The Case for Permanent ZIRP

The following chart shows the natural log of retail trade. When using natural logs, constant exponential growth is seen as a straight line.

As the pandemic hit, the exponential growth of retail sales failed to the downside. Using massive and mostly temporary stimulus, retail sales then overshot the historical channel and failed to the upside. Look where it's headed next. Welcome to the world of barely damped harmonic motion.

Can You Drive a Car With Damaged Suspension?

A broken shock absorber will result in your car bouncing around, as well as excessive rolling, squatting and diving. In other words, it won't be comfortable. Plus, your car will be harder to control, especially at high speeds. For that reason, you should never drive a car with a broken shock absorber at high speeds and avoid sudden turns and abrupt stops.

If you aren't even a bit worried about the current state of the Fed's economic shock absorbers, then maybe you should be?

Flattening the Curve

If industrial production in the United States was a disease, I’d say we’ve done a great job socially distancing ourselves from it since the Great Depression.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

How to Shop My Way at Sears

October 11, 2016
New Sears Member Bonus Event to Feature First-Ever Shop Your Way Holiday Guarantee

How to shop the Member Bonus Event and qualify for the Holiday Guarantee:

Shop in-store at Sears on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., when prices will reflect those for the upcoming Sears Days Lowest Prices of the Season sale (which officially starts Oct. 20)

Shopping my way starts with me patiently waiting 5 days for the 3-hour event to start. Oh, the anticipation!

No further action is required by the member – if any items purchased at the event go lower at the same store for a lower price through Christmas Eve (including Black Friday), members will receive the difference back in points automatically credited to their account on 1/16/17 – up to $100 in points per member

Shopping my way involves guessing which Sears store won't close before Christmas Eve. This is a key point. If Eddie Lampert closes the store I pick right after I make the purchase, then the prices may not go lower at that same store. The liquidation sale might not happen until 2017!

Today is the big day. I have chosen the closest store to me and will be crossing my fingers that it will remain open for the rest of the year. Shopping my way means that I can't go right now though. I must wait until at least 6pm and get out of there by 9pm. So what do I do in the meantime?

The Seahawks are playing from 1pm to 4pm. Perfect! Oh, wait. There's also Sunday Night Football! Hmmm. That could wrap up by 8:30pm. So what does this mean? Well, it won't be pretty.

If I push the limits of our society's many traffic laws just a tad, I can make it to Sears in 20 minutes in light traffic. That will give me a full 10 minutes to do all my Christmas shopping. Craftsman tools for everyone on my list! To save time, I'll just sweep them randomly into my basket. Although many, if not most or all, of the tools are now made in China and are of lower quality, I still really trust the Craftsman brand. Always have, always will. One thing that I really appreciate is the lifetime warranty. 100% guaranteed for as long as Eddie Lampert can keep the struggling chain afloat!

October 14, 2016
This Sears Employee Just Landed the Worst Job in Corporate America

But to call it a promotion for Hollar is quite the stretch. Try more like a death sentence and potential blemish on the resume given the unique challenges he will have to endure from day one as Sears' top numbers cruncher.

That's funny. I would have thought the worst job in Corporate America would be the guy trying to ring up all of our Craftsman purchases in time today! I'm fairly easy-going about it, but some customers might turn a bit rude at 9:01pm! Then again, the CFO job does seem stressful too. One can only hope that he's generously compensated for crunching all those numbers.

Shopping my way with ample sarcasm, baby. That's what I'm talking about.

Consumer Confidence: Party Like It's 2007!

September 27, 2016
Consumer confidence jumps to highest level since 2007

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer confidence rose in September to the highest level in nine years.

Can you blame consumers for being so optimistic?

1. As in 2008, we are about to elect a new president! And with two extremely popular candidates to choose from, we can't lose no matter who we pick! Hurray!

2. Although Eddie Lampert is doing everything in his power to destroy department store jobs, he's just one man and there just aren't that many jobs left! Hey Jeff Bezos, ever play Mortal Kombat? This one's for you!



3. Thanks to the Fed's zero interest rate policy, the average credit card rate is just 15.22%! Never been a better time to borrow money to buy that cheap plastic dream item from China!

4. Although there have been roughly 20 recessions since the Fed was created, there will be no more recessions! We have finally achieved a permanently mediocre plateau of sub-par growth! That's right. We are stronger than ever before as we hobble and stumble along into the future! Perfectly fine as long as no external shocks ever appear again! Woohoo!

Livin' the dream!!

Confessions of a Patient and Frugal Video Game Addict

June 24, 2016
The New Yorker: CLASH OF CLANS PROVES THAT OUR IMPATIENCE IS WORTH BILLIONS

This week, the China-based company Tencent Holdings paid 8.6 billion dollars for a controlling stake in Supercell, and therefore a stake in our need for instant gratification. Tencent is the biggest Internet company in China, with a market value of more than two hundred billion dollars. It controls one of China’s biggest Web portals, the messaging app WeChat, with seven hundred million active users, and League of Legends, an online multiplayer game that reportedly had 1.6 billion dollars in sales in 2015.

Good grief. Our founding fathers are rolling over in their "service economy" graves right now. I hope you realize that.

One writer described racking up nine thousand dollars in expenses in Game of War: Fire Age, a mobile game that featured Kate Upton in an ad that ran during the 2015 Super Bowl. Many people—“healthy people,” Baron clarified—choose to spend that money because the feelings they get from the game are worth it to them. “They’re willing to spend five bucks to save themselves three days’ worth of time, because they value what they want to value.”

$9,000 for instant gratification? Are we insane? This type of gamer is basically paying for me, so I don't need to.

Take Real Racing 3. I'm addicted. I've spent a grand total of $5.46 (on a starter pack which removed some in-game advertising). I've played 2,813 hours so far and reached level 633. I've accumulated 41,701 gold (most of it spent). I consistently rank in the top 5% in the weekly time trials. I currently own all 151 cars and show 100% completed (until the next update). That's right, I've been seriously addicted. It's been fun though. No complaints.

A few days ago they offered to sell me 1,019 gold for $19.99. That's an 80% discount to their normal price of $99.99. At my level, it would take roughly 70 hours of game play to earn that much extra gold.

On the one hand, paying $20 to save me from playing 70 extra hours would seem like a very good deal.

On the other hand, why on earth would I pay NOT to play the game? I either like the game, or I don't. If I no longer enjoy the game, then there is a much cheaper alternative. It costs me absolutely nothing to quit!

It's insane to think that I would pay $20 to free me from having to play the game. Where would it end? Could they tempt me to pay another $20 not to play again? Perhaps. It's insane!

The funny part is that even as a patient and frugal gamer, I could feel the temptation. I'm starting to burnout on the game a bit. If I paid the $20, I could back away from the game. That's when it hit me. The worst possible time to spend $20 on a game is when you are starting to burnout! What an epiphany! Hahaha!

Electronic Arts can pry the $20 from my cold dead fingers. They'll have to wait in line though. Over the years, there are so many things building up. Take my savings bonds and long-term inflation protected treasuries, for example. Years ago I said they could pry them from my cold dead fingers too, as I intended to hold to maturity. With interest rates as low as they are today, I'm clutching them tighter than ever. Go figure.

We live in a very impatient and fast-moving world. You want to know what concerns me most though? How many more impatient itchy trigger fingers are hovering over the global economy's stock market sell buttons? The wealth effect could very easily continue to unravel. What goes up quickly and seemingly effortlessly can also come down quickly and seemingly effortlessly. Can't really have one without the other. Neither quick moves up nor quick moves down imply strong and resilient stability. Sigh.

Simple Solution to China's Toxic Debt Problem

June 2, 2016
Bloomberg: China Toxic Debt Solution Has One Big Problem

“We don’t have enough domestic institutional investors with the expertise to price such complex products,” said Ming Ming, Beijing-based head of fixed-income research at Citic Securities Co., China’s largest brokerage.

Need something priced? In a hurry? Check out CNBC's Mad Money lightning round! Proven track record of instant pricing!

“Lack of qualified investors, especially in the junior tranche, will make it hard for banks to sell NPL-backed securities and constrain their development.”

Looking to advertise your products to less qualified investors? Let the masses see what you're selling! CNBC's Mad Money!

The problem is that most Chinese insurers, trusts, brokerage firms, and mutual funds lack the expertise to invest in bonds backed by bad loans, according to Luo Yi, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Huatai Securities Co.

If the loans are truly bad, no expertise needed! Once again, think Mad Money!

Cramer's Wachovia Autopsy (2008)


Wachovia

Exposed to risky loans, such as adjustable rate mortgages acquired during the acquisition of Golden West Financial in 2006, Wachovia began to experience heavy losses in its loan portfolios during the subprime mortgage crisis.

Got bad loans? Looking to dump them? Cramer's your man!

Q1 Earnings Season Must Be Worse Than We Thought

May 20, 2016
Yahoo Finance: Q1 earnings season summarized in 4 charts

If you think that at least one of the four charts shows actual earnings, then you will be sadly disappointed. No, sir. Each chart summarizes words about specific topics taken from the conference calls. I kid you not.

Let me offer you an example. The fourth chart summarizes how many times China was mentioned compared to previous quarters. Apparently, this is more important to summarize than earnings per share growth.

Fourth, there was a drop in the number of China mentions, something LPL Financial sees as encouraging. Concern about China’s slowing growth, and therefore reduced demand for products from around the world, had driven heightened volatility in January and the beginning of February.

Well, this simply will not do. As a blogger with gloom and doom tendencies, I will attempt to do my part to get the conversation focused back on China again, using fresh information from the past week. Brace for it! Here we go!

May 16, 2016
China Growth Weaker than Expected; Markets Shrug

China reported slower economic growth than expected over the weekend. Industrial output, investment and retail sales growth in April all missed street expectations, reports Barron’s Asia Stocks to Watch Blog.

May 18, 2016
Will the real Chinese unemployment statistics please stand up?

Wolf says that migrant worker numbers have declined in the past three quarters, particularly in the first quarter of this year suggesting that migrant workers, who are among the most mobile/vulnerable and quickest to respond to economic downturns, have begun to move in the opposite direction i.e. back to their rural home villages.

Apologies in advance if I have ruined the upcoming Q2 earnings season by mentioning China so many times in one blog post. In my defense, this is a free blog and therefore...

Talk is cheap.

China Is a Victim

January 12, 2016
Jim Rogers Says China Is a Victim, Not Cause of Problems

Yes, the victim. We used our vast military might to force China to make goods for us in exchange for useless paper dollars, completely against their will. Then, we sent over our "Hot Commodities" billionaire to convince them how wonderful both they are and commodities, in general. Next, we crashed that commodity bubble single-handedly thereby forcing them back into US dollars. And finally, knowing with 100% certainty that cash was trash, we started talking about the wonders of commodities yet again.

Poor China. Apparently, promised the world by a foreign power, and believed in every story we sent them with great naivety. We are clearly the masters of deceit, to trick a country that's been around pretty much since the invention of dirt.

May 12, 2016
China's commodities meltdown could rock the markets

One truly astonishing feature of this bout of speculation is that the average holding period of a commodity futures contract was just three hours in April, according to a Bloomberg article. That makes other speculative trading episodes look like long-term investing.

Even if one is wrongly imprisoned, a victim of our system so to speak, then this still might not be the best time to bend over and reach for that bar of soap. We have a long history of #%^*ing China up the asset classes, or so I'm told.

Just a few questions. How on earth did we ever convince them to send us so many actual goods for cash that we can easily print? Is it because they were desperate for our jobs? Why won't they spend their dollars on our goods and services instead of hoarding them? What are they waiting for? Yet another commodity meltdown and a new entry point for even more speculation?

My heart goes out to the victims of the ELEMENTS Rogers International Commodity ETN, down roughly 50% since its inception just before the Great Recession. Half the soap is gone. But don't you worry, Jim Rogers is teaching his daughters Chinese. You should too. When a billion Chinese victims apply for your soon-to-be-automated job, you don't want to be left behind.

In all seriousness, can't we all just get along? There is no reason that we can't all be victims, together. Let us look forward to the day that all factories are automated, all Amazon fulfillment centers are automated, automated drones deliver all the goods directly to our homes, and all profits and wages go directly to the top 1 percent. It's utopia, assuming we cut the taxes of the richest to somehow magically pay for all of it, or at the very least simply borrow the money ad infinitum. What could possibly go wrong?

Rhetorical Question Monday

May 16, 2016
What will Japan do to weaken the yen?

More stimulus?

May 16, 2016
China Economy: More Signs of Stability?

Hindenburg?



Ask simple rhetorical questions, get simple rhetorical answers questions?

Bad Mark? Bad? Bad? ;)

Breaking News: Imports from China Nosedived in Q1

As seen in this chart I created using the St. Louis Fed's database of economic data, imports from China fell 6.66% from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. I kid you not. 6.66%.

Many might consider -6.66% to be the devil's work. They might point out that a fall of that magnitude is nearly unprecedented, with the only exception being during the Great Recession (also seen in the chart). Not me!

Instead, I consider this to be absolute proof of our strong and resilient economy. Rather than buying cheap goods from China this year which would ultimately add to our many overworked American landfills, many Americans are clearly now choosing a smarter path.

We're spending all of our money on good old-fashioned American services, ranging from good old-fashioned American nail salons which fill our many strip malls to good old-fashioned American financial services where good old-fashioned American advisors will tell us, for a small fee, that we can always expect the good old-fashioned American stock market to grow 10% each and every year. Always has, always will.

Warning: Definitely NOT Safe for Work!

This Is Why You Should be Optimistic In 2016!

May 3, 2016
Here's What Usually Happens to Stocks in Years Like 2016

Despite the huge comeback in the S&P 500, investors remain skeptical of the bull rally. If history is any guide, they shouldn't be so worried.

I could not agree more. In fact, I've done my own research looking back at all the years like 2016.

In order to find years like 2016, I first eliminated all years when the yield on the 3-month treasury bill was higher than the current 0.19% and all years when the yield on the 30-year treasury bond was higher than the current 2.66%.

I then eliminated all years that were not election years. I then eliminated all election years when the Democratic front runner wasn't a former first lady with a history of email server problems. I then eliminated all election years when the Republican front runner wasn't a billionaire who starred in a reality television game show and had ties to the casino industry. I then eliminated all election years when both the front runners didn't have justifiably historically high disapproval ratings simultaneously. I then eliminated all years when both candidates didn't love waterboarding as a means of torture.

I then eliminated all years when the US government was running a budget surplus and our country was running a trade surplus. I then eliminated all years when the typical toaster was not made in China.

I then eliminated all years when the bull market in stocks was not at least seven years old. I then eliminated all years when the stock market had not at least tripled during that bull market.

I then eliminated all years when Sears published a Wish Book. I then eliminated all years when I would not have been able to create this blog post with my phone, the same phone I also use to buy stuff on the internet without ever having to talk to an actual human retail salesperson.

I then eliminated all years without a Patriot Act and all years without a Department of Homeland Security.

And do you know what I found? Not once in our country's history has the stock market done poorly in years just like 2016. Not once. That's why you should be as optimistic as I am. And if that isn't enough proof, just check out my horoscope.

Cancer 2016 Horoscope: An Overview – A Look at the Year Ahead

The Cancer Horoscope 2016 foretells that Cancerians will be optimistic and confident during 2016 which will ensure success in their ventures.

It was predicted in 2015 that I would be optimistic in 2016, and here I am expecting the most favorable outcome for the stock market. Coincidence? I think not. Unbridled confidence! Don't let my blog's name fool you!

First World Sob Story of the Day

Get the box of tissues ready. This one will break your heart.

May 2, 2016
My Son Was Accepted to a College He Can’t Afford. Now What?

I guess they thought we would magically come up with that full freight, as did the other big universities where Dan was admitted, all of which charge between $46,000 and $51,000 for tuition, room, board, and fees for out-of-state students. We’d been aware of the Wisconsin budget drama, but somehow thought this would not affect us so harshly.

As hard as this might be to understand, perhaps the universities don't really magically expect that anyone will attend an out-of-state university unless the person can actually afford to pay extra. I mean, really. That's a lot of extra money to pour right down the drain. I certainly wouldn't/didn't do it. Sometimes life just isn't fair.

So off to Rutgers he goes instead. How will he ever endure the pain of attending an ivy league school in New Jersey? Oh, the humanity! If only they had a gorgeous new business school building to help numb the suffering!

We drove and walked the campus, admiring the gorgeous new business school building and winding our way through the streets surrounding the university. Dan bought a $20 T-shirt. But no back-of-the-car sticker.

$20 for a t-shirt! That's an awesome purchase for those worried about money! Heck, some of the factory workers in China might spend a few days wages on that. Therefore, just think of the resale value! So, you know what? Perhaps this isn't a total loss after all. He's already learning to adapt to his miserable conditions.

No back-of-the-car sticker though? Huge mistake! How will everyone outside of Rutgers know he's attending Rutgers unless he ends up telling the whole world? You know, just like his mom. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I knew what to expect when I read the headline, but I severely underestimated the tragedy. I may never recover. Some things, once read, cannot be unread. I wish him well. May he someday become CEO of a Fortune 500 company and make upwards of 1000 times that of the typical worker. We can only hope.

Quote of the Day

The $10,000 dollar bill does exist

From the comments:

The Baldchemist Says:
January 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm

Dollar bills of any denomination aren’t worth a light these days. Get into Yen; Ruppees and Euros.

Yen? +2%. Nice.
Rupees? -41%. Oops!
Euros? -22%. Oops!

Perhaps the rule of thumb should be, never take financial advice from an anonymous person on the internet who can't actually correctly spell the investment? Ruppees? With a 41% loss since 2008, puppies would have been a much better investment!

Puppies? Good investment.
Poopies? Not so much.

See? Spelling is important! ;)

April 7, 2016
Rupee does not face any ‘serious’ depreciation challenge

This should provide much comfort to the bald chemists of the world, lol. Sigh.

Bad Mark. Bad! Bad!

Disclosure: Still sitting in dollars. Still heckling Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers. Still not planning to move to China. Bought gold and silver in 2004. Sold gold and silver in 2006 for a 50% profit. Still never planning to buy them again. Whatever happens, happens. Sigh.

Wall Street vs. Sesame Street

April 22, 2016
As Ackman's Herbalife Saga Hits the Big Screen We Look at 4 Other Heavily Shorted Stocks

Here is the list of "Heavily Shorted" stocks from the article.

Short Interest

Apple: 1.0%
Micron: 6.8%
BlackBerry: 14.5%
Sirius: 8.5%
Herbalife: 26.7%



One if these things is not like the others. Which one is different? Do you know? Can you tell which thing is not like the others? I'll tell you if it is so.

Claiming that Apple was heavily shorted last week is a bit like claiming that billionaire Warren Buffett is heavily in debt if he he has a mortgage on his home.

Of course, it might be a different story now. It's not been a great week for Apple. First came the stock's iTank, then came the news of the iCon, lol. Sigh.

April 29, 2016
Carl Icahn to Apple: I'm out

High-profile investor Carl Icahn sold all his Apple stock due to China’s attitude toward the Cupertino-based company. The activist investor noted he made roughly $2 billion on the shares.

If you bought Apple stock on margin and as a short-term "sure thing" trade last week, and were wondering who to thank for your epic losses (other than yourself), then now you know! But hey, it's all good. Somebody got $2 billion richer. Isn't that all that matters? I'm sure it will all trickle back down to you someday!

We Need to Start Building Trillion Dollar Mills Each Month

April 26, 2016
Chinese company to build $1 billion mill in south Arkansas

Joined by Sun Paper officials to announce the project at the state Capitol, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the project will create 250 jobs and is one of the largest private investments in Arkansas' history.

It stands to reason that if a billion dollar mill can create 250 jobs then a trillion dollar mill can create 250,000 jobs.

Let's make America great again before the Chinese beat us to it.

As an added bonus, think how cheap toilet paper will be once the markets are flooded with trillions upon trillions of tons of excess paper! Woohoo!

China's Current Factory Workers Could Use Some Advice from America's Former Factory Workers

April 26, 2016
China is Building a Robot Army of Model Workers

The results of this effort will be felt globally. Almost a quarter of the world’s products are made in China today. If China can use robots and other advanced technologies to retool types of production never before automated, that might turn the country, now the world’s sweatshop, into a hub of high-tech innovation. Less clear, however, is how that would affect the millions of workers recruited to China’s booming factories.

Could we get some former American factory workers to chime in here?

How much better did your life become when your job was outsourced to China? What did you do with all that free time? Was there a lot of vacationing to the most exotic beaches around the world? Did you travel there on your own private yacht or did you jet set it in first class? Did the severance checks make you rich beyond all measure? Were there any special trophies or medals given to you on your last day for all of your hard work? Or did they just give you the customary gold watch and a golden parachute to match?

Do tell! Millions of Chinese factory workers need to know what will happen to them when their jobs are replaced by robots! Make it perfectly clear how much better their lives will be!

What? Too much sarcasm? Oh, I doubt that very much. It's Tuesday. That means it's double sarcasm day. Woohoo!

Question of the Day

April 18, 2016
How much could the return of factory jobs add up to?

Two?

A few years ago, Hiawatha Rubber, a small precision manufacturer outside Minneapolis, enjoyed some employment gains tied to reshoring. Howard Hauser, vice president of operations, said some of the firm’s customers suffered quality issues with Asian suppliers and handed the work to Hiawatha instead.

“We did bring a couple jobs back, but that kind of stopped then. That trend has not continued,” he said. “So at this point I would look back at that and say that was a bit of a fluke.”

Two! Woohoo! I knew it! What do I win?

Hello? Damn. I think it was a rhetorical question. Sigh.

Our Strong and Resilient Economy

April 22, 2016
The New York Times: U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

Dr. Alex Crosby, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he had studied the association between economic downturns and suicide going back to the 1920s and found that suicide was highest when the economy was weak.

I know what you must be thinking. If suicide rates are highest when the economy is weakest, and suicide rates are currently surging to a 30-year high, then the title of my post must be either sarcastic or just plain wrong.

Well, there's more to the story.

But other experts pointed out that the unemployment rate had been declining in the latter period of the study, and questioned how important the economy was to suicide.

Yeah, I'm siding with these nameless other experts. The unemployment rate is proof that the economy is strong. Nothing else matters. Somebody needs to send Janet Yellen a memo letting her know just how strong it is. She needs to know that it is safe to raise the fed funds rate to no less than 4%. And while she is at it, she should feel confident in unwinding all those trillions in treasury bond purchases. Our strong and resilient heavily outsourced debt-ridden service economy can certainly handle it.

And while we are on this "other experts" topic, there is something on my mind that really bothers me. Many experts believe that the earth is spherical. There are other experts who believe that the earth is flat though. It is unfortunate that we may never truly know who is actually right. I gotta tell you. My property seems pretty flat. Just sayin'.

Don't even get me started on those experts who believe the earth is more than 6,000 years old. That's just crazy talk. I have lived a long time. I can't imagine anything lasting billions of years. Granted, I may be a bit biased. Much of my stuff is made in China.

Who am I kidding? You caught me spewing sarcasm again. Guilty as charged.

Quote of the Day

April 20, 2016
CNBC: Young homebuyers cringe on credit scores

"With rents steadily rising and average fixed rates well below 4 percent, qualified first-time buyers should be more active participants than what they are right now," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

If you can't trust the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors to give you an accurate scoop on the housing market and tell you what you should be actively doing, then who can you trust?

I mean, really. There's never been a better time to own your own home.

1. Lock in that home equity before the next earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood, and/or termite invasion strikes. What's the worst that could happen?

2. They just aren't making any more land (other than by building high-rise condominiums, doubling the land with each doubled floor).

3. Buy now or be priced out forever. In other words, buy now before the next economic downturn hits and the layoffs begin again. Do you know how hard it is to borrow money to buy a house while unemployed? I mean now, of course. I'm not talking 2005, when fogging a mirror was the only qualification needed.

Some might argue that many qualified first-time buyers should rent. Not me. Oh, sure. I did. I thought it would be better to concentrate on my career rather than the mowing and the weeding. That was just a crazy period in my life though. I moved from job to job as the layoffs appeared. Didn't want to be anchored to a house.

Today's younger workers don't have to concern themselves with that. When you are hired on by a large multinational corporation, you are their employee for life. I'm talking the ultimate in job security. No moving will ever be necessary. Just kick back, do the minimum necessary, and then enjoy that fat pension later in life. Plant yourself I say.

Uh, oh. Broke the sarcasm meter. I should have bought one made in the USA using hard-working American factory robots instead of buying a cheaper Chinese model using hard-working Chinese factory robots. My bad.

Quote of the Day

October 15, 2015
US dethroned as world's billionaire capital

Released Thursday, the report found China produced nearly five billionaires a week during the year ended Aug. 14.

That's all fine and dandy, but what is the morally empty Chinese billionaire to physically empty newly constructed Chinese city ratio? Now that's a statistic I would love to know, lol. Sigh.

Global wealth inequality, baby. That's what I'm talking about.