Pre-Depression Job Snap

Students of economic depressions may be pretty clear on where America “went wrong.”  Well, at least they should be clear in about five-years or so…the point of today’s outlook:

The American economic system?  Strong as ever.  But its fatal weakness?

Economic contraction.  We living in a system that has been optimized as a  growth model.  When things reverse – as they have been doing this year – nall kinds of shit runs off the rails.  While the job report out this morning wasn’t too bad, there are reasons why late summer and fall do have extra built-in upsides.

Peak time for crop shipments, and the like.  Where employment runs into the wall will be when the field work is done and manufacturing matters.  Yeah…manufacturing.  What’s that?  Here?

Comparing Depressions

You can start with the most recent paper by Andrew Odlyzko for  Financial History #132 (Winter 2020) aptly titled An undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is: Bubbles and gullibility.  It’s only 3 1/2-pages…so suck it up and learn something.

When the demands of economic growth fail us (as Covid enforced from January) America can deal with adapting to PPE manufacturing, redistribution of toilet paper, and even supporting now-dead businesses.  But, there’s a finiteness to it.  At some point, the money runs out. The problem is solved.

And this gets us to the Fed’s latest H.6 Money stocks report:

I really like the M2 numbers.  What these are hinting at – when you turn-on your mental speed-visualizer of  rates, is that the Fed poured on the coal during the early portion of the Pandemic.  But they’ve returned to (something approximating) their senses since.

Sure enough, M2 for the week ending August 24 was $1,188.7 billion where in the week ending July 20 it was $1,205.5.  Yes, that’s right…foots off the gas and the money is going to “coast” a bit.

Love to coast (tried to make a career of it, lol) but not the road to riches.

“The Problem Is…”

My buddy The Major calls this is my “life-long most-cited phrase.”  But the problem is the financial system has become “hooked” on too much cheap (here, take another wheel barrowful of…) credit.

This brings us to the (quite horrendous) possibility that if loads of investors get “twitchery” and blow out of positions prior to the close today (so as not to get trapped in a wrong-sided position over what could be a riotous a three-day weekend when all kinds of crap can go wrong) the odds of last Friday being the weekly high for this economic  cycle (how to say this gently?) rises above zero

In summary, what you can expect to see in financial headlines today will be “the usual” stories about how much Elon, Jeff, Bill, and Warren lost Thursday.  What few will mention is how there seems to be a correspondence between the 1920s run-up into the 1929 collapse and modern times.

Where’s that Jung Freud?

At some deep spiritual level, there’s a sense “This can’t go on…”  And as it takes hold, we see upticks in forecasts of calamity ahead.

On a few prophesy boards lately, the California Big One has popped up now and again.  But, since there’s a case for movement increasing around the “ring of fire” (see 6.8-magnitude earthquake, aftershocks shake Chile from a couple of days ago) this is not too wild.  Especially with the U.S. Southeast quake Thursday:  Which is you missed it was a Rare 4.0 magnitude earthquake reported in Florida Panhandle.

The other thing we’ve got on the hot list is incoming asteroids.  Especially around Halloween this year.

No doubt you saw Tuesday An airplane-size asteroid gives Earth a close shave today…and we survived just fine.  But, some of the longer-term views are turning grim.  Try whistling through this one: Will An Asteroid Hit Earth Just Before Election Day? Here’s What To Know About It.

See the mood-shift?

A sometimes-useful crackpot theory I carry around is “as above, so below” – a silly New Ageism dating from 1994.  Yet there’s our quake and over-head smack-down and there’s Thursday market action.

Now, blend in a quarter cup plus one tablespoonful of “CV-19 will soar after Labor Day” stories and the case for a continuing market rout could be solidifying.

Sorry for all the context, but it sets up the…

Jobs Report:  Hype Time!

Just out:  (From Ripley’s Labor Dept.):

“Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In August, an increase in government employment largely reflected temporary hiring for the 2020 Census. Notable job gains also  occurred in retail trade, in professional and business services, in leisure and hospitality, and in education and health services.”

At the useful macro level, the only thing that matters is how many people were working this month compared with last.  And compared with year-ago levels.

Month on Month:  Employment was up 3.756 million.  That’s good.

Year on Year: Compared to last August, though, 10-million fewer people were working last month.  That’s bad.

Given the job number, did some “agent of Wall St.” have access to what was coming in advance and decided to use it for…well….you know….sheering of the sheep?

Antifa Gets Its Martyr

We’ll be expecting more violence from the insurrectionists following the shooting death of an Antifa supporter by law enforcement.  U.S. Marshalls were attempting the arrest of the man suspected of killing a protester in Portland when he reportedly pulled a gun on arresting agents.  One of the dumbest things that can be done during an arrest – with predictable results.

We anticipant Antifa will react -somehow and maybe that will light off violence this weekend.

Another driver of likely holiday rioting would be the killing of a naked, unarmed man in Rochester, NY this week.  In that, 7-cops have been suspended.

Linda’s Corner

Long-time reader in Houston carefully sends me “meaningful” stories almost every day.  So, as a holiday thank-you, let’s see what’s on the “Linda Desk” shall we?

She found “Turning waste into energy: How banana skins and manure are being re-used to help power homes” interesting.  Damn shame we can do that with political crap which is in greater abundance.

She also noticed the S&P futures had turned negative after being up for a while in the overnights.

With 10 minutes before the job numbers, the Dow ran to +50…but we’ll see how things look after the Amateur Hour which is from the open until an hour to 90-minutes in.  That short pop had the smell of someone trying to arb up the futures…but it failed and dropped back down 5-minutes later.

I swear – Wall Street must thing the American public can’t read.  But with all this “time out” lately, I got $20 bucks on the short side…figuring American’s are not as dumb as the egomaniacs at the top must think.

Laboring On

We’re guessing a third of America will blow out of work early today.  Lots of interest by people in short, car trips. Gas Prices: Cheapest Labor Day Travel in Four Years, comes out of Colorado.

Around here, there has been an been nothing but rain.  If you look at TylerTexasWeather.com you’ll find we’ve had 7.4 inches of rain this month already.  We’ve gone over 9-inchs here.

To put that in perspective, our total YTD – about 43.4 inches (not counting another one this morning) means this part of Texas has already “out-rained” Seattle.  And we’ve had more rain in the last week than Las Vegas or Phoenix get in an entire year.

All this rain has left us with a cranky septic system and a shaggy lawn. But, we’re due for a couple of days of sunshine now.

Next week?  Bye-bye to the 90’s and temps will drop into the 70’s to mid 80’s – and should stay there until almost Christmas.

Coming Up

On Peoplenomics tomorrow – we’ll update all dozen charts, or so.  But that’s it – the UAP-UFO book out Wednesday is about my limit (34-thousand words) for a week.

Short “Around the Shop” on Sunday – can’t find where I misplaced the damn camera, though.  And Monday here, we’ll see how my personal mood swing does.  One side is my enjoyment of writing – but on Holidays, the comfort of that nice soft bamboo pillow….

Write when get rich,

George@Ure.net

49 thoughts on “Pre-Depression Job Snap”

    • George, “As above and so below” is not a new construct coined by new agers. It
      is unlikely they understand it in any meaningful way. First origins may be traced to
      ancient Hermetic writings. it is a thinking tool, and a very powerful one.

      • George, the Rosicrucians have been saying “As above, so below” for a very long time. I don’t know their history well, and don’t have time to check it, but I first read that back in the late 60’s from some of their literature that I found.

        I’m sure it’s profound – in the right context. I’m leery of any “open secret society”. EBM.

  1. I wonder just how much faith one can put in the labor report as they try to sing the ole song that everything is returning to normal, what in hell that is seeing the normal were nothing but low paying jobs,people working two jobs to put a roof over their heads and food on the table,while the Fed was propping up the financial system with ever more money.

    Then you go to the lay-off list and you see thousands upon thousands being laid off,business’s shutting their doors and calling it a day and they range across the whole sector of the business world,riots in the streets to take up the media’s attention and every one elses,one would almost say it was propaganda at its finest….

    • I keep wondering if the concept of having “enough” will ever catch on again. The First Depression taught that generation that it can be done.

      • There is a certain segment of the population which lives for bragging rights in everything they fondle. And nothing gets them off more than putting someone they know over a barrel and extracting property as a trophy, not because they need it, or because they have a use for it. The first thing they do when they get the property is bulldoze it.
        The wingnuts suck up to these freaks and do their dirty work for a cut. This is traditionally a R franchise, but the leftists are slowly taking over the franchise. But unlike the R’s, when the Marxists get control of the jackboots nationwide, the billionaires will get a haircut at the adam’s apple.
        I don’t have much sympathy for the billionaire trophy hunters, but the leftists are worse. The progressives once offered a middle ground, but that era is gone. Wresting control of the voting booths from the partisans will not happen peacefully.

      • n_____ –

        This is why I get so wound up watching “Yellowstone”. It’s the Romney Republican Vulture Capitalists that are eating America alive. Interestingly this was the central theme in the final season of “Longmire” as well. Steal the land any way you can through valuation, taxes or bamboozaling owners with copious amounts of money and put a resort with golf course on it. The money people around here are going to destroy the aquifer with all the new residential developments sporting swimming pools in many back yards and leave the gullible buyers holding the bag when it all falls apart due to no water under their feet. Stupid people and their money….

      • Texas R’s are giving company’s with European monarchist-controlled board members imminent domain rights. Everyone knows about divine rights of f’n kings, right? I mean, a Euro kings and the king’s men have gods backing them, so I guess its OK to let the R’s let them seize property that Texas families have sweated and bled for generations to protect, and turn them into superfund sites, all in the name of public interest. Not.
        Keep your powder dry. The Marxists and the Monarchists are here, and they control much of the candidate slate. Try to cast a write-in vote and see what happens.

      • @ n_____

        “when the Marxists get control of the jackboots nationwide, the billionaires will get a haircut at the adam’s apple.”

        Um, no.

        Do you honestly think the oligarchs in the former USSR and its satellite States acquired billions in personal wealth, in the 10 years after 1995?

        Marx loved the wealthy class — he WAS one.

        What he hated was the middle class — not the artisans and tradesmen, but the “middle class” Henry Ford created from the unwashed masses of the proletariat, and which every major American manufacturer hence (up until about 1990, that is), created more of.

        If’fn you read Marx, you’ll note that the bourgeoisie are the UMC and “nouveau riche,” not the “titled” or the “old money, truly wealthy.” When they take over, they may install Katy Perry in a brothel and confiscate her wealth, because she’s “boojee,” but they won’t touch Catherine Oxenberg, because she is real-life royalty. Gates, Buffett, Bezos, Trump — nouveau; Rockefeller, Rothschild, Bernadotte, Windsor — old money, and so on…

      • @ bill

        ” It’s the Romney Republican Vulture Capitalists that are eating America alive.”

        The vast majority of venture capitalists and corporate raiders are politically somewhere to the left of Mao.

        …Problem is, those “Romney Republicans” (George, not Mitt, BTW. They’ve been prominent and poisoning our political landscape for 50 years) are exceedingly leftist — the textbook personification of RINO or NeoCon. They are cowards and opportunists, in that they are as leftist as the most-radical of the Democrats, but either lack the courage to declare their ideology, or they run as Repubs because they’re in a district in which straight party republican voters dominate. They are The Lincoln Project, PNAC, and most things “not Trump,” because Mr. Trump, if he’s successful in draining the swamp, will ruin their dishonest and immoral practices, as well as the dishonest and immoral practices of the Democratic Establishment.

      • They might go after David Rockefeller’s “$62 million in personal wealth (:rolleyes:) although I doubt it;” they won’t go after either him, personally, or the Rockefeller family’s many, many trillions of (hidden) wealth, because it’s helping to finance their movement. Wealthy families love Marxism, because communism makes the exclusivity of their wealth and power, even more exclusive. Communism eliminates the middle class, from which an entrepreneur might make a jump to “real wealth,” and eliminates property rights for all but the really wealthy, to ensure that “them what don’t have,” never will.

        France and Germany are not what we’d call “hard-socialist,” yet the percentage of private property owned by the (very small, BTW) oligarchical class is far higher than it is in the U.S. When somebody is thrown out of a house in the U.S. (for any reason from a domestic to an eviction) they take their property with them — any place else, they take their “possessions.” That’s not an exercise in semantics, but a huge difference in meaning, and one which totally escapes most people…

    • Short term gains in markets relates to me a perpetual state of “getting” all you can grab before the big “sting”. You devote your time and resources accordingly.
      What does that do to your psyche over time?
      Some people are into long term returns and know there are bumps in the road.
      The first are waiting for a “heart attack” at any time. The second they’re just waltzing down the “Yellow brick Road”.
      Diversions, distraction, manipulation, fore knowledge, and outright “highway robbery” rule the day.
      We are are headed and embedded in a land of virtual reality guided by the “hidden hand” of confusion.
      Are we all off to see the “Wizard”
      or we just being laughed at?

  2. Normal annual rainfall here in west-central Kentucky is 44″, hit that in the beginning of June. Everything here is soggy and moldy. Had a house in the 80’s that was hooked up to county sewer system. When cleaning the system the county fountained the toilets to the ceilings. Every house on the block had 1-2 feet of sewage in the first floors. County claimed it was an act of god and won. First floor had to be stripped down to the studs and lots of photos and negatives of kids when they were young were lost. Since then every house I have owned has had a septic tank and been on high ground. Current house is on a small ridge 50′ above the road. Septic tank is doing fine even with all the rain. I am getting tired of mowing and brush hogging the fields though, stuff is growing too fast.

    James Johnson, ex-nuke

    • If you vent the street side of the house trap(you do have one, don’t you?), then it should be impossible to fountain your toilets. That may be “illegal”, or not, but it’s your property.

  3. I plan to sit down this weekend and read your UFO .pdf. Thank you.

    Haven’t talked much about dreams lately but this old geezer keeps having them. Longer and stronger.

    Few nights ago, was in a greenhouse that seemed to go on forever. Some plants were dead and others were thriving. The word “Biosphere” was showing up on signs in and around the greenhouse. Near the end of the dream, there was a haunting tune playing that I couldn’t identify. When I woke up, I hummed it for a while and realized it was “Seasons in the sun” by Terry Jacks.

    Last night I dreamed I was back in a chemical laboratory where I spent a few of my early years out of college. We were checking reports of people being poisoned and trying to find out why. The chemical was very simple….caustic soda or lye. It was imported from China. The analysis showed it to be tainted with something and then dream ended. Very vivid dream.

    Sorry if this is out of context for this morning’s report but thought it might be of interest to the dreamers.

  4. “Try whistling through this one: Will An Asteroid Hit Earth Just Before Election Day? Here’s What To Know About It.
    See the mood-shift?”

    It is Interesting you brought up mood shift.. or thought pattern variations..
    Most of my life I lived exactly how everyone does. With a view of what was truly important in life.. I worked day and night th towards the goals we all have. Trying to provide for everyone’s needs..
    Then because of my work life and abuse of my body my body started to attack itself. I became very sick in horrible pain and misery. Everything I thought was real, all my goals and planning went right out the window in a matter of seconds..
    With this dramatic change in mind…and with the realistic view of how everything can change after the appearance of covid.. what changes would be made IF there was an asteroid. We seen what happens when one basketball size hits the earth let’s make it a little larger.
    How would a community react..with the loss of utilities and transportation.
    An EMP for expected loss of 98 percent.
    So why are we still planning on singular survival. No man or family can do it themselves.
    If you read the diaries and journals of the mormons and their journey across the wilderness in the BYU library will give everyone a clear view that it isnt a one person goal but one of a community.
    I am constantly amazed at the perspective that what conveniences we have now will remain the same. I read posts from BCN where hes betting on a computerized image and number..anothe betting on chainsaws.. yet very few speak about where the replacement parts and fuel.. just how much would our perspective and plans change in the event of a real catastrophe.
    From experience mine changed drastically. Everything I thought was had no bearing on the realistic view after my health took a tumble..

    • Wise words. Unfortunately, not everyone can settle well with a group. Some of us must handle everything solo. Good friends are always appreciated though.

      Some serious concerns: What of those who must be far from home base for compelling reasons during the peri-election period? What are the real risks of traveling during such a time? What of those who simply cannot fathom such risks and refuse to prepare? When we love them, we can’t help but have such concerns.

      • Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors are good, cheap, reliable, fast, and from 2008 on, feature bulletproof armor shielding for their front seat passengers — only problem is they’re powered by that marvelous 4OHC Ford 4.6 racing engine which, like it’s Chevy performance counterparts, simply can NOT function without all of its multiple electronic brains being intact (meaning there’s no way to make it EMP-proof), and they feature possibly the worst headlights ever NHTSA-approved to be foist on the U.S. car market. If I ever own another, I may investigate to see if civilian CV or Grand Marquis lights are better, or if E-Codes are available.

        However, that aside, did I mention they’re fast, cheap, and literally bulletproof?

        Purchased along about, say, NOW, one could be gone through and anything that’s flaky, fixed. Such a vehicle could then be “gifted” or “lent” to a politically-naive traveler as, oh, I don’t know, perhaps a “roomy highway car,” or “reliable transportation…” The problem with selling a kiddie on one is damn’ near everybody has an SUV.

        Potential selling point: Except for a few purpose-built SUVs like the Volvo and Touareg/Cayenne, the basic SUV is a short-bed pickup truck with an extra-high CG, handles like a walrus on an ice floe, and is prone to rollover irrespective its traction and stabilization systems… And a full-size car actually has more usable storage than any of those glorified station wagons, unless you’re hauling 4×8 sheets.

        Just sayin’…

  5. Lol lol on home projects.. the kids had a little get together. My kids had the grandkids old lemonade stand out. A bunch of them were commenting on it and my grandson said that’s nothing you should see the one grandpa is making out of cardboard. Lol..

  6. Mr George – What in tarnation was that yesterday ?

    I thought the markets only went UP! Then again I thought CREEPY Joe still had 2 functioning brain cells – apparently ECD was wrong on both counts!

    Markets do go Down, faster and harder than they go up, and of Molesters 2 remaining brains cells..well One is Lost, and the other one is Out looking for it..rimshot.

    Yeah,yeah sure the Senile Molester is going to be Democratic Presidential Candidate in November, and I got Bridge in Brooklyn I wanna Sell U..cheap.

    Contested Election ? Democratic Governors refusing to Validate Presidential Election Results for their respective states due mail-in fraud/counts..Thereby AVOIDING the 20 Year Curse on the Presidency. whatwhat?

    Thats right Survivalites, old Indian Chief was SCREWED OVER(surprise) by Feds, and Cursed the Presidency..every 20 years Starting with Harrison – believe there is a Saturn?Jupiter Conjunction/Opposition that coincides.

    – Trump cant be “seated” until after the celestial event has past..Jan 20121 ???

    No Worries – nobody believes in that kinda stuff anymore – its all just a pile woo..no?

    • One last thing. Woo.. no? Did you mean wood? Well there is lots of kinds of woods. My grand father used to say, Does a bear shit in the woods?

      For your viewing or participating in pleasure. The choice is ures.

      Eye dont give trading advise. It’s just my unofficial series 7 third eye perspective.

      https://youtu.be/6l3ukWqRU4s

      “Woo.. no?” Yes. Woods.

      Irons or Woods? Ya sure you betcha. You bet ure sweet ass i will be out in the woods with my irons. Got em all polished up. Can’t hit a hole in one with out a good iron.

      “Nothing says I love ya like a. 45.”

      But I really like these. 50’s. Two fity’s make a hundred. Twin Grant’s make a Benjamin. Lighting, keys and Kites.

      U might have to think deep and hard on what im sayin. Because there is alot to it.

      I put on a hoody I hadn’t worn in 8 months couple days ago. The last time I wore it was my wedding day. But we didn’t get hitched. Put my hand in the pocket while in the park watching some girls practice tight rope walking between trees. I found a US 25 cent piece in it. Idaho state. The last time i wore that Adidas hoody. I had no idea I would be in idaho the next time I wore it. Lol

      We are right on schedule. Trust the process. A smart fella woodnt want be in the cities next y-ear.

      I will Finish ure book this morning, mister.

      Viagra made it big. So can I.

      https://youtu.be/6l3ukWqRU4s

      Im sure its all just bunch of coincidences. ROTFLMFAO.

      Click 116!

      • Ohhh the we got a double of the second video because the Damn google machine got a mind of its own. I dumped all the numbers and letters in there and the Google machine spit out two of the same videos which were different when i entered them. Funny.

        Lol.

        Stupid google AI.

        Here is the first video:

        https://youtu.be/GOlVRHsVzE4

        Yada Yada yada

        Good bye.

      • as if Google knows more than me about what I mean. I was born way before Google and I will be here long after google.

    • “of Molesters 2 remaining brains cells..well One is Lost, and the other one is Out looking for it..rimshot.”

      Oh please ED don’t put down JB so soon.. he and nasty Nancy are going to send me 40 g’s as soon as he gets in office and gour grand a month after.. OTFLMA that’s as ripe as two chickens in every pot.. of course he doesn’t have a clue how his plan is going to work or pay for it.. but it sure sounds fun..
      Mark probably has a good idea how they we I’ll do it.. I don’t think they could do it even if they took the combined wealth of everyone and divided it up..then if Cali. Does reparations.. who do they think they will get it from..surely not from someone making ten bucks an hour.. food stamp rate is close to a quarter mil..in san fran and since hes planning on opening the borders for all the illegal refugees… there has to be a plan there somewhere.. so please don’t be so hard on ole Sloe Jo.. I cant wait for the forty g’s coming ..

    • Know who my enemy is its the 1% and their almost tax free status,you know the ones that Trump gave that huge tax break to,the ones that made millions,billions off the virus,some with their insider notification of what was coming and sold off to beat the rush,the ones that own the politicians including yours. the one that you run down to vote for over and over again and then blame someone else and wonder why things never change.That’s my enemy and I know him well how about you?…

  7. George,
    I’ve never, ever heard any human ever call US soldiers, let alone ones who fell in the service to our country!, losers and suckers.
    OMG. Just imagine the choice words Trump would have for Pat Tillman, and his story!!
    Best, Mike.

      • “…reading your thoughts…”

        You’re giving him a hell of a lot more credit than I am willing, referring to his drivel as “thoughts.”

      • Ken Castle,

        Maybe you need to do your homework..Mattis, Kelly and McMaster can corroborate this…Just Wait. It’s going to be a campaign ad. Trump has said these words before. They have been playing the soundbite of him calling McCain a loser all day.

        His sister…the former Federal judge has said that he used to call soldiers suckers…especially after he was drafted…He never saw the point of going to war…that was his excuse for his deferment due to “Bone Spurs”. Does it really surprise anyone that a person too cowardly to serve and conned his deferment would disparage the military?

        About that deferment….“A podiatrist who rented his Queens office space from Trump’s dad, Fred, helped Donald Trump avoid heading to war in Vietnam as favor to Fred, said the doctor’s daughters who spoke with the New York Times

        “I know it was a favor,” Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56, told the Times.
        The favor got the Braunsteins a direct line to their landlord. “What he got was access to Fred Trump,” Elysa said. “If there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and Trump would take care of it immediately. That was the small favor that he got.”
        In 1968, Trump had exhausted the education deferments that kept him ineligible for service and two years prior, he’d undergone a physical exam that didn’t turn up anything that could have kept him from serving. That’s when the otherwise healthy 22-year-old military academy graduate showed up in Braunstein’s office, where he was diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels.
        Critics have called him out on using bone spurs as an excuse to avoid war. Trump said in 2016 the doctor wrote a ”very strong letter” saying he had the foot condition, but Trump has also said it was ultimately a high draft number that kept him from serving. But by the time the draft was instituted in 1969, Trump had been medically ineligible for service for a year.

      • @marko, President Trump loves the military , we all know no-name McStain was a traitor, so ya we call him bad names, there are bad apples ,even in the service.
        Even Bolton came out and refuted your Atlantic liars about the cemetery visit in France, being canceled.
        McMaster and Kelly have grown silent, reminded of their past records and their liability for running their mouths,,told to shut up or face the music,,they can’t dance.
        The VietNam police action was not a declared war and was a infection forced on America by the bastards that had the Kennedy brothers killed, the same group of slime you support!
        How in the world are you going to handle 4 more years of Trump and 8 more of a like minded leader,, The Futures so Bright,I gotta wear Shades

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY

        And you hang your hopes on a book by Mary. I have five sisters two of them don’t get along so well, they can get a little nasty, this is not uncommon among humans

        Project Veritas points the money finger at Soros for the street riots,,peaceful protests, cough, cough
        https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1271215372520296449

        Have a good Labor Day

    • Mike – since it didn’t get said by Trump, I want to know who passed this heap of sh*t to the compost piece of trash “Atlantic Magazine”. Cowards. Every single one of them.

      • Weather guesser…Stupid is as stupid does. Trump ABSOLUTELY said those things. What alternate world do you live in? Idiot!

  8. Why whine about losing money on the stock market, you’ve already hit the ‘Social Security/Medicare Lottery’!! (Taking out a lot more than you contributed)

    https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99232/social_security_and_medicare_lifetime_benefits_and_taxes_2018_update.pdf

    https://www.politifact.com/article/2013/feb/01/medicare-and-social-security-what-you-paid-what-yo/

    You may bash FDR’s socialist plan for feeding old people, but brother, you sure like your Medicare and monthly Soc Sec check!

    • Well..Mr. Lottery.. I sincerely doubt I could ever get as much as I would have made if the funds I paid in alone had been invested even in simple savings bonds..
      The last time I calculated it if just what I paid in.. had been used to purchase savings bonds and reinvested every time it had matured the end earnings would have been greater than twenty five mil..
      So please it’s not a lottery it’s what every wage earner is told that it’s our investment retirement fund. Almost every employer will tell you this to. Since very few offer a pension.

    • I firmly believe that the only reason they have allowed SS to remain in tact is Congress is dependent on those funds they use them to bail out banks.. if the funds hadn’t been seized to bail out banks in the eighties it would be solvent right now. Instead those funds were used to stop the corrections we see coming now.

      • They’re intact because FICA is a flat 15% tax on every wage earner, regardless of gross wages — even those who’re entry-level and exempt from paying income tax, and those in the lower EIC bracket. You can make that $8k per year and exempt yourself from liability on nearly every tax there is, but like “corporate tax,” you’re still going to pay Social Insecurity and Medicare tax. That minimum wage worker who thinks he’s making $7.25 is really making $7.80 — the 55 cents he doesn’t see is the employer contribution to his FICA. He sees the $60-$70 that’s coming out off the top, and knows he’ll get a phat check the next March or April, but he doesn’t notice the 22 bucks of that, which he won’t begin to get back until he turns 72 (that’s where the SocSec drawdown will begin, when Joe Teen hits retirement age…)

        I have few problems with taxes (except when governmental entities simply p!ss away the money.) I have a BIG problem with hidden, insidious taxes, which the vast majority of people don’t realize they’re paying. These taxes are dishonest, and the entities which impose them are cowards. If they don’t have the guts to tell we peons they’re taxing us out of our knickers, they’ve got no business taxing us…

      • exactly Ray.. I am not sure how does the federal employee’s secure their funds..where they are not able to secure social security funds.. the taxes.. dam.. I pay a ton on taxes.. you pay so many hidden taxes.. why not just go with a sales tax or a basic even tax.. like ten percent.. instead of the hidden taxes on taxes on taxes..
        SS took in what was it one and a quarter trillion overall last year .. yet those funds are wasted away or used for pet projects that they aren’t meant for…. wouldn’t congress in essence be liable for embezzlement or misappropriation of funds..
        “Embezzlement is defined as the misappropriation of funds or property by someone who lawfully controls such funds/property, without the knowledge of the owner. It is considered a crime under the federal criminal code and state statutes, and is punishable by jail time, fines, and/or restitution.”
        I don’t know.. I pay in a higher percentage than a friend of mine that is in the seven digit range of income.. at times I pay in more than they do in actual payments..

        Federal income tax
        State income tax
        Local income tax
        Employee social security tax (your employer pays the other half)
        Employee Medicare tax (your employer pays the other half)
        Property taxes
        Road toll charges
        State sales tax
        Driver’s license renewal fee
        TV Cable/Satellite fees & taxes
        Federal telephone surtax, excise tax, and universal surcharge
        State telephone excise tax and surcharge
        Telephone minimum usage and recurring/nonrecurring charges tax
        Gas/electric bill fees & taxes
        Water/sewer fees & taxes
        Cigarette tax
        Alcohol tax
        Federal gasoline tax
        State gasoline tax
        Local gasoline tax
        Federal inheritance tax
        State inheritance tax
        Gift tax
        Bridge toll charges
        Marriage license
        Hunting license
        Fishing license
        Bike license fee
        Dog permit/license
        State park permit
        Watercraft registration & licensing fees
        Sports stadium tax
        Bike/nature trail permit
        Court case filing fee
        Retirement account early withdrawal penalty
        Individual health insurance mandate tax
        Hotel stay tax
        Plastic surgery surcharge
        Soda/fatty-food tax
        Air transportation tax
        Electronic transmission of tax return fees
        Passport application/renewal fee
        Luxury & gas-guzzler car taxes
        New car surcharge
        License plate and car ownership transfer taxes
        Yacht and luxury boat taxes
        Jewelry taxes & surcharges
        State/local school tax
        Recreational vehicle tax
        Special assessments for road repairs or construction
        Gun ownership permit
        Kiddie tax (IRS form 8615)
        Fuel gross receipts tax
        Waste Management tax
        Oil and gas assessment tax
        Use taxes (on out-of-state purchase)
        IRA rollover tax/withdrawal penalties
        Tax on non-qualified health saving account distributions
        Individual and small business surtax (page 336 of Obamacare)
        Estimated income tax underpayment penalty
        Alternative Minimum Tax on income
        Business Taxes & Fees
        Federal corporate income tax
        State corporate income tax
        Tax registration fee for new businesses
        Employer social security tax
        Employer Medicare tax
        Federal unemployment tax
        State unemployment tax
        Business registration renewal tax
        Worker’s compensation tax
        Tax on imported/exported goods
        Oil storage/inspection fees
        Employer health insurance mandate tax
        Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (page 2001/Sec. 9007 of Obamacare)
        Tax on Innovator Drug Companies (Page 2010/Sec. 9008 of Obamacare)
        Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers (Page 2020/Sec. 9009 of Obamacare)
        Tax on Health Insurers (Page 2026/Sec. 9010 of Obamacare)
        Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans, i.e. “Cadillac” plans
        Tax on indoor tanning services
        Utility users tax
        Internet transaction fee (passed in California; being considered in other states and at federal level)
        Professional license fee (accountants, lawyers, barbers, dentists, plumbers, etc.)
        Franchise business tax
        Tourism and concession license fee
        Wiring inspection fees
        Household employment tax
        Biodiesel fuel tax
        FDIC tax (insurance premium on bank deposits)
        Electronic waste recycling fee
        Hazardous material disposal fee
        Food & beverage license fee
        Estimated income tax underpayment penalty
        Building/construction permit
        Zoning permit
        Fire inspection fee
        Well permit tax
        Sales and Use tax seller’s permit
        Commercial driver’s license fee
        Bank ATM transaction tax
        Occupation taxes and fees (annual charges required for a host of professions)

        when it comes to taxes I get frustrated.. at least drop the sales tax off of essentials..food utilities and medical ..
        I had someone bitch about the tax in canada.. excuse me.. I would pay that in a heartbeat compared to what I actually pay out in taxes here LOL LOL LOL it looks high but in reality it is about half of what we pay.. they just see the cover numbers..instead of the pyramid of hidden figures..

      • Nice list of taxes loob, I don’t know if there are any missing. However, in the socialist state of Washington (not renamed yet because of so called racism), we have a tax that not many (if any) other states have that affects all businesses. That would be the Business and Occupation tax, called the B&O tax here. As bad as that is, the communists in the state government would love to have an income tax instead. Thank god that the state constitution doesn’t allow income taxes. As if the squandered money we pay in taxes isn’t enough, they allege that the onerous B&O tax then could go away. Apparently they haven’t got enough money to waste on all the bullshit spending that goes on here. As if the waste isn’t enough, they can’t even maintain the infrastructure before it falls apart with all the money they steal from us. With the money that they could steal from us with an income tax, there would be no end to the waste. And since the federal income tax was originally temporary, we could see at a local level where that would end up.

        On another note, the local liars on the tv news seem to think that if they have enough of the right people commenting on there so called tv newscasts that it’s the truth as one station likes to brag about (“we stand for truth”), and it doesn’t matter if it goes contrary to what really happens. If some of the alternative news outlets didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have a clue as to what is happening anywhere. It would seem on the local level that the ANTIFA murderer was the second coming of Christ by the comments from some of the people interviewed. He pulled a gun and the Marshall’s acted accordingly. But to hear the interviewees, the Marshall’s brutalized him of course instead of using less force. Right. George, the news up here is getting more slanted all of the time and it’s all of the tv news. Enough rant for now.

      • “I am not sure how does the federal employee’s secure their funds..”

        What makes you think they have?
        ______

        “why not just go with a sales tax or a basic even tax.. ”

        We can’t have a flat tax or fair tax because it would send millions of tax preparers, tax attorneys, corporate tax compliance officers, and tax-shelter investment specialists to the unemployment line, and because it’s much harder to cheat or defraud people under a clear & simple bureaucracy than it is a hopelessly complex and convoluted bureaucracy. Power is a drug, money buys power…
        ______

        “I don’t know.. I pay in a higher percentage than a friend of mine that is in the seven digit range of income.. at times I pay in more than they do in actual payments.. ”

        Yup, although that’s kind of a misnomer. The wealthy shelter their tax liability by donating money to charities and investing it in tax-exempt or tax-deferred vehicles (Municipal bonds used to be a popular shelter.) A specialist makes his dough by knowing which investments will best-shield each customer, given that customer’s specific financial needs.

        The reason SO MANY politicians and pro athletes start their own charitable funds, foundations, or trusts, is so they can dodge the tax while using the charity’s assets. IRS rules regarding “business participation” make for a really interesting (albeit really boring) read.

        The money the wealthy would have paid in taxes, leaves their wallet, just like it would if they’d actually paid those taxes. The difference, and why tax managers exist, is to find a way for them to “loose” that money, without actually “losing” its use…

      • “We can’t have a flat tax or fair tax because it”

        Exactly.. and how would you fun war’s so that old gold tooth can get more of what he wants and enslave the general population with a flat tax.
        I have no doubts that that is why products bought from another country are so much lower in price.. in some instances thousands and thousands of percent less. even though it looks like they pay more for taxes on the general overall they pay less in taxes.. we are taxed .. to death yet if your income is high enough there are enough loop holes so that the income can be moved around hidden and un-taxed.. I read an article once that was telling how retired people were migrating to other countries because they could live quite comfortably on what they got as a retirement fund in those countries.. I visit with people on a game chat network all the time that get a real chuckle out of the stupidity of the people and the disbelief that our country nails the person.. even in the list it doesn’t show the back tax system.. or the inverted pyramid of taxes.. except on imports.. there is very little taxes in comparison to imported goods compared to domestic produced products.. which is why I can buy a four thousand dollar unit in the usa for about six hundred from overseas that is with the tariff increases and import taxes..Not even considering the hundreds of thousands to millions of jobs that would be lost if we did go to a simple tax..
        which I find funny if our currency tanks.. and we are forced to go through a total reboot of society.. How can they do it.. the millions of jobs that would be lost just with the collapse of govt. jobs.. the infrastructure the educational system .. the billions of contracts that the govt.. has for special companies and the relief donations to other countries for their whatever reasons.. what was it I read once we give one leader a half a million a month just because so he will remain our friend.. LOL.. all of that would be gone.. our military shut down.. it would be the ultimate financial collapse of any economic system ever in history..similar to poverty it is things you read about but cannot grasp until it happens to you.. that is why there are stories of individuals that leapt from fifty story buildings.. they couldn’t deal with the reality.. it is also why I think the men and women living under the bridges and in dumpsters and cardboard boxes will survive the upcoming collapse better than we will… the colonies where their whole system is built to keeping it simple..

  9. I’ve got a prediction. Shortly there’s going to be a glut of used patio furniture on the market.

    Some of it will be nice stuff from these restaurants that moved service out into the street.

    • “here’s what govt pensions look like:”

      LOL LOL LOL my sister and her husband get govt. pension.. it is in relativity to our income six times the income we get..
      their insurance.. the golden goose as it has been refereed to by those of us working in the real world.. the vacation time that you can use.. the holidays that normally are not available to real world laboring class..
      Health insurance not counting the they get as a retiree .. https://www.fepblue.org/benefit-plans/so-benefit-tables-2020 over a thousand dollars a month less than the laboring class..
      when I was working the floor everyone wanted to get into govt. the reason so they could save five hundred a month or more in school loans and save the cost of health insurance..
      at that time which was unavailable to anyone having anything of a medical issue in their past..
      a good friend works with the department of social services.. we got into a discussion on his retirement that is coming up in three years.. ( if the govt doesn’t go under before then) and his benefit is huge.. his insurance cheap.. the same with a sister of a friend that works with homeland..
      State budgets do take a hit.. cali uses it to bring in illegal immigrants but.. the pension funds that they get for state workers is still so far separated from the guy working at a fast food restaurant or any other wage position.. its hard to compare if your only looking at one section you have to compare apples to apples
      the average person that works in govt.. figures that everyone in the wage market gets the same benefits.. the income ratio’s if you look at the statistices.. it shows.. what the stats don’t show is that they don’t take into consideration the class separation.. like my daughter wanted to go to work at the hospital I worked at.. she brought up all the benefits.. the luxury condo that you could take vacations at at no cost.. the cruises etc.. the perks.. I had to tell her, be careful what you wish for honey.. those perks only go to about five percent of the laboring.. the xmas gift given to the wage hours was a twenty page sticky note pad.. the condo isn’t allowed for the basic employee and you don’t get holidays off.. vacation time.. well that goes out the door to..
      to see.
      around here.. starting part time position at the post office.. the wage is almost double what the wife makes at her work place.. per hour.. if your a citizen the odd’s of getting in to work there are really hard.. seems they are using that to hire refugee’s at this point which is why mail seems to get diverted to another state a lot of the time.. and every federal holiday off.. when I worked at the county.. we got every holiday off.. ( waste management) anyway.. we could take off any other federal holiday for the holidays that the packers had to work.. so we picked poinsettia day.. ( so far except for us the only ones that got that off was congress)the small county that I worked in wasn’t big enough to get into the nice state insurance.. long story.. and I had to work off a debt at the hospital and ended up quitting because I could get the hospital health plan once they became self insured..

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