augustus

Focusing on dick & ass

I'll answer:  worse off than I was in January 2020.  After my mortgage, utilities, insurance, petroleum, and food, I have less to spend on recreation and investing than I did in January 2020.  Great question!  It really made it easy for me to put in perspective.
From 2003-2023, I ate two meals per day at restaurants, including a visit to Red Lobster about once each quarter.  Since 2023, I just don't have the money left in my paycheck to eat out, despite a promotion and pay raise last year.  I now eat a can of soup for dinner and a sandwich for lunch every day, because my "fixed" expenses just rose way too much to afford eating out as part of my daily routine.  My last visit to Red Lobster was in 2022.  I've had to cut back on hiring, now limited to only when I travel.

United States Real Per Capita Personal Income:
Annual Percent Change, 1959-2023.......
 
 

Incorrect!  REAL disposal income (adjusted for inflation) is down and even worse than the above graph shows, as the inflation rate is officially understated.  It's all over the news.
 
United States | Per Capita Personal Income Trends over 1958-2023 (reaproject.org)
 

The late founder of Red Lobster refused to obey Jim Crow laws, achieving success & a special place in history among Black Americans.   In 1938, Bill Darden, founder of Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants, opened The Green Frog with the tagline ”service with a hop.” 
He allowed his Black and white customers to sit where they wanted. So technically, as an outspoken public ally, he risked being lynched. But he survived and his business was profitable and lucrative. 
In 1968, Darden, who used his profits from the Green Frog to invest in Florida-based chain restaurants and Howard Johnson properties, opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida. It was so popular that one month later he had to open another one to keep up with the demand. As Darden’s restaurant enterprise grew, its commitment to being a leader in diversity by mirroring its labor pool with the cultural fabric of the local community became clear.

Reb Lobster filed for bankruptcy today, May 19, 2024.   Sad.

AI will crash and burn because it can't be controlled, predicted, or reliably safeguarded and will ultimately be curtailed as a national security threat.  Remember Skynet?  The stock market is on very shaky ground.  I don’t think this will end well.  Buy consumer staples and energy stocks, which have reasonable p/e's and good dividends.  

As my father once said to me when I asked for a loan, "Son, if the bank doesn’t think you’re a good risk, why the fuck should I?"
He had a point and I learned a lesson.
Whenever someone asks me for a loan, I either say "no" or I give them the money and never expect it back. I will not ask nor hint to be repaid. I will however, never make another "loan" until the first one is repaid. 
So far that has worked for me. I’m not an ass about helping others. But I’m also not a sucker. And in general our friendships have remained intact. Whether or not they repaid me.

@Rick M he doesn't have the same feelings for you, as you do for him.  It is what it is. Please don't extend him money again.  

Then the media and government reports that "Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, logged their lowest increase since April 2021".... So the measure of inflation excludes food and energy (and a lot of other things)  The two items that impact consumers most.  Any wonder why the public says "BS".  

I don't know where you live, but I live in NYC and that is not my experience. Yes, prices are up but not nearly that much.  Maybe I am just lucky? Highest price increase in my basket has been the cost of lube! It's outrageous! 🤭

Test is not entirely accurate. CPI does include renters insurance and home insurance but excludes life insurance. An argument can be made that insurance cost is over represented since the cost of insurance is calculated by surveying insurance providers in each area (basically equal weighting of both high and low insurance rates from all providers) while in real life consumers tend to be skewed to providers with lower insurance cost.  🤓
#MastersInEconomics

Okay. Stop. Now you are just confusing everybody with jibber jabber. In the USA we use Consumer Price Index (primary) and Personal Consumption Expenditure (secondary) to measure inflation. We do NOT use core price indexing to measure inflation...at all. 

You have no "Master's of Economics".  The "core" numbers are always cited by the Fed, among others, in their decision making.  There are several measures of the inflation rate and some don't include food and energy. Don't argue with me.  The gibberish is yours.

Malinformation and complete false info is being peddled.  Inflation boosts the fortunes of the top quintile of US earners and kills the living standards of the other 80%.  The notion no one would ever want prices to go back down (the new talking point), is so insulting to those of lesser means, it is shocking anyone, would actually be so tone death, as to voice it.  Never, in the history of the US, have the powers that be been so solely focused on aid to the well-educated and well heeled, at the expense of all other Americans.

Looks like an invitation to come eat! 😜

Malinformation and complete false info is being peddled.  Inflation boosts the fortunes of the top quintile of US earners and kills the living standards of the other 80%.  The notion no one would ever want prices to go back down (the new talking point), is so insulting to those of lesser means, it is shocking anyone, would actually be so tone death, as to voice it.  Never, in the history of the US, have the powers that be been so solely focused on aid to the well-educated and well heeled, at the expense of all other Americans.