Biden's Economy?

[Gadianton]

Lawyers advise their clients to max out their credit cards before filing for bankruptcy. Like their elected officials, the American people believe in carrying enormous debt. Married men don't have much choice in the matter.

I realize you don't read much beyond Breitbart, and so you've almost certainly have never heard of the paradox of thrift. There is an upside to all this spending. First of all, in my opinion, there are three main factors that have resulted in the economy being in the tough state that's it's in, and this is 50 years in the making. 1) outsourcing. 2) low interest rates / regressive taxes 3) the rise of two-income families.

That last one is a wildcard for sure. Nobody but me in my immediate family has ever produced a dime. It's tough. A good friend of mine and his wife are in roughly the same industry as I am, and they both work. Up until very recently, neither of them made what I did, but combined, it's not even close. Our houses are about the same size but theirs is in far more expensive real estate. In the last many years, I've bought a single used car. They've had at least 5 new cars, including two Tesla's and a 3.25i. They can eat way better if they want to, but I don't eat bad. You'd be surprised how good you can eat for cheap. They can go away for 5 days and not take a hit, I can't. While they probably have more expensive stuff, a house can only fit so much.

At the same time, their credit cards are maxed, cars are financed, while that car I bought I paid off in a year and could have paid cash, it's just that being a 1-income shop if I get laid off or sick or something, then what? We're homeless? I've survived 3 rounds of layoffs in the last couple years. I have to have a decent amount of cash on hand whereas it's unlikely they'd both ever be out of a job at the same time. And my mortgage is getting knocked out pretty fast lately. I think they're doing a little better on that now than in the past, but probably owe nearly 3x what I do. I' think in my entire life I've made a single interest payment on a credit card and that's because they tricked me on the terms.

Well, the economy needs people like them to move it along. I can only imagine how unaffordable housing would be they were good with money. Every time you see a neighbor pulling up in a new car, feel relieved that they just took a hit and moved you forward a little. I'm sure Biden is responsible somehow for all this spending. When I bought my first new car, I went to the bank and was told they didn't specialize in car loans. They had one option, at 12.5%, and they were rude about it. Now, when I log into my bank account, I'm blasted with offers. I'm pre-approved for a 75k car loan. lol. wtf is ANYONE smoking who borrows 75k for a car? Even my friend's Tesla plus his wife's latest car is probably not much over that. And then I'm pre-approved for another credit card from them with a 25k limit. that's 100k in credit they want to throw at me. My present card maxes out at 8k I think. And if that isn't enough, they want me to open a margin account. lol. My trading account is with this bank. So what, that's got be at least 50k I'm thinking, so 150k with no questions asked? It would bury me alive.

2.5 years ago I went to the tire shop to get my tires rotated. The guy had a fit, telling me how bad my tires are and I need new ones ASAP. As punishment for that, I still haven't bought new tires or even rotated them. However, I do keep them properly inflated. Now that I have my wife's car paid off, I'm thinking about getting new tires for mine, but probably not until January.

[ajax18]

That last one is a wildcard for sure. Nobody but me in my immediate family has ever produced a dime. It's tough. A good friend of mine and his wife are in roughly the same industry as I am, and they both work. Up until very recently, neither of them made what I did, but combined, it's not even close. Our houses are about the same size but theirs is in far more expensive real estate. In the last many years, I've bought a single used car. They've had at least 5 new cars, including two Tesla's and a 3.25i. They can eat way better if they want to, but I don't eat bad. You'd be surprised how good you can eat for cheap. They can go away for 5 days and not take a hit, I can't. While they probably have more expensive stuff, a house can only fit so much.

At the same time, their credit cards are maxed, cars are financed, while that car I bought I paid off in a year and could have paid cash, it's just that being a 1-income shop if I get laid off or sick or something, then what? We're homeless? I've survived 3 rounds of layoffs in the last couple years. I have to have a decent amount of cash on hand whereas it's unlikely they'd both ever be out of a job at the same time. And my mortgage is getting knocked out pretty fast lately. I think they're doing a little better on that now than in the past, but probably owe nearly 3x what I do. I' think in my entire life I've made a single interest payment on a credit card and that's because they tricked me on the terms.

You're kind of self discipline is what I'd have aspired to as a younger man. Behind every man that's able to pull this off, there's an even better woman. My paternal grandfather was that way. He taught my Dad to live this way. But my maternal grandfather was a spender. Oh he worked and worked hard, but he lived and died in debt. You can guess which genes I inherited. The problem with marriage is that if you pair a spender who believes living in debt is the right way to manage money, there's no point for the saver to exert himself to spend less. And in the days of no fault divorce, the spender can just divorce the saver and take the money by force anytime they want, which is why I say you don't really have autonomy over your finances as people once did.

But would you agree with my point that the people buying out Target aren't doing so because they have the money but rather putting it on credit. We're kind of conditioned to the eternal car payment type of lifestyle. I brought my first car because I had to have a way to get to work. Buying a used car was a gamble I lost on and being unable to work on it (it's not even allowed when you live in an apartment) it was either pay for repairs or pay the bank interest. I should have waited to buy my truck but I knew in the back of my mind that if I didn't spend it now, some other responsibility would show up before I ever was able to save the money.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/cost ... 24525.html

Costco's stock (COST) hit record high Friday topping out at $661.88 and closing at $658.82, a 4.45% gain on the day.

It also posted a $6.1M increase over FY2023, 1Q.

- Doc

[Gadianton]

The problem with marriage is that if you pair a spender who believes living in debt is the right way to manage money, there's no point for the saver to exert himself to spend less.

Depends. After the first year or so, had the finances continued to be driven by my paired spender, it would have been eventual bankruptcy. I had to lay down the law, and tell her to go ahead and get the divorce, otherwise the finances go by my rules. Every month I would hand over a fixed amount, and at that time it was nearly every cent extra I had after paying bills, and she could do whatever she wanted with it, with no oversight from me. If she wanted to spend it all on designer purses, fine, but I had no money for lunch so if she didn't pack something for me and I starved to death, then her gravy train would also end.

She was basically able to live with that, and so the main problem was solved, and we've done it that way every since. As things have improved, yes, I've done more for myself. I just enjoy peace of mind far more than I enjoy making payments. And if I buy something, I use it. For instance, I have a lot of awesome tools, but I use all of them. I don't buy stuff just to buy it.

[ajax18]

The problem with marriage is that if you pair a spender who believes living in debt is the right way to manage money, there's no point for the saver to exert himself to spend less.

Depends. After the first year or so, had the finances continued to be driven by my paired spender, it would have been eventual bankruptcy. I had to lay down the law, and tell her to go ahead and get the divorce, otherwise the finances go by my rules. Every month I would hand over a fixed amount, and at that time it was nearly every cent extra I had after paying bills, and she could do whatever she wanted with it, with no oversight from me. If she wanted to spend it all on designer purses, fine, but I had no money for lunch so if she didn't pack something for me and I starved to death, then her gravy train would also end.

She was basically able to live with that, and so the main problem was solved, and we've done it that way every since. As things have improved, yes, I've done more for myself. I just enjoy peace of mind far more than I enjoy making payments. And if I buy something, I use it. For instance, I have a lot of awesome tools, but I use all of them. I don't buy stuff just to buy it.

It sounds like you/re the kind of man I wish I were. I really admire the way you were able to handle that.

My marriage is good now. I don't really have an excuse for not cutting my own spending and I intend to do so along with losing weight. For me God is the ultimate accountant. If my wife or my kids decide to take us down the path of bankruptcy it won't change my life. All I do is work or church anyway.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

US oil and gas production reached an all time high in 2023, and refineries are running between 90-95% capacity. We also found a massive lithium deposit in Nevada. Thanks, Biden!

- Doc

[Jersey Girl]

US oil and gas production reached an all time high in 2023, and refineries are running between 90-95% capacity. We also found a massive lithium deposit in Nevada. Thanks, Biden!

- Doc

Isn't lithium used to generate power in nuclear power plants? Am I wrong?

[Physics Guy]

Lithium itself is not a nuclear fuel, no. All nuclei can both split and merge, but for nuclei smaller than iron, merging releases energy while splitting costs energy; for nuclei larger than iron, it’s the reverse. Lithium is the third -smallest nucleus of all elements, so it could only be a fuel in a fusion reactor. It might be good for that, but lithium fusion would be at least a few generations beyond next-generation in fusion power. We still don’t have hydrogen working yet.

Lithium is a cool little element with some unusual nuclear properties that do make it important in nuclear technology, just not as fuel. Lithium fluoride is used as a coolant in some fission reactor designs, and induced fission of lithium, even though it costs energy, is a way to make the unstable hydrogen isotope called tritium, which is useful for a lot of things.

Lithium is also important in batteries. That’s because of its chemical properties, which is to say that it’s because of how electrons around a lithium nucleus behave, rather than for any features of the nucleus itself. Energetically speaking, atoms are like families in which the kids are buying gum and selling lemonade for quarters while the parents are selling cars and buying houses. Nuclear energy scales are around 100,000 times higher than chemical energy scales. Chemistry is the little-kid economy; nuclear physics is Manhattan.

[ajax18]

Lithium itself is not a nuclear fuel, no. All nuclei can both split and merge, but for nuclei smaller than iron, merging releases energy while splitting costs energy; for nuclei larger than iron, it’s the reverse. Lithium is the third -smallest nucleus of all elements, so it could only be a fuel in a fusion reactor. It might be good for that, but lithium fusion would be at least a few generations beyond next-generation in fusion power. We still don’t have hydrogen working yet.

Lithium is a cool little element with some unusual nuclear properties that do make it important in nuclear technology, just not as fuel. Lithium fluoride is used as a coolant in some fission reactor designs, and induced fission of lithium, even though it costs energy, is a way to make the unstable hydrogen isotope called tritium, which is useful for a lot of things.

Lithium is also important in batteries. That’s because of its chemical properties, which is to say that it’s because of how electrons around a lithium nucleus behave, rather than for any features of the nucleus itself. Energetically speaking, atoms are like families in which the kids are buying gum and selling lemonade for quarters while the parents are selling cars and buying houses. Nuclear energy scales are around 100,000 times higher than chemical energy scales. Chemistry is the little-kid economy; nuclear physics is Manhattan.

I miss physics and chemistry so much, not that I was ever the best and brightest at it, but I did love it. I envy my undergrad classmates who went on to graduate school in it. But I'm a practical guy and a boring job is fine for me as long as it pays.

[Doctor Steuss]

A note from the inflation vs. greedflation front:

Profits for companies in some of the world’s largest economies rose by 30% between 2019 and 2022, significantly outpacing inflation, according to the group’s research of 1,350 firms across the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Brazil, and South Africa.

Link