Friday, March 1, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, March 1, 2013


Busy day...

 Soon off to pick up "He Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned" at the airport...

 Then tonight a wake for a friend's mom who passed after a long illness.

 Anyway... in honor of Lent...

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1 comment:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-01/consumer-spending-in-u-s-climbs-even-as-taxes-hurt-incomes.html

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in January even as incomes dropped by the most in 20 years...

* SOUND GOOD, FOLKS? SOUND REASONABLE? OR... DOES THIS SEEM TO PRESENT A "DISCONNECT?"

Household purchases, which account for about 70% of the economy, climbed 0.2% after a 0.1% gain the prior month

* BASED UPON ACTUAL INCREASE IN GOODS PURCHASED... OR... BASED UPON THE INCREASED PRICES ATTACHED TO GOODS PURCHASED? (i.e. INFLATION.)

Incomes slumped 3.6%...

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

* ECONOMIC "RECOVERY," HUH? ECONOMIC "GROWTH," HMM...

(*PURSED LIPS*)

...sending the saving rate down to the lowest level since November 2007.

(*SILENCE*)

Employment gains...

* WHAT TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT...??? (CONNECT THE DOTS, FOLKS... RE-READ THE OPENING SENTENCE! "INCOMES DROPPED BY THE MOST IN 20 YEARS!")

...the rebound in housing...

* MEANING HOUSING INFLATION! MEANING HIGHER PURCHASE PRICES AND SINCE PROPERTY TAXES ARE LINKED TO ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUES...

(*SHRUG*)

* ...HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES...!!!

...and growing demand for autos...

* WHILE I DIDN'T NEWSBITE IT THE OTHER DAY, ONE OF THE BIG STORIES AIRED THE OTHER DAY CONCERNED THE "NEW REALITY" OF MOST AMERICANS HAVING REAL TROUBLE AFFORDING A NEW CAR...

* OH... AND DON'T FORGET... THANKS TO "CASH FOR CLUNKERS" THE USED CAR MARKET IS STILL ARTIFICIALLY HIGH (AS ARE SPARE PARTS PRICES!) AND THUS FOLKS AT THE CUSP ARE FUCKED. (OH, WELL... AT LEAST "HE WHOSE NAME DARE NOT BE MENTIONED" BENEFITED FROM CASH FOR CLUNKERS...)

The slump in incomes in January was the biggest since January 1993 and followed a 2.6% jump in December. (Some companies paid dividends and employee bonuses earlier than usual before tax rates went up this year, removing a gain usually seen in January.) The Commerce Department estimated the January level of wages was reduced by about $15 billion and December was boosted by about $30 billion, reflecting the timing of the bonuses.

* WALL STREET BONUSES... GREAT... WONDERFUL... FANTASTIC...

(*SMIRK*)

Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, dropped 4% after adjusting for inflation...

* AND SINCE THE GOVERNMENT DELIBERATELY UNDERSTANDS INFLATION THAT MEANS THAT DISPOSABLE INCOME ACTUALLY DROPPED AT LEAST 8%.

...the biggest plunge since monthly records began in 1959.

* AGAIN... THIS BEING BASED ON ARTIFICIALLY LOW INFLATION STATS... IN OTHER WORDS, BASED ON A "BEST CASE SCENARIO" OF COOKING THE BOOKS!

The drop also reflected the lapse of the payroll tax holiday.

* THERE WAS NO "HOLIDAY." THE FEDS SIMPLY STOLE FROM SOCIAL SECURITY FOR A COUPLE YEARS! THE MONEY NOT TAKEN IN... IT WAS BORROWED... AT INTEREST! IN OTHER WORDS, FIGURING IN THE INTEREST... THEY STOLE MORE THAN JUST THE AMOUNT "FORGIVEN" DURING THE "HOLIDAY."

* SERIOUS QUESTION: DO ANY OF YOU READING THIS *NOT* GET THE POINTS I'M MAKING HERE...???

Federal Reserve policy makers are likely to continue unprecedented monetary easing measures.

* THOSE CONTINUING TO AIM FULL SPEED AHEAD AT THE ERUPTING VOLCANO...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline at the pump rose to $3.78 on Feb. 27, little changed from the previous day’s rate that was the highest in more than four months, according to AAA, the biggest U.S. motoring group.

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

March 1, 2013 at 12:00 PM

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