{"id":81823,"date":"2024-01-20T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T09:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=81823"},"modified":"2024-02-09T10:42:27","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T18:42:27","slug":"black-coffee-20-jan-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id81823-black-coffee-20-jan-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: A Shot Across the Bow"},"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

Life’s big changes rarely give advance warning.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– H. Jackson Brown, Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To not know is bad. To not want to know is worse.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– David Rogers Webb, The Great Taking<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The Michigan Wolverines clinched their first national college football championship since 1997, but the only viral photo from the game has nothing to do with the gridiron gameplay. Instead, it highlights the staggering cost of refreshments: specifically, $33.55 for a single alcoholic beverage<\/a> – before<\/strong><\/em> tax and tip. To be fair, those cocktails – served in a plastic cup – did<\/strong><\/em> have gold dust in them. However for that price they should have been served in real glasses with a souvenir one-gram gold coin.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> On a related note, we see that rising expenses pushed the Federal Reserve system deep into a record loss<\/a> last year. How bad was the central bank’s bottom line, you ask? Well … Fed income after expenses came in at a negative $114 billion last year, versus a $59 billion profit in 2022. The good news for the Fed is they have a currency printer. Too bad they’re the only ones in America that can legally use it.<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of Fed operating losses, the economist who predicted the financial collapse of the Soviet Union two years before it happened, Judy Shelton, notes that “the scandal, is not just that the Fed is running an operating loss, but that our central bank is paying real money (at current rate, about $240 billion annually) to banks, hedge funds, and private businesses – expenditures not appropriated<\/a> by Congress.” Yep. The corruption has reached all facets of society – just as it did in the old Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

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\n\"\" \"\"Debit:<\/strong><\/span> For the Fed and 99% of Americans, the inflation situation could be much worse. Take Argentina for instance: Thanks to a bloated government and decades of humongous federal deficits, its annual inflation is now “officially” 211%, but the newly-installed libertarian government says its 3678%. Regardless, prices there are now rising so frequently<\/a> that businesses have started giving employees raises three times per year – and that’s still<\/strong><\/em> not enough because stores are updating their prices multiple times per month<\/strong><\/em>. Then again, if you think that’s<\/strong><\/em> crazy, you probably haven’t seen this:<\/p>\n

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

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Not surprisingly, black markets have sprung up where people are trading the Argentina peso for the US dollar (USD) in a desperate attempt<\/a> to retain purchasing power and slow the steady decline in their living standard. Because, of course, the USD is a rock solid store of value … said no one ever. If you don’t believe me, just ask this<\/strong><\/em> guy – if only because he seems to know everything. I said “seems” …<\/p>\n