-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id76789-black-coffee-21-jan-2023.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: A Ponzi for Your Thoughts"},"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 … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this holiday party started …<\/p>\n

I miss the good old days when the government was stealing from my kids’ and grandkids’ future. Now, they’re stealing from me every day. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Anonymous<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last month the Bank of Japan (BoJ) ended its seven-year experiment with yield curve control, raising the 10-year government bond ceiling from 0.25% to 0.50%. Now the bond market smells blood in the water. So it has been testing the BoJ’s new upper limit, which may force the central bank to retreat again – this time to 1.0%. As a result, speculation is mounting that the BoJ is losing control<\/a> of its bond market. If true, legendary market analyst Jim Grant believes that<\/strong><\/em> could break the global financial system. Is Mr. Grant being just a bit<\/strong><\/em> hysterical? Probably. I mean, it’s not as if the BoJ is running out of bonds to buy. Oh, wait …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, when it comes to debt and the means of funding it, Japan isn’t alone, with the US National Debt currently sitting at $31.5 trillion<\/a>, and another<\/strong><\/em> $181 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and other things such as federal employee and veteran benefits. The good news is the Magic Money Tree crowd seems to think this isn’t a problem because, for the most part, “we owe the money to ourselves.” On the other hand, those same people also believe this is legitimate too:<\/p>\n