{"id":88582,"date":"2025-08-02T01:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T08:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=88582"},"modified":"2025-08-06T08:27:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:27:04","slug":"black-coffee-2-aug-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id88582-black-coffee-2-aug-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Pins & Needles"},"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 waiting is the hardest part.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Tom Petty<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last month, the US housing market saw canceled deals and pulled listings<\/a> surge to their highest levels in almost a decade. Sales of existing homes slumped to a seasonally adjusted average annual rate of 3.9 million in June \u2013 that\u2019s a nine-month low in what\u2019s typically the housing market\u2019s busiest season. In fact, 15% of all homes that went under contract last month fell through \u2013 that’s the highest share of canceled deals in June going back to 2017. It\u2019s okay, folks. Nothing to see here. Uh\u2026 or here:<\/p>\n

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h\/t: @Kenneth_Dredd<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> A cracking housing market isn’t the only bad news for Main Street – well, at least those who recently bought an over-priced house. That\u2019s because the latest USDA cattle report shows America’s cattle herd population has fallen to 94 million<\/a>, which is its lowest level since 1973. As a result, the nation’s shrinking herd size has pushed retail ground beef prices to record highs. The average price for a single pound of ground beef is now $6.12. The good news is that the US GDP figure was up sharply<\/a> last quarter …<\/p>\n

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Frankly, we start unfriending the cook at Step 3. And even Step 2 results in a stern warning.<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, the US government has spent $1.7 billion<\/strong><\/em> so far to deliver just 250 electric trucks<\/a> for the US Postal Service (USPS), which means those trucks have cost taxpayers a minimum of $6.8 million a piece. Sheesh. Looks like the USPS got robbed. And on a related note …<\/p>\n

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Gary Larson – The Far Side<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> As if that wasn\u2019t bad enough, the USPS is still waiting for the remaining 44,750 trucks, which are due by 2028. At the current delivery rate, it will take the government another 539 years – and who knows how much more money – to complete their order. Er… assuming the entire government program isn’t taken to the basement and put out of its misery<\/a> first.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, these ubiquitous government boondoggles are only possible because the “Almighty Dollar” is a debt-based currency which can be freely counterfeited into existence. But since there is no such thing as a free lunch – despite what the MMT zealots insist \u2013 that incessant currency printing is the primary reason for the relentless loss of purchasing power of the US dollar (USD), as well as the cause of our slow living-standard decline. Unfortunately for us mortals, the Fed can always print more<\/a> currency – but we can\u2019t print more time …<\/p>\n