Friday, October 7, 2016

SAR #16281


Waiting to see what happens is not the same as having a plan.
Do The Math: ATM fees are now $4.50 a transaction and climbing. If you are taking out $100, that's the same as paying them $4.50 to hold on your money for a while. Negative interest writ large. Why would you pay that? And don't even think about taking out just $20 to pay the babysitter – that's a 22.5% fee.
Asked & Answered: Was Yahoo’s mass wiretap legal? Legal? My, what a quaint concept.
Perspective: According to the UN there are 68.5 million refugees in the world today. Jordan has taken in more than 2.7 million people, Turkey, over 2.5 million; Pakistan, 1.6 million; and Lebanon, more than 1.5 million. More than 10,000 refugees were rescued from the Mediterranean in the last two days. Last year the US took in about 85,000 refugees, but only 18,000 from Asia/Me (12.5 thousand from Syria) and 22,000 from Africa, mostly the DRC.
The Gig Economy: Nearly 55 million Americans are, in one way or another, freelancers – self employed, contract, and so on – with no benefits. That's nearly 35% of the workforce.
Wonderment: What if super-low, zero and negative interest rates are not some sort of sick joke and turn out to be an accurate predictor? What if there is little or no growth in the economy for the next decade or two? Did you plan accordingly? The Big Money boys haven't, and come the day they have to mark all those 'investments' to actual market values will certainly be one for the record books. It would (will?) be a massive economic disaster. And certainly not the future they – and we - have prepared for.
Days Of Whine & Ruses: Are the members of the Fed simply fools who think they know what they're doing, or charlatans who know they don't?
A Parting Shot:

5 comments:

McMike said...

Various and sundry...

Math. Remember when they first introduced the machines, and begged us to use them. Massive cost savings become massive fee generator. That's the genius of capitalism: take what was free and find a way to charge for it.

Wiretap. Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no stinking badges.

Refuges. Are only useful if they have computer skills or can cut up chicken. And the chicken cutting is moving to China soon.

Gig economy. So, they don't know where their next meal will come from. They don't know how they'll pay for the next doctor bill. And they don't know where their next paycheck will come from, or when, or how much. Perfect.

Wonderment. Don't fret over the mark-to-market. That will never happen. If it happens, it will never be published. If it is published, it will be covered up with lies. Companies will simply disappear in the night, not leaving so much as a note. Everything was fine, then they went out for a pack of cigarettes...

The Fed. That's the essential question in the Age of Bulls**t - are they lying, faking it till they make it, or whistling past the graveyard? Only their proctologist knows for sure.

Gegner said...

Thank you and AMEN, Mc Mike, Happy Friday!

Classof65 said...

Charles,

May I ask a favor of you? If you know the name of the flower or plant or the place in your photos, would you please list it? I puzzle over it all day...

Thanks,

Teresa

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

Well, within wide latitudes, I can try to ID most of the shots. Generally 'where' for vegetation is in parks and gardens in Middle Tennessee.

When I have time, I will gladly do so.

Unknown said...

i love the sarcasm about "legality." Now we are way far down the Rabbit Hole, no telling what's what. Now with "The Red Queen and all that." Imagine if someone actually had to "pay" for their crime. lol. Not likely in the "American Empire".

Inverted totalitarianism is what I've heard it called. It just looks like plain old Fascism. Business running Government. Nobody can "beat" inverted totalitarianism that big words. Most Americans don't know we are living under "austerity", either. big words for America. lol. Easy Marks in the Market.

The flower looks like a pansy to me.