Dueling Disasters – Tractor Envy

by

Pick a disaster…plenty to choose from…no crowding, social distance, please!

And so begins another Thursday.

Besides the Fed data on “jacking up the money supply” – after the close today – there is the small matter of the implosion of the  once middle-class in ‘Merica, as revealed in the Wednesday consumer debt report.

In it, the Fed reports that March consumer debt was decreasing at a rate of 4.3 percent annualized.  Then in April, debt collapsed 20% annualized, and in May it was down 5.3 percent.  All of which, one has to remember, is offset a month, or so, from actual expenditures.

The reason for the offset is obvious when you think about it:  If you piled  in high-priced toilet paper using your credit cards (revolving debt in the report here), it didn’t “hit the books” until it came up as items on the month-end statement.

As a result, when we look at financial impacts of CV-19, we can  infer the impact on the economy will be in the range of 20% in March as the impacts continue to ripple.

About Those Ripples

We trust you saw where United Airlines to send layoff notices to nearly half of US employees?  This is only the tip of the iceberg.  See our comments section for the recent discussion of “deals” on travel to former “hot-spots” like Hawaii.

The problem isn’t “owned” by the U.S., of course.  Up north of us, Canada’s Via to temporarily layoff about 1,000 workers as pandemic impacts its business.  Then there are car rental outfits, ride sharing, and hotels and AirLetMeBe…

The overall decline in activity is showing up in unexpected places, as well.  Take for example how Bed Bath & Beyond Tumbles on 1st-Quarter Sales Decline.  Are people spending less time in the Throne Room?

The Servant Classes Are Screwed

We’ve talked about this in uncounted columns, but here’s the thing to keep in mind, now:  Given a choice, you will want to back-out of being in the “servant class” should the opportunity arise.

When America was producing up to its eyeballs, the service industry was where the growth was.  In fact, going back to when I was a “wee one” America had less than 3-service workers (servants) for each of the “goods makers.”  That was a time when unions were strong and making goods made sense.  A U.A.W. member, for example, could afford a decent home, support a family, and even have enough left-over for the occasional hunting or fishing trip.

That has changed:  The manic run into “services” – that is, swelling up the  Servant Class to do everything short of wiping our butts for us – is over.

You may not be a regular reader of the Memphis Flyer, but check out their article  nails the macro economic changes now taking root:  “Back to Business? The Crumbling Foundations of the Service Industry…”

You will need to read “the news” with a firm understanding of statistics when you go off “researching.”  It’s our old friend “The Denominator Problem.”

TDP

Sure, you can find stories like the  Arkansas Democrat story U.S. service-industry index soars.  But remember Uncle George’s Reality Medicine:  If jobs decline by 50%, then when they return to previous levels, any gains are framed as “200 percent increases!”

The Denominator Problem is one of the most powerful tools in investing, too.  And here’s why:  Say you start with $100 and lose half  of it.  Now down to 50% of your original stake.  What happens when you navigate a 50% gain?  Are you back even?

Nope:  $50 X 1.5 is just $75-bucks.  So, remember The Denominator Problem is at work in life, trying to “average you back down” into “The Servant Class” if you’re not paying attention.

All Glittery-Like – NGFY

We don’t know much about  Benzinga, but they have a good eye for trend change, judging by their headline “Silver Investment Demand Up by 10 Percent in First Half of 2020.”

And the CNBC piece (“Gold is the ‘real bitcoin’: Trader sees new highs ahead for the metal“) saves me from pointing out again that Bitcoin and the other crypto-tulips are always just one blown circuit breaker from zero value.  NGFY – No Gold For You!

The Bit-con was languishing around $9,404 when we checked, since our (more-easily fooled) readers who  love a good story are hanging on to the notion that “electrons matter.”  Well, have fun with that…

China as Germany II?

Keeping an eye out West, we’ve been watching this evolving conflict between India and China.  In part because India, says  Zeus the Cat, looks like it’s being set up for a gigantic  pincers movement.

“ You need to understand,” spoke the strategic Cat “That when you see stories like Pompeo says China took incredibly aggressive action in recent clash with India, you have to look down the road to Pakistan which has been roped into being a keystone of the Chinese Belted and Rolled (sic) Initiative.  You don’t spend enough time monitoring the China Economic net, do you?  “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor continues to make strides: Chinese scholar” sticks out like a sore border…”

To be sure, ol’  Zeus has a point: Just like the Trump administration got nervous and anxious about getting people back to work  here, China has been moving to ramp Pakistan trade back up, as evidenced in COVID-19: China, Pakistan consider proposal to resume border trade next week.

As We Warned

Back in January, we managed to drive off a fair number of readers predicting that by summer Covid-19 cases would would be well over 10-million.  Why, people thought Ure was nuts.  And what about his stocking up on Hormel Tamale’s and Dinty Moore?  Why, the fellow was a nut-job for sure, along with his cases of Cottonelle....

Yet, the headlines continue to support our ongoing prepping around the old ranch.  Especially since Worldwide coronavirus cases surpass 12 million.

You won’t want to read this to the kids (you also might want them to leave the room while you read this next part):  Our data projections presently look for a Thanksgiving global case load that could top 200- MILLION and a death toll of 2.2 million.  Higher if the strain “goes killer” on us.

Here in the U.S.  we have modeled a “likely scenario” of 50-million cases and half a million dead for the same period.  (You can let the kids back in now…)

Electile Dysfunction

Adding to you “dining and dancing pleasure” at election time, will be the matter of delayed results.  And that, figures Goldman-Sachs could really screw with the market.  See the CNBC summary Goldman warns delayed election results this November similar to Bush-Gore could rock the market for more.

Near as we can figure it, someone at Goldman may have read the two-days earlier Gloomberg story Delayed Election Results Could Test Social Media Companies… and figured it would be a way to get the firm’s name out there.  This is – in neoclassic public relations – called end-on  marketing.  Take a “catchy idea” and brand it as Ure-owned.

DDD:  Daily Dose of Data

Two dots to plot on your mental model of the messed-up mess:

Weekly “de-employment” numbers are just out:

In the week ending July 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,314,000, a decrease of 99,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 14,000 from 1,427,000 to 1,413,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,437,250, a decrease of 63,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 3,500 from 1,503,750 to 1,500,250.

After the data, the futures were mixed, though the Tech Giants (to our unerring gaze) seem to have figured out that there won’t be an anti-trust action against Amazon until after the election.  Nor is “social media regulation” expected, either.

Trump doesn’t have the political strength right now to attack on either front.  Yet, is SloJoe picks up much more, and Trump looks “beatable” then Trump might do a scorched earth attack on the way to the exit.

Later -after the end of the trading session – we will have hemorrhoids fresh Money Supply data for Surviving Servants in Zimbabwe II.  (SSZ2)

ATR (Around The Ranch):  Tractor Envy

Our neighbors up the hill now have just about EVERYTHING a young couple could ask for:  They became parents almost a month back.  Both have great jobs.  And…the kicker…they are now the proud owners of one of the finest tractor’s I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Kubota – 60-horsepower – with an air conditioned cab.  OK, so $46-kilobucks but OMG what a farm tool!

And the capper?  The neighbor picked up a 3-point powered huge stump grinder for it, as well.  (not in the 46K ticket price)

I’ve about beat my little 24-horse Kubota to death out here.  I figure The Big K factory really ought to have been built in Texas because the land is tougher than
Georgia (except up in the northeast mountains, around Ellijay).  But WOW.  What a rig.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m having Amazon send him a “Tractor-Warming” gift.  Not very expensive, but one of the most useful things you can put on a tractor in these parts:  An inclinometer.

You see, one of the biggest risks of “tractoring” is getting sideways on too steep a slope.

Somewhere, buried in the operators manual, you can usually find the “critical angle” information.  “Don’t work slopes greater than  xxx-degrees to avoid rollover accidents.”

With  a simple sailboat inclinometer (and two stick-on Dymo labels marking the “do not mess with angles”) the problem can be avoided.

One of the ways to improve your odds of living longer than  71 is to not do stupid things.  But, when you have “land chores” that involve grown-up machinery on sloped land, the “right accessories” can increase your odds of winning the Social Security Gamble…

Write when you get rich (or upright),

George@Ure.net

46 thoughts on “Dueling Disasters – Tractor Envy”

  1. “Servant Class to do everything short of wiping out butts for us –”

    you must have forgotten about the 2.86 million americans that work as certified butt wipers.. LOL LOL.. chinese news.. hmm.. is the indian and chinese war what we should be concerned over?
    who would we back? we discovered that we are totally dependent on china for our goods..
    I still can’t get retort packed chicken breast.. I am still doing that myself..
    then you read the story about how they are using tibetan monks to train soldiers on their martial arts skills..
    or about the legislators rushing back to discuss possible military actions with the USA..

    “When thousands of China’s elites flock to Beijing for the delayed national legislative session starting on Friday they will face a renewed debate about relations with the US. Specifically, can armed conflict between the two economic superpowers be avoided?
    The question is not new, but it has taken on a new urgency as the acrimony escalates between Washington and Beijing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, exposing growing cracks in the current global order.”

    since they manufacture our military might.. supposedly our ammo brass is not suppose to come from china but my guess is since they buy from sources that do business with them. we were suppose to use made in america only goods on a project once.. we couldn’t buy anything that was made in america. how we got it by was the label.. assembled in america.. that was on a wind turbine.. and the assembled was someone in america mounted the fan LOL…

    So who will we support in a conflict.. my guess is this pick up any item from your desk.. or look at the bottom or side of any product that you use.. that is who we will back.. you don’t knowingly shizt in your shoe then expect to wear it..
    the shut down of their manufacturers the last couple of months should be a huge clue.. docks sitting empty of containers shelves empty of any goods..

      • Invest in shop tools IF you can find any!

        My local Harbor Fright looks like a going out of business sale. They move stuff around to hide the holes in stock, but it’s getting old. I like the folks that work there and worry about their jobs. And their freebees are all gone!

        I like the idea of an inclinometer for a tractor. I don’t (yet) have one on any machine. It’s even more important to realize that the critical angle decreases rapidly if you have a bucket with a load and raise it. As far as I’m concerned, any bucket at full height has a critical angle just above zero.

      • “I like the idea of an inclinometer for a tractor…
        …It’s even more important to realize that the critical angle decreases rapidly if you have a bucket with a load and raise it. As far as I’m concerned, any bucket at full height has a critical angle just above zero.”

        Have you ever seen a military vehicle (angular) lift chart? They put them on everything from bucket lifts to forklifts, and the chart indicates exactly how much weight is safe, at what angle. Some civvy manufacturers will do the same, especially if they’re also manufacturing the same tool for GSA or the military.

      • MY GOD, George, a post with no political bias!
        I believe you’ll come around to understanding Global Warming after all!

    • Hmm… Tibetan monks are not trained in martial arts, unless you are talking about meditation and learning the essentials of moving Chi in the body. The Chinese Shaolin monks were trained in Kung Fu and other ‘combat’ martial arts. Tibetan Buddhism does not have a tradition of combat arts.

  2. If the election is close like with Gore losing by only one state. We can expect more of the same of what we have before only much louder. If one or the other does win by a few states then people will generally accept the results. This is the beauty of the elector process, if any concern about vote count, likely it will be only within one state. The democrats already have lost their mind and if we get a state going to the Supreme court, you can imagine again large numbers of protests/riots. And what do I expect, the republicans (John Roberts) and their supporters will capitulate, well because that is what they have proven to do over and over under a protest.

    Democrats have ginned up true hate for Trump, more then even violent criminals. I think he needs to win with a similar elector blowout like against Hillary. If not, the democrats will completely lose it. I honestly don’t see how Trump wins, a slowing economy (not stock market prices), normally is a sure loser for a sitting president, add in so many virus deaths blamed on his administration (certainly some blame does sit there), him not be able to have rallies for which he excels, and it seems to be a mountain to climb. Again though the democrats run a terrible candidate. No one seems to be a true believer in Biden, so he is likely not going to bring in new voters to his cause. The more Biden opens his mouth, seems to me, the more support he will lose.

    • Joe, doesn’t matter. We’re gonna riot in the streets, regardless, unless Trump wins and a few hundred thousand SJWs off themselves in despair.

      If Biden wins and the Dems gain on the Hill, expect every precept and affirmation in the Bill of Rights to go away. Creepy Joe won’t be in-charge. EOP will be run by committee, and the committee won’t include anyone who might be rightfully accused of being a “patriot,” or [be] willing to adhere to his(her) Oath of Office or Service.

      The purpose behind “defunding the police” is to make crime rates soar, so the PTB can eliminate private ownership of defensive firearms (because there are too many guns…)

      Once the 2nd Amendment is neutered, there will be no check on unlimited government power, and nothing to stop the elimination of all the others, and the Constitution itself.

  3. “Dishonest or a Fool?”

    “Bad, tainted, greedy soul”

    …You know the the Dealer selling GOLD Clad Tungsten bars & coins from CHINAH..
    or

    The redneck in the woods trying move/transport metal to place of transaction – good luck “Rockatanskys”

    Too bad that TRUST thing, said the TBN as he surveyed Financial landscape in US.

    Dont Trust – VERIFY!

    NBTC4U..suckerz

    • Hand me the diagonal cutters – I gotta cut the DSL line and see how TBCN fares, lol
      No Electrons as a piss-poor substitute for REAL MONEY for Us!

      • Ure masters at the Bank of International Settlements have a different Plan.

        No Cash – might take peek out from under that rock – its already happening.

        No Gold – now where I have seen that before ? Who are the criminals going to be ?

        No worries – the TBN is sure the One Bank Digi Coin will be just perfect for Ure future personal and business transactions.

        The prudent investor strives for Diversification..

        – So the answer to the question “Am I Diversified?” is – Nope.

        NBTC4U – even though there are no barriers to entry…

    • I have never been able to understand why everyone covers gold..or gold standards.
      The way I read it During every downturn gold has never held any value. A couple of weeks ago it was toilet paper..
      Ancient civilizations used grain..paper script was used to allow you to withdraw that much grain..
      Our dollar is backed by promises bitcoin..well who knows what that’s all about..its a flashing number..
      If you went to south africa with a check or gold or flashing number and a truckload of food and a tanker of drinking water take a guess what they would go for.
      Even with daily coverage of people trading what they have for what they need.. hold hasn’t any value and. diamonds burn in a fire. What holds value is your skills and comodities..
      An executive doesnt leap from behind his desk to build a skyscraper he hires someone to build it that does it. It’s the kid that draws blood from 500 people a day that you want to draw yours not the pen pusher sitting at the desk.

      • The only thing that works in all countries is Visa and MasterCard ,digital Bitcoin digibyte etc etc the world has gone digital, I went to Burger King today and they would not give me any change, I had to use correct change or either use my Visa card ,it’s real, they going away from coins afterwards they’ll be going away from the paper dollar bills and then they’ll be going away from visa and MasterCard, because instead of the high ripoff rate that visa and MasterCard charges because of all the hackers that hacked them, where digibyte has never been hacked and you can send a million dollars anywhere in the world for less than a penny, so there is a war going on, a digital War , and a spiritual war to dig a hole for all the pedophiles, and rid the future ,our future, your future of the corrupt money system, where 1% own and rent to the other 99%, by controlling the ups and downs that put people out of work, then take homes and peoples lifetime investments in the home and land and confiscate through their own made up laws that bend in their favor, yes it’s time 2 Chainz the future which is Grimm for a little while then it becomes bright then it becomes super bright then it becomes the light.
        Unmask the pedophiles and the bankers who want you dead. Thoughts have wings and may all beings be lovingly fulfilled and they hate that phrase because they know what it means.

  4. “(Around The Ranch): Tractor Envy”

    around here.. your either a Case fan or a Deer fan.. my experience with a deer lawn tractor..

    they produce them green with lemon yellow lettering.. the deer lawnmower I bought should have been LEMON Yellow with green lettering.. I got to mow our yard once when it ran it had power like crazy…. I put over 2500.00 into the dam thing trying to get it to run.. and then gave it to the kids that put another five hundred in it. luckily it is taking space up in the kids garage than in mine.If I could have gotten the motor to at least run this is what I was going to make of the frame and motor for the kids to toodle around the yard… https://ccsurplus.ecwid.com/MB-MINI-JEEP-STEEL-BODY-KIT-WILLYS-ATV-GO-CART-LAWN-MOWER-p99496870 . we bought a Honda lawn mower to get the lawn mowed. the honda one we bought is awesome runs if you pull the cord it only has to pull half pull for it to start up…. the deer mechanics couldn’t even figure out what was wrong with the deer.. they just laughed.. needless to say.. I am now a CASE and Honda fan and you couldn’t give me one of those green lemons if you paid me to take the dam thing from you..
    the company wouldn’t make it right either.. you own it.. the plastic hood broke taking it off and putting it aside.. pure crap..
    so keep that in mind when you take a look around at tractors.. the green one looks sharp and crisp.. but if you buy it consider owning a few draft horses to pull it around..get one that runs.. not one you should run from..

  5. A few nutcases I was talking too the other day said the New World Order will be revealed in January 2021. It’s not a spooky “NWO” where all the Christians get their heads lopped off by guillotines, though that may come about, it’s the New Order of the World. The reordering…..

    “A U.A.W. member”

    Today there are two types of U.A.W. member, old stock and new. Tiered wages. The U.A.W. member who is 50+ in age easily pulls 100K. The U.A.W. member starting today grabs $15 an hour. A lot of the maintenance staff in the Flint plants aren’t even direct anymore. The are U.A.W. subcontracts there are pulling $12.00 an hour.

    The old people scammed the young people.

      • George,
        Is there an age discrimination suit in there? It’s not tiered by age as much as it’s tiered by experience or knowledge. It’s hard to qualify and quantify the skill of a Union worker, unless that worker has some special skills Set that sets him or her part from the others. That can only be achieved by on the job performance…or some special testing system, which may or many not exist. In this case, the longer you are on the job, the less prone to making mistakes becomes an issue.

        Now in Many white collar jobs, you do have quantifiable and qualifiable metrics to judge the altitude of the person new to that job. Engineers, scientists, etc usually have real world experience and financial success with technology breakthroughs at their universities such as MIT, Stanford, CAL/Berkeley and CalTech. Like a star collegiate athlete that is being picked in the first round, the result of that mental acuity success is Bonuses and solid 6 figure salaries out of college. Here, age plays no role. You earn what the metrics say you are worth…plain and simple. This world of engineers and science is far from the rote experiences of a factory job.

        The rules and continuing education of an engineering or science position Is an ever changing Moore’s law type of job. And, each change, brings new opportunities and monetizable products to sell.

    • “It’s not a spooky “NWO” where all the Christians get their heads lopped off by guillotines,”

      Nope..theres no need for guillotines.. they will die gasping for breath from covid19

    • “U.A.W. member starting today grabs $15 an hour. A lot of the maintenance staff in the Flint plants aren’t even direct anymore. The are U.A.W. subcontracts there are pulling $12.00 an hour.”

      They broke the unions.. after the big bailout they closed how many plants? Then built plants in other countries. there was a story about one in mexico that wanted to get a raise so that they could make a dollar an hour.. the company came back and told them if they were going to hold them up they would just close the plant and have it produced in china.
      Even though we all know 15 an hour is not going to pay the rent much less anything else. They are left with two options..go on a federal relief program or work day and night or join a collective colony like the amish..

  6. George, re servant class, does this mean we’re never getting the Farmbelt off of welfare? And we’re never getting back their markets from South America? Best, Mike.

    • Exactly. Just like we’re not getting the inner cities off welfare, so you dems can rest assured of a never-ending supply of hand-out dependent voters!

      • George,
        You can’t answer an issue with another issue. That’s called deflection. Mike is right and you are right but wrong on the blame game. Inner cities, welfare And Democrats do not go hand in hand. Democrats and Republicans have been faced with these issues for decades and it has been more of the same. The reason that the poor flock to cities is that cities have more resources. They also have more jobs. But, if someone can’t find a job, or they have kids and no money to pay for day care or after school programs, they have the back up resources of a welfare program. Some Opportunistic people take it too far and the Government oversight has challenges…but both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the abuses.

        But…the solution isn’t that simple. Right now…all classes are now faced with just how this free money all works and guess what? It doesn’t matter if you are liberal or conservative, takers will be takers. Right now, from the middle class to the rich, the rest of society are all Just now finding out how hard it is to balance life, work and being a parent. I have clients who are on the edge stress wise, because with schools, camps, daytime activities, etc closed, they find that working from home while at the same time keeping their kids focused on school or activities is a huge time suck.

        Many parents nationwide are working longer hours just to keep up…while others find it hard to adapt and their production is way down…15% or more.(the numbers are way underreported) have been furloughed or laid off and have no Job prospects and when gifted $1,000 a week of Covid money, they find with no day care, Gyms, and entertainment expenses to chew into that money, it’s more lucrative to NOT work. And this is our NEW welfare system.

        While it happened under a Republican President, it’s not a Republican problem. It’s not a Democrat problem. It’s a Modern day human entitlement syndrome Issue problem. Corporations get entitlements, farmers get entitlements, The poor get entitlements….so why can’t the middle to upper class enjoy those same handouts for a change?

        Soon, that all will run out…what happens then? It’s a mess.

      • You are right Mark. It isn’t the Democrats or the Republicans it’s the Haves and the Have Nots. When the executives of companies. Take care of their employees. They are not forced to seek out assistance. It’s when the balance of the income level gets so off-kilter that they cannot keep up with the cost of necessities. You will always have the poor you will always have the rich but you need a balance between each class to keep a separate back in the day they used to be commodities. For the very poor and Indigent today just 76% of all laborers are on the social program lists.

      • “welfare And Democrats do not go hand in hand. Democrats and Republicans have been faced with these issues for decades and it has been more of the same. ”

        One of my hats was working retail.. now I did what most people wouldn’t ever do.. I worked day and night to provide for my family.. I used an egg timer as my alarm clock and went from one job to the other.. I missed out on a lot of things.. the children’s plays at school the t ball and little league.. I paid the price and so did they for my absence..
        The best job I had.. was probably making the least amount.. the boss would pick a store come in and help finish up late at night then sit down for coffee or go out for breakfast and discuss things at the workplace.. you were a member of his family.. my father worked for a company that spans the globe.. his boss knew him and all of my brothers and sisters.. and many times took his jacket off when he was visiting to help me unload a semi trailer.. and at the grocery store sacking groceries.. my father had one of the lowest positions that they had in his company..
        People don’t love their families less just because they are a democrat or a republican.. if a father can’t make his monthly bills he will seek out what he can to provide those expenses.. that is why there are so many on the welfare lines.. on social programs.. They are not looking for a handout.. but a handup.. its pretty obvious if you sit in a break room and just listen.. I got my coworkers all wound up one year.. shoot I had to almost tackle them to stop them from running to the office.. LOL.. they send out birthday cards.. nothing in them.. no signature or anything other than a simple card.. one year they didn’t seal mine.. so I slipped a twenty in the card.. then carefully licked it shut.. went out on break at the break table and opened it up with everyone sitting around me.. then casually without laughing said.. dam only twenty this year.. oh my god.. I almost started a riot.. xmas bonus was usually a pad of paper with the logo on it.. or a pencil LOL yet the executives got big bonuses and trips to condo’s that the company owns.. baskets of fruit.. etc.. one year my daughter was looking to get a job there.. her sister in law was an exec with the company.. I had to pull her aside and tell her that she better be careful what she wanted.. she said just look at the perks.. well that is only for management.. not the workers.. she thought about it and didn’t take the job.. she works as an investment banker now..
        the distancing between the social classes is where the problem lays.. adolphs second secret book pretty much lays it out on the line.. people just want to provide.. I don’t care what social class anyone has.. I make do with my own class.. but the average laborer wants to be able to pay the rent buy groceries and have a vehicle to drive to and from work.. or a bus line both ways.. the bottom tier just want to survive the night.. they live day to day.. the middle want to be able to go on vacation or see the kids play frosty the snowman or play little league.. I personally have never been on a vacation .. I never could afford one.. that is why my obit reads I went on vacation anyone that knows me knows I worked day and night and never took any time for myself..
        Today the middle class face bankruptcy if they take the baby in for a cold.. insurance is given only to those on the top tier.. this is how it was after the weimer depression .. and before our depression.. the fragile balance was over taken by greed.. just like today.. in germany the wealthy went in to be gassed.. and hard labor.. making roads out of their ancestors tomb stones.. How will it work today.. it is hard to say.. we can see how one cop making a mistake can inflame a country.. that tells me that the line is pretty thin.. and the ones that can fix it are still not on board to fix it.. Greed has deep roots.. it is hard to break free of the addiction.. like it or not.. that is what will drive the masses.. if your thirsty you will do anything for a meal or a drink of water.. if your child is half dead from starvation the parent will do what it takes..
        of course everyone knows this that is why they are buying guns and ammo.. to stop the hoards from breaking into their places to take what they got..
        deep down they know that the balance between classes has been turned upside down..
        Now if people are super needy.. nasty nancy or sleepy joe has a good chance to get into office.. the claim we will give you what you need.. without even considering.. you give a little you have to take a little.. the stimulus check.. that didn’t cover anything at all.. there again they gave it to the wrong sector of society.. they should have considered.. the trickle up not trickle down.. give it to those that need it and they will spend it for necessities.. give it to those that don’t need it.. and they pocket it..

      • don’t forget about the trillions of dollars that the banks got for free. Its my turn damit

        let it all collapse.

  7. This could be a game changer:

    Supreme Court says eastern half of Oklahoma is Native American land

    The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a huge swath of the state of Oklahoma is Native American land for certain purposes, siding with a Native American man who had challenged his rape conviction by state authorities in the territory.

    The 5-4 decision, with an opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, endorsed the claim of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to the land, which encompasses three million acres, including most of the city of Tulsa.

  8. “no crowding, social distance, please!”

    The school has an activity ffg or the kids..there isnt any social distancing at all.. mo masks no hand sanitizer.

  9. When I sometimes rant urging people to just say no to investing with unconventional leverage, this is what I am talking about:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/almost-1-million-disappeared-robinhood-horror-story

    This particular example might still have a happy ending, if the errant trader goes cold turkey and consolidates his debts.

    What happens when all the post-boomers who have done this kind of insanity and far worse wake up one morning and decide that someone else is to blame, and they are reclaiming their entitlements? Bl__d in the str__ts, coming to a neighborhood that looks like yours, for real.

  10. I bet the middle class Chinese folks don’t have storage units for all their stuff. My brother in law ,back in Austin in the early 80’s lived and made his hand carved signs in a rented storage unit. Kept a low profile, scavenged rare quality stock from the dumpster at a local shop. Sold them from his van on the side of the road on Hwy.183.
    I wonder how many folks will end up living out of their storage units?

    • I met a man that did that. He had retired from the military. They lost his record. He ended up losing his house. And lived Dam in storage locker in till they put in the surveillance camera. Then he lived in his car

    • “I bet the middle class Chinese folks don’t have storage units for all their stuff.”

      Nope — takes about 2-3 generations of “plenty” for folks to become that acquisition-oriented, and the Chinese are not sufficiently independent thinkers to stash prepping supplies.

  11. Got a neighbor who buys a brand new “lawn tractor” from Lowes every couple years. Usually by the middle of summer he will bring it by to ask that I weld something or help him fix something on them. They always have JD or Toro paint jobs. Dont matter since they are all built by the same factory just the paint jobs are different and are all junk that is designed to wear out quickly. I tell him to go by the Kubota dealer next door and spend a few hundred more for a decent machine and they usually have several used Ford and compact JD machines. My 30 year old Kubota and 40 year old JD will still be running long after I am gone.

    • “My 30 year old Kubota and 40 year old JD will still be running long after I am gone.”

      A-Men!

      People don’t realize JD has three lines, only the topmost of which rolls out of Moline. Their 2nd and 3rd tier is made by MTD-USA and MTD-China, respectively. MTD owns Simplicity, Snapper, Troy-Bilt, Husqvarna, Wheel Horse, Jonsered, and damn’ near everything else in the outdoor power world. Troy-Bilt and Husky have three lines, as well, with their top-shelf tillers (TB) and chainsaws (Husky) still being still built in New York and Sweden, respectively. The others are two-tier and built in USA, Taiwan, or China. There’s functionally no difference between the $2.5k Deere, and the $2k Snapper, Craftsman, Husky, etc., other than the premium people pay for the Green paint.

      The $6k-$18k Deere L+G tractor is as fine a piece of equipment as the comparable $6k-$18k Kubota, but John Q is going to have to spend that buckage if he wants that kind of quality. TANSTAAFL!

  12. Enjoy your old tractor. Having served a year at a Kubota stealership in hot & sweaty Columbia SC, I can attest to the cost of repairs, even minor, to a fancy cab tractor. A clutch job is measured in days and with half again the complexity of a plain old style tractor, working on one is no joy. They never go back together quite “factory built”.

    • No doubt that’s true. Personally, any tractor that can’t be fixed with a standard set of mechanic’s tools, a stick welder, and access to a normal machine shop, along with a few standard and available parts is far too complex for my taste. The old Massey can be parked on a hill(to start) and requires zero electrics to run and run well. It’s impervious to EMP as we know it. It will run on vegetable oil if needed. That’s the beauty of a simple mechanical diesel. The current models, courtesy of the EPA, are fragile, though they usually work well when new.

      • ” It will run on vegetable oil if needed.”

        That is the only thing I don’t like about the old Ford — they’re all gassers…

  13. jobless claims ending 7/3 could be only 4 days of reporting ?? next week should be interesting song of the day ” HEAT WAVE” by Martha and the Vandellas-could be wrong on group

  14. BTW George, if’fn you want to invest emotional capital in some REAL tractor-envy: I just acquired a 1953 Ford Jubilee — bucket, plow, auger, pallet forks, for less money than the Cozy Cab on my little Deere.

    Why on Earth would I buy a, nearly 70yo tractor? Because Ford made 128k of them (Nearly 900k total “N-Series” tractors) of which nearly 800k (nearly 120k Jubilees) are still in use. How can ANYTHING else compare with that kind of longevity? Spares are cheap and plentiful (still being manufactured), it is 100% “user-serviceable,” it is big enough to work a real farm, if need be, small enough to park in a garage, and totally, absolutely 100% EMP-proof. It was also made before Ford (and everyone else) began to cheapen their manufacturing processes.

    I’d suggest Oilman2 would be envious, but I assume he already has either a Ford, or a Moline or M-F (or something similar) of this same vintage…

    • Congrats, Ray! No need for me to be jealous – I LOVE my M-F, about 20 years newer but has always been good to me. The two repairs it needed took about an hour each with a stick welder – NBD, and both were due to my clumsiness. It sips diesel, uses all three point stuff, and has no bucket to get in the way. I have other machines with buckets, including a Bobcat, so that’s no problem. I always figured that you need at least two machines to help each other out when one gets stuck or broken. I’ve had the Massey for the last 25 years and will be mowing this weekend.

  15. Comrades,

    One wonders over the Sands of time what the House behind Potus expects to win if they place a 9 figure wager on the 2020 Republican campaign as in 2016, but on this spin Potus gets taken to the showers?

  16. Relax all professor dalio and eminate tough guy salty moriarty they will protect you all in Amerika. Got recipes to eat gold. Reduce debt with gold . Some Kok story about flatiron and jobs and no Covid and no riots and no wars . I think tonite I’m going long the Reich with ray and bob talking it up

  17. Tractors with cabs are for gentlemen row croppers. Landowners have to be able to mow under trees and up next to wooded fence rows. Wear an ag respirator and save yourself $20,000+. Oh wait, is Government US (GUS) putting all the respirator filter production into warehouses never to be seen again? No doubt tractor cab filters and furnace filers are next.

    GUS doesn’t like landowners, especially in OK and TX. Our leftist (and one token anarchist) Supreme Corrupts (SC) voted this week in favor of freeing every eastern OK rapist and murderer still in custody. The emancipated OK mayhem will all probably flee to Texas immediately, where the Feds have limited jurisdiction. Time for a citizen reality check of the sociopaths inside the beltway.

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