Tag Archives: economy

Politicians MUST Be Intelligent

Yes. Here’s an image of a young male to represent an intelligent US politician. That’s Ai folks. Ai chose that. So if you want to get upset, figure that one out. And forgive me for using intelligent and politician in the same sentence. OH OKAY, that’s low hanging fruit. I couldn’t help myself. But think about where we are and the current administration, for context. If you have operating gray matter, you may get a better understanding of our world. And you may understand that it doesn’t REALLY matter who the leader is given the challenges, along with the likelihood of a qualified leader; however, if the leader has intelligence, our chances of survival in the short term are better.

As an aside, let me just say that the less intelligent now have a lot of access to nukes, so there’s that.

For personal input, my government leaders can wear plush, lime green dinosaur costumes to work, as long as they are highly intelligent, able to apply that intelligence successfully for the good of the country, and as long as they don’t kill me and my fellow Americans. And I’d prefer that this person in the dinosaur suit keep in MIND that other government leaders will think they are an IDIOT when they see that behavior, which will RUIN our position of power in negotiating. So leave the freaking dinosaur suit at home while in meetings or while on camera. How you FEEL about YOURSELF does not matter. How others view you is CRITICAL on the world stage. Don’t get me started on the White House as a nursing home. And by the way, how others view you is critical in all of life. So GROW UP, get out of egocentricity and recognize that you are one of 8 BILLION people on earth. It’s not all about you.

And then there’s the statistic that says politics attracts psychopaths. Hahaha. I like to keep you on your toes. I swear I’m laughing out loud right now. We’re so screwed.

But about psychopaths…keeping a dying person alive and teaching him how to walk on his toes so he won’t topple over is just wrong. Remember cameras? Remember how other world leaders view us as it relates to our position of power? Yeah. Psychopaths couldn’t care less. Their focus is and always will be inward. Where does that leave the populous? Well, poorer than the politician, for sure.

I always have YouTube on in the morning while I have coffee, and always choose non-fiction to watch…if there is such a thing anymore. THIS morning, I selected a documentary about Chinese youth. I’m a fan. But, what an eye-opening documentary this one was. And as always, it got me thinking. Come with me on these many rabbit trails, will you?

I got a glimpse of what it is like for Chinese youth today, working hard to be smart, to get that degree, and to rush out into the work force, where the likelihood of finding a job after all of that work, is heartbreakingly low, statistically insignificant (if you don’t know that term, look it up). Hence the reason many of them have decided to ‘lay down’ or ‘let it rot’. So sad, and understandable. I also learned that their leader blocking their access to actual employment numbers, isn’t helping. That’s censorship and it’s coming home to roost over there too. Why? Because the young people are actually being shut out of the work force! They already know! News flash: experience trumps propaganda. I can now better understand why I see so many Chinese people here, working. Having jobs. I get it. America, the land of opportunity. But how long can that last?

I went for the numbers, went for math, which cannot lie. And okay, I looked at America, because, uh, this is where I live. For fact checkers and for giving credit where credit is due, I Googled EVERYTHING. Why? Because it’s at my fingertips and I don’t own a library of Congress, and this is a blog post, not an application for a Nobel Peace Prize. But you can also Google. Or ride your bicycle to the library. Or walk, walking is good too. And, do I have to say this? Numbers change. Babies are born, people die, you get the idea.

In the US, we have about 341,814,420. Of that number there are about 9,570,080 are looking for jobs. That’s all working age from 15-65. PRIME working age is supposedly 25-54. That’s a joke. I started working in the single digits of age and am STILL working. That 54 number needs to be higher. Not sure about the 25 now.

According to newly released Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, about 20% of Americans over age 65 — a total of 10.6 million people (10,600,000) — are either working or looking for work. See what I mean?

How many of us Americans are looking for a job and can’t find one? That’s 7,100,000.

How many actual jobs are out there? Well that’s 7,700,000. That means jobs not filled. This is why it takes so long to even FIND a job, if you’re looking.

And how many Americans are not in a job and not LOOKING for a job? That’s 64,944,739. Go into the reasons people are not looking? Women, you won’t like THAT statistic. You occupy the largest percentage of that group. Some of the stated reasons are good ones, like military, school or caregiving, but let’s face it: “I’m a lazy parasite” was not one of the choices on the form. COME ON, you know they’re out there.

So. It makes a difference if you see the actual numbers as opposed to a percentage, which always looks small. And given these numbers you can see how the recent migration numbers will ultimately effect us.

Now, let’s look at how we can fix this crap. Take a deep breath. I’m laughing again. I can see a LITTLE bit of what the government keeps doing to us. It’s like being on that amusement park ship ride, the one that is just a giant swing. It goes WAY up on one side, the drops down to the bottom before going WAY up on the other side. Whoooooaaaaa. And sometimes you get puked on by the ones who are above you on that part of the ride. Hahaha. Sorry, that’s our government, trying to work with these big numbers.

You can create jobs by lowering interest rates OR expanding money supply. If you want to make your lobbyists happy, you create money (we’ve seen that, right?) They call it a ‘stimulus’. Holy cow. If you focus on the PEOPLE, you lower rates. If you do either of those things, you create a surge in demand for goods and services. More jobs, right? But wait, there’s MORE.

If you DO either of those things, you hurt the actual value of money (also known as inflation). Purchasing power decreases! Oops. And prices rise. Well there go those jobs you just created, but man does that number look good in MSM (main stream media) for that 15 minutes. Are you getting a glimpse of how we’re on that ship ride after all? Hahaha. We’re so screwed.

If you look at changing the population demographic, well there’s another quagmire. What if you make the over 65 group sit down and get out of the workforce? Well, some would say that the older ones fill the jobs the “lazy parasites” won’t do. OR, retirees cannot afford to stay home, because…inflation, interest rates, print money…you see? AND according to stats, older folks are still fit and able to work.

What if we stop reproducing ourselves? I’m a fan of that. But…that’s what China did and then there were not enough working people to pay into the government programs. Hmmm. There were a lot of old folks in China who were on our equivalent of Social Security. That was a disaster, which caused the reversal of the ‘one child only’ law over there. You have to have youth in jobs to support things like welfare, medicare, etc. Yeah, even in the US. But you can see why Social Security is targeted every single election, right? And yet we bring in tens of millions of welfare recipients into the US. Does that make any sense to you? Because I’m trying to figure out just how STUPID politicians are. I keep digging and digging and can’t get to the bottom. The answer is, “Nope, there’s more stupidity to come. Keep digging!”

Good grief, do you see how convoluted this crap gets? Makes me wonder about that flu that took out so many old folks. Definitely not laughing.

So. Statistics. Well, you say, all the jobs have gone to China! Think about it. The percentages remain pretty ‘static’ for a long time. So if you send more jobs but people keep reproducing themselves, NOTHING CHANGES. Ugh.

What if more people have college degrees then? Let’s make them an entitlement. Everybody gets one, like a ‘participation trophy’. That way, there’s no chance for discrimination. Well, you have just killed the value of a diploma. Like inflation. See how it all ties together? So now we have MILLIONS of people waving around their diploma who can’t SPELL, don’t know the plural form of words, you know, the ones I yell at on my TV!

Beware, these will be your government leaders soon. Crap. OUR government leaders.

Let me make you laugh again. This is a quote: It’s impossible to definitively say how many people with blue hair are currently looking for a job because there’s no reliable data tracking hair color alongside job search status, but the number is likely very small relative to the overall job seeker population as blue hair is considered a non-standard appearance that might be discouraged in certain workplaces.

That’s your Ai again, folks.

This goes back to the stats on recent college grads who are getting fired after less than 6 months in a job. It ties in together. How others view us matters more than many would like to acknowledge.

Again with the appearance thing. And can I just say? I like the pale pinks and pale lavender hues and even thought about doing a small version of it once. And the burgundy tones in black hair are lovely. But if you go blue or green? You narrow your choices unless you are brilliant. (see paragraph 3)

Tatoos? Well statistics say that they are more accepted in the workplace and don’t overly inhibit your chances to be hired. There are your choices folks. LOL.

See, all of this started with a documentary. The mind of the left brain dominant.

Have a wonderful 2025! Hope springs eternal. Hahaha.

Real Estate in Uncertain Financial Times

There’s always something to make us go “hmmmm”.  These days, watching the news makes me hide in my closet.  This is going up, this is going down, debt ceiling is being raised beyond sight, no it’s not, yes it is.  OMG America is running out of food, building supplies, clothes are getting so thin you can see through them because fabric is so expensive (that’s funny, isn’t it?).  Stock market is going up, it’s going down, buy, sell.  Interest rates are going up….are they?  Yesterday this house was active, now it’s pending.  Why did the price go up?  Are they really stabilizing?? I thought I saw some go DOWN in price.  I can’t keep up.

So let’s just assume we are going into uncharted territory yet AGAIN, and put on our thinking caps.  Why?Because there’s not a doggone thing we can do about the financial ‘climate’, but we can absolutely navigate it.  Listen, I have stocks, and I’m not selling.  I’m buying, in fact.  But I do look at analysts’ reports as a guide.  These reports are educated guesses, right?  But there are a couple I trust and they are my true north on the rare occasions my charts don’t guide me exclusively.  Yep, I’m a chart person.  Don’t really need to know what the  stock is; I just look at the chart and go from there.  It works, too.

But REAL ESTATE, I sigh.  Okay there are some charts you can use, a lot of them in fact.  But listen, these days you also HAVE TO HAVE A STRATEGY, a strong one.  It becomes more and  more complicated as the weeks go by, and you MUST have an agent who understands ALL of the moving parts and how they fit together or bump against each other; and your agent HAS TO KNOW how to maximize your financial asset goals in light of these influences.  In other words, better grab some experience, folks; this is serious business.  And you’d better put on the big person (can’t say girl anymore) panties and learn how to handle some risk.  That’s just plain fact.  If you don’t have the stomach for it, then wait it out.  But waiting it out?  The real estate train is going to leave you in dust and diesel fumes, ladies and gentlemen.  You get the point.

So your agent should ask you: “What is your financial strategy?”  Now listen, we are not accountants, but if your goal is to buy a cheap house and flip it, that’s WAY different than finding the most house you can buy so you can stay there until you die.  There was probably a better way to say that, but you get the idea.  Still, and regardless, your agent SHOULD KNOW what you really aim for financially, with respect to this real estate transaction.  And by the way, a good agent can give you some good recommendations for lenders BASED on these goals.  It’s a good hand-off between strategists and guess what?  You need that.  It’s called experience and depth of bench in the career.  Ya gotta have connections.

The thing about uncertainty financially is that we are, I believe, at a critical point in real estate (oh yes, AGAIN).  If you are trying to buy and can’t find your price point house, then I strongly recommend adjusting your ‘requirements’ or your ‘dreams’.  Why?  Because there isn’t time for a stroll through the homes for sale. Remember the dust and diesel fumes?   I think we may soon see some inflationary effects, and that will effect your interest rate, your price point, whether or not you have a screened porch AND a patio and fire pit…you get the idea.  Don’t ever forget that real estate, now more than ever, is in flux.  Don’t nail down ANYTHING.  Keep your options and your mind open.  Every day is the time to review your strategy to make sure it still make sense.  Your agent should be driving that effort, by the way.  And if this makes you feel better about ‘flux’, almost ALL buyers end up with a house that was NOTHING like what they first tell us to search for.  NOTHING.  The best clients actually realize and laugh about that once they find their home.

I have always worked 24/7, and that’s really a good thing for you.  I wake up at 3 am, thinking about your house.  Really, I do.  And IF you have been straight with me about your strategy and your financial goals, then I had BETTER be thinking about your transaction 24/7.  It’s that complicated.  If we viewed real estate transactions BEFORE as a train running on the rails, rumbling along, now, it’s a bullet train and the cars are bumping together as they fly down the tracks.  People are using your due diligence money as THEIR due diligence on the home they want to buy while you buy THEIRS.  So if one falls through…I can’t bear to think about it.  The housing shortage rages on; therefore, so does desperation among would-be buyers.  This doesn’t have to spell disaster; it just means your agent has more and more COMPLICATED work to do.  Remember when I wrote about creative problem solving?  Well it’s not just a good idea anymore.  It is MANDATORY.

And ‘thinking outside the box’ is not the same thing as creative problem solving, folks.  Creative problem solving involves integration of your STRATEGY into the process, and you must have one.  If you talk to an agent who never says ‘strategy’, RUN.  Or, take 10 grand out of your bank and throw it in the fire.  Same result either way.  Agents have to UNDERSTAND the world of transactions well enough to navigate you through the rapids, because that’s how it feels.  And it feels like that because that’s how it IS.

I describe it as being like riding a tricycle up on one wheel.  Now, it’s like riding a tricycle up on one wheel REALLY FAST.  But the moment all three wheels are on the ground at once?  It feels great.

So, in this uncertain economy, choose a wise and nimble agent who understands how to move quickly when things change and will TALK you through the initial pathway (it’ll change many times), be sure that agent knows what she’s talking about, and for goodness sake do these four things: 1) Choose your agent with care and intellect (not emotion); 2) Have a deep conversation about strategy and get that understanding well into your heart and mind; and 3) Put on those big person panties I talked about because you must expect some stress and be able to handle it; and 4) Do NOT ask your agent to reduce her fee for you, because you have NO IDEA of the value you are getting.  None.