{"id":79064,"date":"2023-06-17T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T08:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=79064"},"modified":"2023-06-19T17:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T00:11:45","slug":"black-coffee-17-jun-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id79064-black-coffee-17-jun-2023.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Master and Servants"},"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 party started …<\/p>\n

All great empires die from within.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Terry Bradshaw<\/strong><\/p>\n

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Henry Ford<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a change of government, the poor change nothing but the name of their master.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Aesop<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit: <\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? A whopping 8 million Americans<\/a> currently live in a household that is behind on paying rent. And, apparently, it’s not just renters – a growing number of homeowners are having similar problems …<\/p>\n

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Debit: <\/strong><\/span> Maybe that’s why employees from Target’s downtown San Francisco store told the San Francisco Standard<\/em> that they’re experiencing at least 10 thefts a day<\/a>, the nanny-state politicians in the Golden State have introduced a new bill that would make it illegal for store employees<\/a> to confront shoplifters – who are already encouraged by another state law that makes store thefts under $950 a misdemeanor. The world has truly lost its mind – and nowhere is that more apparent than in my home state of California.<\/p>\n

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(h\/t: @LaziestofDans)<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit: <\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, it turns out that had the FDIC not stepped in, Silicon Valley Bank would have lost 85% of its deposits<\/a> over a two-day period in March. But if you think that’s bad, consider this: Silicon Valley Bank wasn’t even on the “Problem Bank List” maintained by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) at the time. It kind of makes you wonder who is actually running the show over there. Although if I was a betting man, I’d strongly suspect two of them are right here …<\/p>\n