Denninger addresses some of the PPI specifics.
This is not really news to anyone who has been to the grocery store. I do appreciate the fact that coffee prices have relaxed a little to allow me to restock. A lot of the produce is simply untouchable. Part of that was the drought these last couple of seasons, but the dollar collapse along with increased fuel costs have been the major factors.
I do not see how some folks are getting by. My daughter is essentially living paycheck-to-paycheck by intense coupon-clipping. She also has the advantage of getting her 3-year-old's daycare provided in exchange for some accounting work. My son and his wife are both working full-time and barely getting by. We have been able to help out a little, but the pressure is on many, many families out there.
Where the squeeze is more intense -- Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Portugal, for example, we are seeing signs of unrest and desperation.
The current minimum wage discussion is a union-backed ploy which will result in higher prices and, most likely, higher unemployment.
Monty Pelerin ponders the innate stupidity of the masses.
Sultan Knish reminds us that our family should be our safety net. You might want to be nice to the kids and the spouse, just in case.
My daughter and her husband are just getting by. Both college educated (English UVA, History W&M). They both have jobs that don't need a college degree but they have jobs. They can't afford kids or a house and drive cheap used cars. I suspect they may end up on our place someday helping us raise food. (Actually, that's not such a bad scenario.) But are they starting off their adult lives with a bright and rosy future? Nope.
ReplyDeleteIt's not going to be the way our generation thought of bright and rosy, but, depending on how we handle things in the next few years, it may better in some ways. By the way, I think English and History are good degrees -- not that you will necessarily find jobs in those areas -- but they are solid foundations. My first boss paid no attention to what my major was, he just looked at where I'd gone to school and my GPA. He decided I could think and write reports and gave me a job.
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