Finance, Pensions and the Post Office

I have been having some medical issues for the past couple of months and my doctor recently changed my medications and has assured me I will be better within a few days. As I am feeling better, I will write more.

Let's start with Katrina and what happened in New Orleans. In New Orleans people starved and were not helped, a lot different from what happened when New York and New Jersey had their equally difficult hurricane. On Long Island people complained they didn't have electricity and their food was going bad, in New Orleans they went without water and food. There is a big difference. Why were the two situations treated so differently?

Washington Post - Puerto Rico bonds downgraded to junk levels. Standard and Poors (one of the big four rating agencies) has downgraded Puerto Rico's bonds to junk level, this is one of the same companies who rated sub-prime mortgage derivatives to AAA, who cares what they say, they are liars. Ignore the rating and ask yourself who is going to make money from downgrading Puerto Rico's bonds. The effect of the rating will be to force Puerto Rico to pay more in interest on it's bonds.

Fox News - AP - Missouri attorney general challenges California egg law. Basically, California passed a law that said you could not sell eggs in the state unless the chickens had a certain size cage to live in. Now, I am no animal rights activist and enjoyed some chicken just tonight. I am more than happy to eat chicken and always want the best price I can get. Oddly enough, I also prefer to buy cage free chicken and am willing to pay more for it. Same for the eggs I buy. I love animals and own my dog; but, I don't like to see birds in cages. I think the ability to fly should not be stopped. I might eat a dove if it was all I had; but, I wouldn't cage it just to look at it. My opinion.

The real question regarding this law is whether or not one state can impose it's laws on another. That is the real issue, not the question of how animals are treated. The Constitution said that one state could not restrict interstate commerce against another. The original purpose of this was to prevent states from taxing goods from other states more than they taxed their own goods. Should California, which has the strongest rules regarding pollution in the nation, be allowed to say that you cannot sell products here unless the other state's factories have met the same standards even though their state does require them to?

A different result might be available if California required all egg producers and chicken producers to say on their packaging that they tortured animals to bring the food to them. That would not violate the interstate commerce laws. California is a state and not a nation.

Yahoo - New York Times - Welcome Relief for Homeowners, Then the Tax Bill. If you had your home foreclosed upon then you should read this. I lost my home years ago so it does not effect me for many reasons.

Yahoo - Reuters - U.S. service sector growth, hiring improves in January. This article claims that there has been more hiring. One reason why employment statistics are garbage is very simple. If I am fired, go on unemployment and then get a job the following month. How many people switch jobs each year? Think about it when you consider these numbers. Does it really mean that a new job was created?

Huffington Post - Post Office Banking Could Be the Start of Something Big. Keep an eye on this story. Firstly, I admire the post office and all it has done. It was created by Benjamin Franklin and changed the world and certainly contributed to America becoming what it was. They have not given up on finding ways to keep going and I tip my hat to them. Now, as for their becoming a bank, that is very interesting. They wish to provide banking services to those who don't currently have them. This, while not mentioned, is necessary if we are going to go to an all electronic currency. There has to be a way for the homeless and illegal aliens to have access to currency. Keep an eye on how this plays out.

Ourfuture.org - The Plot Against Our Pensions. If you have a pension or hope to get social security, read the article and understand what is going on.

Finally, Don Rickles is possibly the greatest stand up comic of all times. I have never laughed as hard as I did once when he was doing improvisation. YouTube - David Letterman June 18, 2013 Don Rickles, full interview. One of my favorite comedians is Rodney Dangerfield, always amusing and always scripted. YouTube - Rodney Dangerfield - The Tonight Show.