{"id":83406,"date":"2024-06-01T01:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=83406"},"modified":"2024-06-04T09:56:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T16:56:35","slug":"black-coffee-1-june-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id83406-black-coffee-1-june-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Rich Men, Poor Men"},"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’ve got another busy weekend ahead of me, so let’s get right to this week’s commentary …<\/p>\n

The rich buy assets. The poor only have expenses. The middle class buys liabilities they think are assets.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2014 Robert Kiyosaki<\/strong><\/p>\n

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Yogi Berra<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last month a woman played the Powerball lottery game with numbers she found in a fortune cookie<\/a>. Don\u2019t knock it until you tried it, folks – because five of those numbers came up in that day’s lottery drawing, netting her a cool $50,000. Unfortunately, it’s not a multi-million dollar payoff. Even worse, that $50,000 prize is the amount before<\/strong><\/em> taxes – which means after getting her check, she should have juuust<\/strong><\/em> enough to enjoy three or four meals at her favorite Chinese restaurant. If she’s smart, that is …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of restaurants, in times past, when the cost of living rose, fast-food joints were an option for families who could not afford to go to a traditional restaurant for a meal. Not today. A new study reveals that a hamburger and fries from a fast food restaurant is now considered “a luxury<\/a>” for 78% of Americans. And it\u2019s just not those who are struggling<\/a> to make ends meet – even among households earning more than $100,000 annually, 52% say they are eating less fast food. And probably getting healthier too, in the process.<\/p>\n

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Circa 1964<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> On a related note, the same survey also found that 44% of Americans say they\u2019ve been asked to tip<\/a> on fast food in the past six months, and 43% of those asked refused to add gratuity. That number seems like a ridiculously low figure to us … then again, maybe we’re just cheap bastards.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In the early days of the pandemic, ultra-low interest rates drove housing sales and remodeling spending. But that has changed; these days Americans are delaying their home renovation<\/a> plans and opting for more affordable options amid high borrowing costs. In fact, Home Depot noted this week that big-ticket transactions exceeding $1000 were down 6.5% compared to the first quarter last year. And Lowe\u2019s reported this week that sales fell 6.2% last quarter as homeowners continue to delay larger discretionary projects. And while that is a worrisome trend, the banking industry says “hold my beer” …<\/p>\n

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For many people, the need to slow down their DIY home renovation plans is probably a good thing.<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> It’s no secret that the elites who manage our debt-based monetary system will do whatever it takes to protect their own wealth – wealth that is derived from that very<\/strong><\/em> same corrupt system. That’s why the Fed pumped trillions of dollars into the system to prop up the value of financial assets. As a result, the stock markets are now at or near all-time highs – but who<\/strong><\/em> owns the majority of all stocks? Answer: The wealthiest 10% of all Americans own 93% of all the stocks<\/a>. As for the bottom<\/strong><\/em> 50%? Well … they held just 1% of all stocks in the third quarter of 2023. So … does anybody else<\/strong><\/em> see a problem here? No? Okay … then how about here:<\/p>\n