In the US, the UAW had pushed for higher wages in its contract talks with the automaker last year, and Tuesday's announcement prompted a swift reaction. "Today’s announcement...is a disappointment and very troubling," UAW President Dennis Williams said in a statement. "For every investment in Mexico it means jobs that could have and should have been available right here in the USA."This guy from the UAW is the first guy I know that can pull a rug out from underneath himself, while standing on it.
Then I hear that companies have evaded 100’s of billions of dollars in US taxes by moving overseas. Don’t get me wrong, but do corporations belong to countries like people do? They are machines that make money. By all means move if it increases the bottom line. Dividends is what the game is all about.
Then in Kalifornia people are outraged that the state colleges are taking more out of state students at the expense of in state students. They pay a lot higher tuition. It kind of lends to the opinion that the outraged were economically challenged, they might have to pay for their kid to go to college
Clinton got elected president in 1992 only because Ross Perot ran as an independent. Ross saw the jobs being sucked out of our economy. He was right, but it is a little too late to do much about it now. We could get some of it back over 20 years with the right policy, but it won’t happen overnight. Don’t hold your breath on this one, the word “Never,” comes to mind.
June seems like the month that everything will hit the fan. The primary election process in the US comes to a head, and the vote for Great Britain to stay in the Euro comes to a vote on June 23. And let’s face it, the European Union has flooded the countries in it, with minority populations that they didn’t want and now they have a way of saying “No more immigrants.”
As things get worse, expect more of the unexpected. We could invade Mexico and make it the 51'st state. That way we wouldn't have to worry about jobs leaving the country or the illegal immigrants; they would no longer be illegal.
9 comments:
Well Jim...
Private sector unions like UAW are moronic. They've ruined things for the people they are supposed to be representing by forgetting what their true role is. They are just as clueless and corrupt as Congress and the rest of the government in the public sector.
Government at all levels is getting more and more desperate for money. Things are really starting to spin out of orbit on many fronts. Uncertainty and volatility will reign over us as a result of all of ridiculous policies, corruption, debt, etc. I believe that you are probably correct Jim in that things will definitely begin heating up this Summer (no pun intended).
I feel like I'm living in some sort of an "armageddon" or "collapse of the empire" B movie. Except this is reality. Seems like we are going backwards. Or, we've never gone forwards. How can people screw so much of our civilization up so badly? Scary. Damn scary. I have no prediction on what the future is going to be like here in the USA in the next 2-3 years, let alone the remaining decades of my life. Damn scary. We live on a floating lunatic asylum.
We baby boomers have had it pretty easy in many ways. No really serious or devastating financial crises in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, all the way up until now (2006 doesn't count because the crises was covered up and everything has been propped up by the governments and central banks). I always looked back at the depression of the 30s as a tremendous upheaval and trauma that was history and something I'd never have to worry about experiencing (my parents went through it). And now I'm in my 60s looking into the future with the idea that in my life there will be a much greater depression than the one of the 30s. A global one that has so many interconnections that things will be blowing up and dying from all angles. The remaining decades of my life are going to be quite disruptive and quite an "adventure". An adventure I'm not excited about experiencing.
Knowing that you are under the threat of losing the savings and business capital sitting in your bank accounts is a continual condition of stress. It keeps the cortisol high and pumping through your veins. This is worsened by the fact that you are stuck in the system and there is no way out since you are orced to have the currency, forced to use the currency, and forced to keep it in banks. All of which you don't have hardly any control over. And if they go to digital currency you have ZERO control because the government will be able to confiscate portions of or all of your money from your accounts at any time. You can really feel the noose tightening around your neck. Talk about feeling helpless and stressed out.
As for banks, some say keep you money in the TBTF banks because the government will bail them out, support and keep them afloat (yet, how does one really know for certain?). Others say the government might let some or all of them go down so it is best to keep your money in a small local bank that has very conservative policies, an excellent asset base, strong loan portfolio, and are not involved in derivatives, risky mortgage and business loans, or other risky investments that could cause them to suffer big losses and go under. I've opted to go with the latter.
I need to keep my capital in banks because I'm a private lender that lends to real estate professionals (transactional funding, rehabs, new construction). I have to be able to wire loan funds back and forth in order to do business. I can't keep my capital in gold, silver, commodities or stocks or bonds. I need my savings/capital to make money. I'm in Everbank in Florida and in Farmers & Merchants Bank in California. My research told me that these were about as safe as you can get. I hope. Gulp!
Hi AIM
I'm not sure what will happen either. But I feel we are coming close to the end of the assumed reality. From there, it is going to be a lot different.
AIM, looks like you are well placed to call it a day and consider retiring. Recall all your funds, diversify your assets and spend time traveling. ;)
Anthony Tan:
I wish you were right. No, I still need to generate income and build up my net worth and assets so that my wife and I can maintain a decent standard of living and be able to handle all health related situations (medical costs, long term care, etc.). Plus I still have a lot of goals I want to accomplish and need $ to do so. My wife and I need to continue to work hard and smart and create an abundance. It is the only way to hopefully survive the disruptive conditions that are headed our way as a result of our dysfunctional governments and "leaders".
I wish that I could isolate, insulate and protect my capital from the banks and the governments. But I can't figure out a solution I could put it all into gold but that might now be a workable solution. And of course there is no yield and I don't have the liquidity I need to run my businesses. Quite the dilemma. Government is chipping away at us with: reduction of our liberties; bail outs; bail ins; inflation; ever increasing taxation; capital controls; terrorism (which is a retaliation against our imperialist, war-mongering foreign policy); etc.
Hi AIM
All I have done is taken about 15% of my net worth and put it in gold silver and platinum. I am out of stocks and into cash. Most of it is in IRA and 401K. My wife and I rent and have no debt and we both work full time and we have one rental.
I don't think you need to worry about saving 100% of what you have from government ineptness. Play the game, you could die of old age before it hits the fan.
Right now the best investment return is in rentals. What happens if the government imposes rent control? You will see those investments go up in smoke.
The financial investment game has to change. The only problem I see, is that it has to change for people with savings. You can't tax the poor. The most visible assets are homes and cars. Maybe a consumption tax on food, booze, gas, drugs, and toilet paper.
I've found that most people with a long term plan do quite well. At the end of the day, its not how much you earn, but how much you save. Buying lunch at work everyday for $6 is $1,500 a year, a Starbucks coffee every day is $500 a year. Cigarettes is a $4,000 a year habit. The little things add up to big money. I pack a lunch, make my own coffee and haven't had a cigarette in 35 years.
Buy a little gold and platinum (platinum is a better deal and 10 times rarer than gold) and give yourself some peace of mind. It won't give you any return, but neither will your money in the bank.
Thanks for the advice and moral support Jim. I've had rentals. Got rid of them all (had single family homes and an apartment). Might go back to them at some point. The risk is that government can raise property taxes, impose rent control, remove the tax advantages (mortgage interest, depreciation, etc.) and thus turn a decent investment into a losing proposition. These things will eventually all happen as government sinks into more and more fiscal trouble and in desperation begins raising taxes and pushing on every revenue channel they have, putting the squeeze on honest hard working Americans who don't deserve that sort of treatment (well I guess they do because they voted them in). My money in the bank does give me a return, a great return, because I use it in my business. The government and the banks just better keep their inept greedy paws of it.
The powers that be, the elite political class, the bankers, etc. won't let Trump near the presidency. Yet, he may be the best chance America has, for a very long time, for rebuilding its employment numbers, productivity, exports, etc. He call our effete traitorous politicians out on the carpet in front of the whole country if they don't cooperate or refust to do the right thing The apparency is that he would not be a bought and paid prostitute that has sold out his country, like our current congress people and government administration are. He may be our only chance. Even if he could just pull off 20% of what he intends to do.
I'm afraid he'll offend the rest of the world with his loose cannon style but hopefully he'll start with the internal housekeeping and take out all the political rot first.
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