Economics Corner with Paul Krugman and Winston’s Mom

by | Apr 4, 2022 | Economy | 193 comments

What?  Like you clowns weren’t going to just post your own links. TPTB gave me editing access so I’m taking over this fucking place and ruling it like the shrieking harpy I am.

Bitches!

Here’s a bit of an oldie, but a goodie.  Sort of like me.

Rising prices will get worse before they get better. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the prices of oil, wheat and other commodities to soar. Official measures of the cost of shelter don’t yet fully reflect last year’s surge in the cost of newly rented apartments. So there’s still a lot of inflation in the pipeline.

The Federal Reserve, however, believes that high inflation will be a temporary phenomenon. Furthermore, the Fed believes that it can bring inflation down relatively painlessly, that it can achieve a so-called soft landing.

But doesn’t this fly in the face of history? After all, the last time America had to bring high inflation under control, during the 1980s, the cost was immense. The unemployment rate rose to 10.8 percent and didn’t get back to 1979 levels until 1987. Are there good reasons to believe that this time is different?

Because Yellen was dogpilled in the 90’s by a Shit Zoo, and Powell is a fucking idiot?

There are. The landing probably won’t be as soft as the Fed envisions, but this time disinflation shouldn’t, or needn’t, be an extremely painful process.

To see why, we need to look at history more closely and appreciate the important differences between the last big inflation and our current situation.

Forty years ago, as many economists will tell you, inflation was entrenched in the economy. That is, businesses, workers and consumers were making decisions based on the belief that high inflation would continue for many years to come.

Were they actually saying that, or were they pretending it didn’t exist like they are doing today?  Because it taken a year to go from if you were worried about inflation you’d be on board with the rampant spending plans. Now we see Nobel Laureates writing columns in the New York Times asking, “just how the fuck are we going to deal with inflation” because the partisan hacks he’s simping for are going to get their asses reamed.

One way to see this entrenchment is to look at the wage contracts–typically for three years–that unions were negotiating with employers. Even then, most workers weren’t unionized, but these deals are a useful indicator of what was probably happening to wage- and price-setting more generally.

What did those wage deals look like? In 1979, union settlements with large companies that didn’t include a cost-of-living adjustment specified an average wage increase of 10.2 percent in the first year and an annual average of 8.2 percent over the life of the contract. As late as 1981, the United Mine Workers negotiated a contract that would raise wages 11 percent annually over the next several years.

Why were workers demanding, and employers willing to grant, such big pay hikes? Because everyone expected high inflation to persist for a long time. In 1980, the Blue Chip survey of professional forecasters predicted eight percent annual inflation over the next decade. Consumers surveyed by the University of Michigan expected prices to rise by about nine percent annually over the next five to 10 years.

With everyone expecting inflation to continue, workers wanted raises that would keep up with rising prices, and employers were willing to grant those raises because they expected their competitors’ costs to be rising as fast as their own. What this did, in turn, was make inflation self-perpetuating: Everyone was raising prices in anticipation of everyone else raising prices.

So this isn’t happening now, in the last stronghold for workers unions known as government workers?  Maybe that’s a bit too obvious, so how’s about airport workers striking at the behest of a major union?  Then again, Jacobins are just going to Jacobin.

Ending this cycle required an economy so depressed that inflation fell and that workers were compelled to accept major concessions.

Things are very different now. Back then almost everyone expected persistent high inflation; now few people do. Bond markets expect inflation eventually to return to pre-pandemic levels. While consumers expect high inflation over the next year, their longer-term expectations remain anchored at fairly moderate levels. Professional forecasters expect inflation to moderate next year.

This means that we almost surely aren’t experiencing the kind of self-perpetuating inflation that was so hard to end in the 1980s. A lot of recent inflation will subside when oil and food prices stop rising, when the prices of used cars, which rose 41 percent (!) over the past year during the shortage of new cars, come down, and so on.

It wasn’t that hard, the jackasses at the FED just needed to raise interest rates to over 20%.  Better yet just do what the Russians did, and back their currency with something besides faith in the government.

I don’t know if you noticed, nobody with half a brain has any faith in the government.

The big surge in rents also appears to be largely behind us, although the slowdown won’t show up in official numbers for a while. So it probably won’t be necessary to put the economy through an ’80s-style wringer to get inflation down.

You sure about that, shithead?

And for what it’s worth, the Fed’s plan for gradual rate hikes, which has already led to a major rise in mortgage rates, is likely to cause that unfortunately necessary cooling-off, especially combined with the fact that fiscal policy has turned contractionary as the big spending of early 2021 recedes in the rearview mirror.

You sure about that, shithead?

So my message for those intoning dire warnings about the return of ’70s-type stagflation–which some have been itching to do for years–is that they should look at history more carefully. The inflation of 2021-22 looks very different, and much easier to solve, from the inflation of 1979-80.

Right, because anybody pointing out massive government spending of money that doesn’t exist except as numbers in a ledger is the same thing as wanting to go back to the 70’s economy.  What a delightful false dichotomy from credentialed retards.  The truth is, in the 80’s the US had an actual manufacturing base, and actually exported something besides marketable ideas to be built by people in third world countries slightly above slave wages.  Today, about the only thing we export is pork products and petroleum.

This means anyone that wants to protect what remains of their wealth is investing in safe places with value independent of Janet Yellen shitting in a paper sack, and igniting it on Jerome Powell’s doorstep.

About The Author

Winston's Mom

Winston's Mom

Biological mother of Winston.

193 Comments

  1. Sean

    Invest in ammo.

    • EvilSheldon

      Invest in yourself, by shooting ammo.

      If you have a multi-thousand round stockpile but you haven’t been to the range in months, you’re a walking loot drop.

      • Sean

        I need to go shoot my new basic bitch AR for sure.

      • Not Adahn

        First match of the season on Saturday!

  2. MikeS

    Hawt

    • Winston's Mom

      You shut your whore mouth!

    • The Other Kevin

      * fastens seatbelt *

    • Mojeaux

      Our lease is up in October. I am dreading the bump in price once it goes month-to-month.

    • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

      Didn’t Germany nationalize a gas company today as well?

  3. Fourscore

    Just got my property tax assessment. Looks like inflation may be around for awhile. I took a 40% bump in assessed values for next year.
    Unrealized capital appreciation. If Joe puts an income tax on that as well as the increase in property tax no one will ever want to buy my property.
    Anyone looking for property should have bought on the 2022 assessed value. It ain’t pretty today.

    • Fourscore

      I see a teacher’s strike on the horizon

      • Hip Joiner

        I see an Amazon strike on the horizon.

      • robodruid

        I just want to avoid a nuclear strike

  4. B.P.

    “Right, because anybody pointing out massive government spending of money that doesn’t exist except as numbers in a ledger is the same thing as wanting to go back to the 70’s economy. What a delightful false dichotomy from credentialed retards.”

    See also: Either you want the U.S. to get waist-deep in the Ukraine situation, or you love Putin/are regurgitating Russian propaganda/etc.

    • Chafed

      I see you read my back and forth with Hyperion last night.

  5. juris imprudent

    I would think Boeing would still be the star of export of manufactures.

    • Winston's Mom

      Even after the 737-MAXXX scenario?

    • Gustave Lytton

      Net is probably a bit less now that they’re using more global suppliers. And between max and COVID, I’d imagine their numbers recently haven’t been great.

    • Chafed

      The Export – Import Bank thinks so.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Become a Pro-Putin authoritarian?

      /media slant on Orbans victory

      • grrizzly

        The EU should criticize Orban because a Hungarian emergency powers law passed 2 years ago didn’t have a clear maximum duration of the emergency powers. Oh, wait…

      • Compelled Speechless

        You’re probably hearing the black helicopters circling you now having even dared to mention the idea that emergency powers should have limitations. That is first order heresy against the state right there.

    • Winston's Mom

      As it turns out team cuck doesn’t want to win.

    • Compelled Speechless

      Good thing I had to stop listening to The Fifth Column. Matt Welch has become such an arrogantly ignorant asshat. It seemed he was not capable of going a full episode without bringing up Orban even if it had nothing to do with the discussion. I guess it was an outlet for his TDS that somehow continues to grow. I’ll bet he’s going to have a meltdown about this.

      Kmele Foster is still awesome, but he needs to find a new gig away from the Cato/Koch spawn.

  6. Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

    Here’s something weird: caffeine seems to help alleviate a lot of my equilibrium issues. Go figure.

    I hate caffeine, BTW. I guess I need to learn to love it.

    • Winston's Mom

      Alternatively, you could try not rubbing one out in the pool. Other people use it you know.

      • Brochettaward

        I have Firsted many times in the pool. The shower, Other peoples pools and showers.

        I find it calming.

      • Winston's Mom

        Your a sick fuck.

      • Compelled Speechless

        You know your a degenerate when you get called out by Winston’s Mom….

      • juris imprudent

        No professional courtesy for an amateur.

    • Fourscore

      It’s what I wake up for, KK, it’s a health drink.

      Good to hear that you found something that works, could have been just a time thing and now you’re back on a schedule.

    • Ted S.

      Black coffee is proof that God loves us.

    • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

      On a related note, 711 has a self-serve espresso machine that produces a good latte for less than 1/3 the price of Starfucks.

      • Ted S.

        We don’t have 7-11 around here.

        I’m cheap, anyway: I make coffee in my Mr. Coffee and bring it in to work.

      • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

        I’m the type that likes a little coffee with her glass of milk. Though Tulip taught me about using heavy cream in coffee…yuuuuummmm.

      • R.J.

        I like my coffee black and bitter like my heart.

    • Mojeaux

      Helloooooooooooooooooooo Jet Alert!

  7. The Late P Brooks

    “I know. I’ll run to Walmart and grab a few things. I’ve got seventy five bucks in my pocket. That should be plenty.”

    Ninety fucking dollars later, I’m back. American Express; don’t leave home without it. I’m beginning to think just walking in the door of that place puts me in a foul mood. And, the dumb bitch at the cash register HAS to see my drivers license, because carding people in their sixties who want to buy a case of beer is a proven way to fight crime and preserve DEMOCRACY!

    Fuck your mamby pamby “bend over and spread the other cheek” faux stoicism. Fucking stupid pointless bullshit is fucking stupid pointless bullshit. And it pisses me right the fuck off.

    • Brochettaward

      And, the dumb bitch at the cash register HAS to see my drivers license, because carding people in their sixties who want to buy a case of beer is a proven way to fight crime and preserve DEMOCRACY!

      Blame the government agencies who fine businesses for not carding. As stupid as it is, they can and do run sting operations to catch those dumb bitch cashiers not carding and they risk:
      1. Losing their job
      2. Potential prosecution
      3. Large fines to their employer

      • Sensei

        Having been the poor cashier – if I’m going to hassle a business I’ll hassle the management.

        However, if it’s a chain than hassling the local manager isn’t going to do much. Still that’s what he or she is paid for, Not the cashier.

      • rhywun

        Having been the poor cashier

        #metoo

        I got caught in one of those stings. They were pulling this shit thirty years ago. The cashier really has no sensible option other than carding every single customer if they want to keep their job.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Careful Sensei, this mentality is the path to Karening. First you want to speak to the manager to avoid hassling the minimum wage earners. Then you realize you like how powerful it makes you feel to bring the people in charge to their knees. Before you know it, you’re organizing a boycott of an immigrant owned business for not forcing their employees to put their pronouns on their name tags (or for forcing them to wear racist, patriarchy enforcing name tags at all.)

      • juris imprudent

        if I’m going to hassle a business I’ll hassle the management

        Always, always this.

        I know I’ve gotten to the right level when I ask them “can you say yes to me” and get an affirmative; because if they can only say no, they’re doing their job but wasting my time.

      • Gustave Lytton

        That is often official policy now too. Retailers dislike paying large fines or potentially losing their licenses.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        Safeway carded my 90 year old mother last year. The cashier acknowledged that it was absurd, but the cash register wouldn’t allow her to continue the transaction unless she scanned an ID.

      • rhywun

        Big chains don’t operate in my neighborhood, just small regional chains. Nobody cards.

        Even the national drug store chains don’t card – they just press the button that says I was born on 1/1/1900 or whatever.

        They must be paying protection money.

      • Ted S.

        I assume your mom was trying to scam them for the senior discount? 🙂

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        There’s a senior discount? She wouldn’t scam them, but I would.

    • Sean

      With that level of anger, you probably should have gotten whiskey instead of beer.

      • Ted S.

        Vodka is cheaper.

        /substitution effect

      • EvilSheldon

        Yeah, but then you have to drink vodka.

      • Ted S.

        Vodka is good, and you can always add your favorite flavor of schnapps to it.

      • EvilSheldon

        I mean, between vodka and sobriety I’ll take vodka. But anything you can do with vodka, you can do better with gin.

      • MikeS

        Gin and Tang doesn’t sound very good.

      • Ted S.

        Vodka to me has less flavor than gin, and I mean that in a good way. Not that I dislike gin.

        Of course, if you want more evergreen than gin, try retsina, the wine that smells like Pine-Sol.

      • l0b0t

        Oddly, as much as I hate gin, I love retsina.

      • Not Adahn

        You can make a wine IPA?

      • Shpip

        Of course, if you want more evergreen

        Keeping in mind that gin isn’t everyone’s jam, if you want a unique gin that evokes the pine forests of the western US, give St. George’s Terroir a try. It’s a nice change of pace, especially if all you drink are London Dry style.

        Actually, all the St. George gins that I’ve tried are good (haven’t had the aged dry rye yet).

    • Fourscore

      Was 15% added to your tab as a tip or are still using the tip jar by the register?

    • The Other Kevin

      That was me yesterday, to the tune of $130. I had to get multiple things that normally cost $7-$10 like cat litter and softener salt. I also got a small fan. Everything seems to be about 15% more expensive.

      • rhywun

        Today I noticed coffee is through the roof.

        Pretty soon I’m going to have to shop like I was in college again.

        “Middle class was fun!”
        /one of my favorite Roseanne quotes, didn’t think I’d be living it

      • Ted S.

        Yeah, I have to get to Sam’s Club this week.

        Stewart’s has its semiannual ice cream sale this week. All half gallons $3.19, which I’m pretty certain is an increase from the last sale.

      • The Other Kevin

        Sam’s Club? You’re supposed to eat lentils, take the bus, and not buy in bulk!

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Our Saturday Sams trip was $370 and we didn’t exactly splurge on much. Granted, we only go twice a month, but still.

      • Tonio

        “Just be thankful you’re not sitting in a railway station in Ukraine, clutching your cat, wondering if everyone you know is still alive.” /every prog on social media

      • EvilSheldon

        She still has a cat. At least she won’t starve for a couple days…

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        If you don’t have a refrigerator…

      • Chafed

        Let’s talk about all the poor dogs in Shanghai.

      • l0b0t

        Our two local Stop & Shop locations traditionally discount corned beef briskets for St. Pat’s and prime rib for Easter and Christmas. The past 10 years, the brisket is sold for $0.87 per pound and the prime rib for $1.99 per pound. This year, the brisket was $1.99 and they’re not doing the prime rib at all. I’m fully ready to “…spit on my hands, raise the black flag, and start slitting throats.”

    • R C Dean

      So did you refuse to bend over, or did you show your ID?

      Because if you showed your ID, you bent over, at least in your mind, and now you’re pointlessly angry. And even, I might speculate, displacing your anger from yourself (for bending over) to the cashier (for wanting to keep her job).

      You might rethink that rejection of Stoicism, my friend.

    • Don escaped Texas

      dumb bitch is probably following company policy

      which in TN is actually state law so

      fuck you roast in hell Nancy Ron Reagan and all you dogooder Baptist GOP just say no fucks

      the evil comes from the guy next door

    • Raven Nation

      I have this vague recollection that someone sued a store years back when they weren’t carded. The person suing alleged something to do with age discrimination .

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Forty years ago, as many economists will tell you, inflation was entrenched in the economy. That is, businesses, workers and consumers were making decisions based on the belief that high inflation would continue for many years to come.

    They’re working on it.

    • The Other Kevin

      All we have to do is BELIEVE inflation won’t continue, and everything will be fine!

      • Compelled Speechless

        So can I start telling the grocery store that I don’t believe their price increases and that I’ll be paying the old price?

      • Hip Joiner

        Whip Inflation Now!

  9. The Late P Brooks

    Bond markets expect inflation eventually to return to pre-pandemic levels.

    Something something longer than you can remain solvent.

    • Hip Joiner

      Pre-pandemic levels. So, 14.5%?

  10. The Late P Brooks

    fiscal policy has turned contractionary

    Oh, has it, now?

  11. grrizzly

    Why did the US government seize a yacht owned by an oligarch with close ties to Putin in Spain?

    The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a first by the Biden administration under sanctions imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and targeting pricey assets of Russian elites.

    Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the Tango at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat.

    The U.S. Justice Department, which obtained a warrant from a federal judge in Washington, alleges the yacht should be forfeited for violating U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes.

    Why the United States? The yacht is in Spain.

    • Ted S.

      Because fuck you, that’s why.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Spanish law doesn’t allow seizure like that but cooperating with another country’s “legal” process is ok?

    • Gustave Lytton

      These idiot Roperites in Washington are going to be surprised when their own overseas assets are seized in the future or they’re seized to stand trial in a kangaroo court when they’re traveling to some tropical destination.

      • Gustave Lytton

        There’s a lot of “oops we made an innocent mistake” incidents to have a wide swath of the bureaucratic elite in the defenses/state/IC circles finding themselves as indicted war criminals or defending charges of various other alleged crimes.

      • Tonio

        But those ppl carry diplomatic passports, so it’s harder to fuck with them.

        OTOH, the league of extremely wealthy people could certainly do a number on Spain’s economy. Money goes where it’s well-treated.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Those diplomatic passports are only meaningful when everyone accepts the rules. And they’re actively tearing up those rules.

    • Compelled Speechless

      The One World Government is an insane conspiracy theory. Also, The One World Government has given itself permission to see any assets, for any reason, any where it sees fit. Nothing to see here.

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      That yacht must be worth a lot of cash.

      • Tonio

        Yeah, this means that US Marshal Service hires a captain and crew to sail the boat back to the US. IOW, free, private ocean cruise for federal law enforcement.

        “All that champagne? The mess-boys must have pilfered it!!1!”

      • Sean

        It’s all fun and games until the Russian mobsters come looking for their toys.

      • Don escaped Texas

        no. thank. you.

        I have another exit plan

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Reparations for the Maine

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        I remember.

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.

    • The Other Kevin

      I can’t wait until our government does something stupid and someone confiscates Bezos’ superyacht.

      LOL I crack myself up!

    • juris imprudent

      I would really hope there was a letter of marque involved, but probably not.

  12. Hyperion

    Just look at it this way, as long as these illegitimate clowns are running the show, things will continue to get worse, and THAT is one thing that is a certain, undeniable fact. It’s just like only fools are breeding, only fools are voting, well you know, I mean the majority. Democracy is a shit show that only gets stinkier.

    My God, I am so sore all over, and I tripped over a little step stool in the kitchen last night and apparently bruised that part of my foot, not the heel, but one in front directly behind the toes, and I can barely walk. I took a couple of muscle relaxers and now am swilling the hipster juice. And work sucked today, I was just looking forward to 5pm and now it’s close enough.

    • Fourscore

      Bones or tissue?

      • Hyperion

        Bone I think. It was on the hard tile floor and it feels like bone for sure.

  13. The Other Kevin

    Shorter Krugman: Inflation won’t last long, it will probably be over around December, so keep voting Democrat.

    • Sensei

      Unless the Rs take a majority…

    • Hyperion

      Umm, they were just saying a few short years ago that bad inflation cannot happen in the USA. And I’ll repeat what I said then ‘You fucking fools’. These idiots are driving everything right into a fucking ditch, there is nothing it’s not affecting.

      • The Other Kevin

        Krugman usually annoys me, but this time it’s just laughable. He’s pissing into the wind. There is no explaining away inflation, nor the vast array of all the other fuck ups. Everybody sees it, everyone knows these problems aren’t going away, and denying it just makes him sound increasingly stupid.

      • Hyperion

        Sure, they have lots of ways of explaining it ‘Trump, Putin, Global Warming, Covid, etc, etc, etc…’

      • Compelled Speechless

        His function is not to make logical sense or convince anyone of anything. His function is to distribute the talking points to the neo-liberal true believers. The people that really truly think that NYT = Truth. Once the man with the Nobel Prize says it, they know it to be as reliable as gravity.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain

    Fighting for Truth, Justice, and The American Way.

    • Hyperion

      And loot, don’t leave out the important part.

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      A letter of Marque and Reprisal would have been better. Let private businesses have some of the fun.

      • Ownbestenemy

        U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, introduced a bill Monday that would call for President Joe Biden to issue “Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” allowing for private citizens to seize the yachts, planes and property of Russian oligarchs.

        It was at least attempted through Congress to have some sense of legality.

  15. Hyperion

    My lettuce which is doing very well, is suddently afflicted with some sort of spotty thing and it is affecting some leaves. I kept telling myself, buy a fan before you get problems. But did I listen. Well fuck no. I was looking for the perfect fan or something and so never got around to it. But at least there are no bugs. Not sure if I need to just harvest now, toss the bad leaves and start over. But I just ordered one of these which will arive this evening.

    Air Circulation Fan

    If it works, I’m ordering more of them before I plant more stuff. Like I’ve known for years that poor air circulation can cause a lot of problems, especailly when you get a bunch of dense plants up against each other. Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy. But just warning for any inspiring indoor gardener, buy the fucking fan already.

    • Ownbestenemy

      My romaine is rocking it right now, its second generation from when I allowed it to flower the first year. I have one full head of lettuce along with 5 others that are in various stages. Green onion is happy as a clam out here and I am trimming mint on the daily. Celery, spinach, carrots and parsley all starting.

      • Hyperion

        Nice! I plan on collecting seeds from all my plants too, hopefully it adapts to the micro climate it’s in. Plus it saves $$$.

    • MikeS

      A fan is also a good idea for seedlings that will be going outside. Not only for the reasons you talk about, but it helps strengthen them and get them ready for windy days outside.

      • Hyperion

        Yeah, that is another perk to a fan, even if it’s not going outside.

      • Ownbestenemy

        My celery, spinach, carrots and parsley were….planted too soon. We had a weird late frost day(s) and the ground froze. But here they are…sprouting up so I consider them the mightiest

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      I direct sowed a lettuce mix, and they seem to be stalled after germinating. They did the same thing last year, but it’s no less disconcerting to watch them sit there with their baby leaves for a week before getting roots established.

    • Tonio

      Of course they would turn it into a racist thing. Best comment: she needs to let the gays pick her outfits.

      • Hyperion

        Yeah, it looks like instead she’s going with Hillary as her fashion advisor. Never go with Hillary for your fashion designer…

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        That’s brown on brown crime, and we don’t talk about that.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, introduced a bill Monday that would call for President Joe Biden to issue “Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” allowing for private citizens to seize the yachts, planes and property of Russian oligarchs.

    And what happens when a few bullet-riddled American bodies wash up on some foreign beach?

  17. Brochettaward

    If you aren’t Firsting multiple times a day, what are you even living for?

    • Tundra
      • rhywun

        Do let’s.

      • Tundra

        Perfect.

  18. Shpip

    NYC mayor to groomers and allies: come north, we appreciate your kind here.

    Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to get many takers.

    • Hyperion

      LOL, you don’t think so? There’s desparation and then there’s delusional.

      • Fourscore

        That picture makes me think of Kingfish, from the Amos and Andy show. I can still say that, right?

      • l0b0t

        HA! Just this morning I listened to one where The Kingfish found a little bit of money Sapphire had been savingin an old coffee can. He was so excited with his windfall that he rushed over to the drugstore and splurged on a can of mustard and a pound of foot-powder. I love that show; it is the root of pretty much all American sit-coms and should never be forgotten.

      • Hyperion

        Elon should just get on Twitter now and say the most outrageous stuff he can think up, I mean stuff that would make snowflakes melt like in the midday sun in August, just dare them to ban him.

      • Ownbestenemy

        He should lament that he was trying to bring inclusion to the board by being an African American

      • Hyperion

        LOL

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I encourage this effort. Show everybody what you are.

    • Sensei

      Anybody he gets to come with that appeal you should be happy to see go.

      • Hyperion

        I’m sure that all their new neighbors would help pay for them to make that one way trip back there.

    • rhywun

      Oh Eric… don’t play with the big boys. Desantis is going to respond in some way and clean your clock.

      • Hyperion

        That would be racism by the white Hispanic, so argument ended.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    Your tax dollars at work

    In the middle of mountains of paper and millions of unprocessed tax returns, the IRS has said it needs more workers.

    In early March, the agency said it was taking an “all hands on deck” approach to hire 10,000 workers and combat its mounting challenges as tax season swings into full gear.

    The understaffed and underfunded agency is competing with a crowded labor market, a problem many companies say they’re dealing with. In February, about 4.4 million workers quit across the country — the ninth month in a row of nearly record quitting levels.

    ——-

    Labor shortages aren’t a new issue for the IRS: A report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that as of August, the IRS had met only 67% of its staffing goal — onboarding 3,660 workers last year, when it wanted 5,473. Some of the issues the agency faced in hiring included its pay for “low-grade clerical positions,” like mail clerks, the report said.

    “These employees can find similar entry-level positions in private industry for higher pay,” the report added.

    The IRS is also dealing with a few unique problems. Its aging technology — and piles of paper — makes it hard to compete with companies offering remote work, the Journal report said. It’s also dealing with a budget that’s shrank about 23% since 2010, according to the Tax Policy Center. Meanwhile, the agency’s workload has risen by 19% since then, according to Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, who tracks workload by the number of individual returns filed.

    On top of all that remain the stresses of the pandemic, which closed down workplaces across the country and made the agency responsible for doling out stimulus payments and monthly child-tax-credit checks.

    Shawn Gunn, a Kansas City IRS worker, previously told Insider that he and his colleagues were doing their best to get everything done, while contending a lack of basics like staples and carts to move papers around on.

    Overworked and underpaid. The inescapable fate of a public servant.

    • Hyperion

      I have a solution. Flat tax and shut the doors, forever.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        What? Simplify the tax code? You want to deprive Congress of one of it’s biggest sources of influence, the ability to carve out bits of the tax code to favor their donors? What kind of monster are you? Who will think of the lobbyists?

      • Hyperion

        “What kind of monster are you?”

        The shitlord kind who hangs out at Glibs. You know, I mean the worst.

      • juris imprudent

        Worse than Nikki.

      • Hyperion

        But no way near as woke and whiny.

    • Winston's Mom

      Good. Let them die under the weight of millions of paper tax returns.

    • Mojeaux

      a Kansas City IRS worker

      Not gonna lie. I thought about applying, but onsite-only work is a deal-breaker.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I should have had the local Parkinson’s patient fill out my tax returns. *thinks….adds to Rules to being Ungovernable*

    • Ted S.

      They couldn’t use the same carts they had last year?

    • TARDis

      Honestly, I would like it if the IRS would just show up at my door with guns displayed.

      “We noticed that you’re stalling with your annual payment. How about just stroking us a check right now for X-thousand dollars, and we’ll be on our way.”

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Me too.

        *drums fingers waiting for them to cut me a check for a return filed a month ago*

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Tell me about it. My return was filed 6 weeks ago.

        Still waiting for resolution of my 2019 amended return.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    You want to deprive Congress of one of it’s biggest sources of influence, the ability to carve out bits of the tax code to favor their donors?

    Don’t forget the righteous glow derived from social engineering.

  21. robc

    Finding pictures of large rivers without cell towers or bridges or other modern construction is hard.

    • robc

      I have finished editing the words part of Watershed, Part 2, but need to find some appropriate images.

  22. Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

    For the dog lovers: recent rescue Chance joins the pack and veteran Shadow welcomes him with open paws. I have nothing in my eye. Not a thing. ??

    https://youtu.be/7OetZeQKO9o

  23. The Hyperbole

    DAILY QUORDLE ROUNDUP
    #70
    Men’s divison
    Champ(s)
    Grumbletarian 18

    MikeS 21
    db 22
    l0b0t 22
    Sean 22
    kinnath 25
    rhywun 25
    Tundra 25
    Grummun 26
    TARDis 26
    Trshmnstr the terrible 26
    The Hyperbole 26
    Not Adahn 26
    Plisade 26

    Chump(s)
    Ghostpatzer 29

    Women’s Divison
    Champ(s)
    one true athena 23

    Perennial front runner Ghostpatzer is in the doghouse while Mike and I0b0t step up their game but not enough to stop can’t Grumbletarian’s ‘Party House’ juggernaut, one true athena may be unstoppable in the Women’s division.

    • one true athena

      Let’s goooooo, Team Mythical!

    • TARDis

      It’s good to have some company on the back bench.

  24. Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

    For the dog lovers: recent rescue Chance joins the pack and is welcomed by veteran Shadow with open paws. I don’t have anything in my eye. Not a thing. ??

    https://youtu.be/7OetZeQKO9o

    • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

      Oh for fuck’s sake. Wifi keeps dropping on this stupidass tablet

    • Tundra

      I’m dead.

      Chase is a sweet boy. Violet and I could be pals. That GSD with the floppy ear is so goddamn cute.

      Love these – thanks, KK!

  25. Grummun

    I really have no idea where to put cash. Inflation will destroy the value in time. I don’t really understand crypto, so I don’t trust it. It seems like the value depends on a level of technological infrastructure that is free of government interference. Real estate is only valuable in a society that protects property rights. Without that, you own what you can defend. What’s left? Commodities?

    • Ownbestenemy

      That was where we were at. We decided it was going into home improvements that add value to the property. First up is the backyard into a more useable space. Second will be master bathroom and third if we are still alive, kitchen.

      • Don escaped Texas

        I’d add that real estate isn’t one thing any more than “stocks” are. There are billions of parcels and thousands of jurisdictions; you can find value and try to avoid entanglements somewhere.

        The knock on real estate is lack of liquidity, something else that is not uniform across all parcels.

    • Drake

      There some gold- backed cryptos, most of what’s in my small crypto account.

    • Tundra

      I’ve got a bunch of cash from selling the house back in Minne. Still gonna rent for awhile, I think. The market hasn’t adjusted much and I still don’t know what I want.

      My guy is doing fine with preserving the balance, so I’m not freaked out yet.

      Still, I think RE is probably the way to go.

    • Shpip

      A safe(r) play for the risk-averse can be TIPS. You lose liquidity, but you’re probably not going to lose money.

      OTOH, you can follow Warren Buffet’s advice to “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” You can double down on hotshot growth equities like the semiconductor sector, or you can hedge your bets by going into things like insurance, which have actually made money the last six months, as opposed to, well, almost everything else.

    • The Bearded Hobbit

      What’s left? Commodities?

      Firearms.

      Seriously, the price of guns of all types has steadily increased over the years. I am a lousy investor and generally struggle to make any gains from whatever I dump my investment money into. Stocks, bonds, metals, you name it; I have managed to buy high and sell low at whatever I do.

      The difference, I’ve come to discover, is firearms. I grumbled and griped about a GP-100 costing $400. Try to find one today under $800, If I could salvage all of my guns from the bottom of Navajo Lake I could easily double the price that I paid for them.

      • Tundra

        Yes, but as usual, by the time you realize it – it’s too late.

    • The Last American Hero

      Works of art by the scion of a certain Presidential family?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      To repeat what has been said here with some caveats:

      – Real estate (long term only, short term could be quite bumpy, not very liquid)
      – Precious metals (unless the Fed comes to its senses and seriously jacks interest rates, in which case metals will take a nosedive)
      – Commodities (almost guaranteed over the next decade, they’ve been in a decade long slump)
      – Firearms (they keep their value, but can pose liquidity problems)
      – Crypto (Study up)
      – Yourself or your personal business (most of my money goes here since I’m in the business of owning things and renting them out)

      Cash will be trash for a while. And I’m avoiding tech stocks for the time being.

      bullandbearprofits.com provides good advice and education on conservative approaches to maintaining your savings

  26. Drake

    “Russian atrocities” must have been the talking points distributed to the msm today. At the gym ABC and CBS both lead with that story – that looked like bs they swallowed.

    And old Joe talked about a war crimes trial. That would be fun if it included all the players and murders in the 2014 coup and what was happening at the “boi-labs”.

    • Gustave Lytton

      And the apparent ethnic cleansing in the breakaway regions.

    • Ted S.

      “Boi-labs”? They were turning out pool bois?

      • Hyperion

        Ran by Cornpop, he runs some bad bois you know?

      • one true athena

        I mean, if they’re hot, it seems like a decent investment

      • rhywun

        Yeah, that got my attention. ?

  27. Not Adahn

    Lower 40’s dark, damp. Perfect Scotch weather.

  28. Evan from Evansville

    Folk around?