I hope one day I can own something
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I hope one day I can own something
You can always own debt.
[color=-navy]Its actually raining today and no not sprinkling but heavy rain. [/color]
I'd rather not own debt. My only debt currently is my student loans which will hopefully be paid off by the federal government. Not because of Bernie, but because I work in the public sector.
The rain was very nice today. One of my favorite things is to be nice and dry inside and watch the rain through the window.
But there must be some chemical in the rain that causes amnesia, because everyone forgot how to drive.
Happy Friday the 13th
On the few rainy days in this desert that I live in, I do my best to enjoy it. I'll sit and look out into the back patio and remember all the days of rain I've hiked in. Being warm and dry is especially nice when you haven't been.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
I love a good panic.
Was reading an article about the senate wanting to make changes to the sick leave section of the relief bill congress passed. I figured politics as usual. Then I saw this change,
That is incredibly perverted. The very people that put their health at risk to help others and are probably the most likely to be infected, you don't want to insure they get paid sick leave, you want to try and forces them to come to work. My daughter is a critical care nurse and has already said that she has accepted the fact she will get infected but plans on working till she does. I hope that part of the bill is changed, got a feeling it might blow up in their face by angering the very people their depending upon.Quote:
The revised legislation also specifies that employers could exclude health care workers and emergency responders from either paid leave provision, amid fears of staffing shortages among medical providers. The original measure would have given that power only to the Department of Labor.
edit: Dam, just realized I posted this in the wrong thread. :o
It's not totally wrong. It's the post race, so you're entirely on topic.
There is no on topic in post race
Get some nuts
Attachment 175377
Yay! Go nuts!
So our government seems more worried about giving us cash than they are about giving us testing. I told my kid if I die don't call the authorities until they cash my check. lol
I think the cash is a sensible measure to get through the inevitable economic impact that's going to come from this. But, yeah, tests too. Surely.
They can pass out cash far more easily than they can fix all the shortages around tests in this country.
Hopefully, they won't be passing out cash to EVERYBODY. I don't think that I should get it, but I probably will. The people who need it are the ones who are out of work or quarantined. It's probably too hard to target the right people.
The cash isnt enough to really help people. Plus Newsome just stated that the state has a surplus of 21 billion. So then why are they always saying we are broke and need more taxes?
Plus, whats the point of giving cash if we still cant buy toilet paper? lol
Welllll........it IS paper.......Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
23 trillion national debt and yet anytime they want they seem to be able to check their pocket and find an extra trillion. Never have understood how that works.
It works because nobody cares about the deficit.
I'm pretty much a deficit hawk, but I find I kind of have to sit on my hands these days. The deficit is HUGE, but the debt is Treasury bills, which are dirt cheap. The interest rate is so low they're barely worth having, though I have my share, as well. The reason people hold them is because it's the safest stash for cash in the world today. Yeah, the returns are pretty poor, but they're quite reliable, too, so in times of doubt, people pour into US debt. So, with interest rates down around 1%, and people buying hand over fist, it's practically free money for the government. All of us who have treasury bills are the ones loaning them the money, which means lots of Americans, but lots of foreign sources, as well. The world will pay the US bills, even with a puny interest rate, as long as everybody trusts that the US government is good for it.
That's particularly ironic, in this case. After all, there's talk of giving all taxpayers some chunk of money. I don't need it, so what would I do with it if they gave me a check? I'd put it into my rainy day bond fund...which would mean that they'd be going into debt to give me money that I'd use to buy a bit more government debt. That seems very circular.
I hate the debt too. I knew the debt was tied to the bonds but what I don't understand is where did this trillion they're going to give people come from? Was it just sitting in a safety deposit box some where. Is there some type of emergence fund somewhere. Or is it lets fire up the presses and print another trillion?
There is a push for the latter, and it may happen. Printing money is generally thought to push up inflation, and eventually it must, but inflation has been so low for so long that there are plenty of people who think that a bit more inflation would be good. Not too much, but a bit.
If that isn't done, then, yeah, it's pretty much just sitting around in safety deposit boxes. It's a huge number, but compared to the global pool of wealth, it's trivial. Right now, EVERYTHING is selling. Stocks are tanking, but bonds are down, as well, as is gold, oil, and economically significant metals like copper. If everybody is selling, then where's the money going? If people are selling, then somebody is buying. They're just not paying as much. The same number of stocks are out there, you can just buy them for a LOT less than you could a month and a half back. So, if all the big hedges are selling, then there's a whole lot of money that is going out of the market, and it has to go somewhere. Right now, it's going into cash. That's...something unusual, as far as I can tell.
A quick look wasn't able to show me how much money has been pulled out of stocks and bonds, thus far, but I think it's tens of trillions. If that's moving into cash positions, then that's the money that would buy the new bonds the government sells to cover the trillion dollars. Of course, they have to sell bonds that are attractive enough that people holding that money want to buy them, which is why bond interest rates are going up. If people don't want to buy your bonds, you have to offer a higher interest rate to entice them. Considering the trillions of dollars involved, that higher interest can creep up by tenths of a percent at a time, as every tenth of a percent would entice some small percentage to buy, but a small percentage of trillions is still a very large number.
Frankly, I'd be happy to see bond yields increase. I use a bond fund as a rainy day fund because bank accounts offer so very little. Bond funds don't offer all that much, either, especially if the bonds are primarily ultra-safe US treasury products, but every little increase in yield helps.
When it comes to rain, can it possibly wash away the coronavirus in the streets?
Its raining here today. hard too. Will we be clean and released from quarantine? Nope
I wish it would rain here so the folks will stay inside their homes, they are actually outside even while we are supposed to be in home quarantine, I don't know who is supposed to enforce the home quarantine thingy here, it makes me sad that so many are not following the order. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
I am pretty certain that I will get fat staying home, eating all the food and snacks that I have purchased.
What food and snacks? - my supermarkets' shelves are empty :mad:
Shelves are getting filled fast, over here. They're just emptying even faster. Have to shop in the morning to get stuff.
It's been known to happen,Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Attachment 175457
the news had show this weekend how many people were out at the beach, hiking and doing various other social activities. The complete opposite of distancing :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by dee-u
My hiking is pretty much distancing, but there's too much snow in the mountains. When I'm hiking I maintain the required 6 miles of separation from everybody. I expect to exceed that on a hike this summer.
Where did you get those photos of me!?Quote:
Originally Posted by wes4dbt
I am glad to have a government job and be considered essential. Seeing a lot of people laid off from their jobs right now, couldn't imagine. Hopefully these people were smart enough to have a safety net.
Yeah, we've got the same breed of idiots over here. By all accounts Snowdon had it's busiest day in years:rolleyes:Quote:
the news had show this weekend how many people were out at the beach, hiking and doing various other social activities. The complete opposite of distancing
It's shrinking day by day.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
I feel the same way, there are a lot of people here who are only surviving by the day and they are the ones mostly affected by these "lockdown" in our area right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Another day of employment. :) The court system needs to stay open and actually get back to full operations or we will shut down permanently :(
I've been thinking about this, and have to ask: What does the court system have to do with this? I haven't heard them being particularly in trouble, nor particularly involved.
I'd say just another social distancing precaution. You ever been in a jury pool or traffic court?Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
I tried to be in a jury pool, but the lifeguard kicked me out for peeing.
Its social distancing. My program files workers comp cases, liens, petitions etc, with the state electronically. If no one is there processing cases then all work becomes "expired" like proof of services which can derail a case. If our employees cant process cases then we could go out of businessQuote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
Wow. You're potentially collateral damage.
One thing we are learning is how very broad the web of connections are within society.
Think it would be hard to define direct and collateral damage. As you said, a very broad web of connections. The number of different businesses/services that are affect when restaurants/bars/Theaters close could probably be used as a Doctorial Thesis.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
Direct is where you end up in the hospital on a ventilator. Collateral is all the rest.
As for the dissertation, it's probably already been written...many times over. It can likely be written many many more times before any final word is written.
My daughter does computer graphic design work using Apple computers for a small Furniture/Appliance chain ( a large store in the surrounding area) and last week everyone in the department took their work computers home so they could work remotely for social distancing, and then got the notice late last week that they are a non-essential business, so is furloughed this week for an undetermined period of time as the store has been closed because of the executive order.
Her husband does GIS work for the county and I'm assuming his work may also be reduced because in the past they reduce his hours when the county tax revenue doesn't meet expectations. A lot of the county tax revenue depends on the performance of retail in the area, so with so many businesses taking a hit in revenue, it will affect the county's revenue as well.
The ripple effects of this are going to be echoing through the economy for months if not years, even once the virus gets controlled. A whole lot of businesses will not be surviving, which is going to have a complicated result (both good and bad will result). A whole lot of people are going to go through a financial contraction, which will have an almost entirely negative result.
I'm contemplating retirement. This virus doesn't impact my immediate finances, but it certainly introduces some strong uncertainty into my contemplation.
Still, I always look on the weird side of things, and so:
I know what small appliances are (blenders, electric toothbrush, shavers, etc.), but what is small furniture? Perhaps side tables, or maybe footstools. If it's the latter, the store could be called the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, it might be doing about as well, at this point.Quote:
Originally Posted by passel
We're in the odd situation where those who are not hurt financially are still acting like we are hurt financially because we can't spend money even if we wanted to with all the businesses shuttered. I'd be out buying stuff for my garden next week, and the business I'd be going to could likely use the revenue...except that I don't know if they'll even be open.
The recession in 2007 was a cash flow problem on one end. This is a cash flow problem on both ends: You either have a reduction in money coming in, and if you don't have that, you have a reduction in spending. It's all so very strange.
I want a couple donuts
Alright all you Californians, I FINALLY felt an earthquake.
Yesterday evening, a magnitude 6.5 hit a ways north of me. I felt the house shaking, including the floor. At the time, the wind was picking up, and I briefly considered whether it could be wind, but I've been in the house for decades, and seen FAR stronger wind than that. The house doesn't shake at all. The floor REALLY doesn't shake, considering it's a solid slab of concrete with a layer of hardwood on top of it. So...earthquake, plus a few aftershocks.
I've been in a few other quakes, I just happened to be asleep, at the time. In one case, I dreamed that my mother was shaking my bed. Once I got up the next morning, my mother asked if I had felt the quake. I guess I probably had. My bed was a massive, wooden structure lying flat on the floor (not up on legs). I tried shaking it, and realized I couldn't move it at all. So, the dream was probably my response to the quake.
This one was much more clear.
My office building shook briefly also from that quake.
We were closer, I'd say.
Having looked at the epicenter, I realize I was camping there this last summer. It would have been pretty awesome to have been right on top of it when it went.
I could'nt help but post that :D
Attachment 175777
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
Depends, if the ground opens just under your tent ;)
True, but it wasn't that kind of a quake. Had it been right under the tent, it sounds like it would have spun me around.
Depends on how far from the epicenter you were. How far?Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
he he !! as a programmer you still have an alternative to feel the same :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
Attachment 175797
/giphy should be available here.
Seventy to eighty miles.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
Location, i.e. the geology also makes a difference.
On the east cost, for a given magnitude, earthquakes are felt much further away, and any damage is much more widespread.
A relatively less than major earthquake for the west coast, like the magnitude 5.8 earthquake near Richmond, Virginia, we felt quite clearly with a swaying building at work (and we're talking large squat buildings of only two or three floors, not towers) in Upstate New York a little over 300 miles away. And of coarse it was felt even further north, in some of the lower provinces in Canada, where they actually abandoned some buildings to inspect for damage (none found) because of it.
The Post Race has dropped off my first page of CC. That just isn't right.