Day: February 6, 2024

Closing Thought–06Feb24

I am one of those un-American people for I do not have any credit debt…..no cards……and an article I read tells the tale of the credit ‘crunch’…..

While the US economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years. Experts worry that members of these groups—mostly lower- and middle-income Americans, who tend to be renters—are falling behind on their debts and could face further deterioration of their financial health in the year ahead, particularly those who have recently resumed paying off student loans. Some key stats, per the AP:

  • Americans held more than $1.05 trillion on their credit cards in the third quarter of 2023, a record, and a figure certain to grow once the fourth-quarter data is released by FDIC next month.
  • A report from the credit rating company Moody’s showed that credit card delinquency rates and charge-off rates, or the percent of loans that a bank believes will never be repaid, are now well above their 2019 levels and are expected to keep climbing.
  • These worrisome metrics coincide with the average interest rate on a bank credit card of roughly 21.5%, the highest it’s been since the Federal Reserve started tracking the data in 1994.
  • “Overall, the consumer is credit healthy, said Silvio Tavares, president and CEO of VantageScore, one of the country’s two major credit scoring systems. However, the reality is that there are starting to be some significant signs of stress. Most analyses of Americans’ financial health tend to tell a tale of two consumers. On one side are the roughly two-thirds of Americans who own their homes and those who’ve invested in the stock market and done substantially well. But for the rest of America, those who have not benefited from the housing and stock markets, things are looking rough. “They’ve been hit very hard by inflation,” said Warren Kornfeld of Moody’s.

Read the full story.

(NO one will read the full story but it is there for those with an inquisitive mind)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Political Elites Are Sweating

College of Political Knowledge

2024 Election Series

I know….I know….it is early and all this may not matter….but what if it does matter?

The anti-vaxxer, RFK, Jr, is considering running as a Libertarian and if he does the political elites of both parties are beginning to take notice after being dismissive of his possible candidacy.

While many “experts” still dismiss the possibility of an independent or third-party candidate winning the election, there seems to be a bit more hand-wringing and whistling past the graveyard amongst both Democratic and Republican operatives. Most especially as there is now a possibility that Kennedy may run on the Libertarian Party ticket.

Outlined on this site earlier this week in a piece titled “RFK Jr.’s possible Libertarian bid rankles Democrats,” that possibility is duly noted. As is the growing fear of certain Democratic operatives. And trust me, it is not just Democrats who are viewing that possibility with a great deal of nervousness. It is Republicans as well.

The main reason being — as spelled out in the piece — that by becoming the standard-bearer for the Libertarian Party, Kennedy would be significantly more likely to get on state ballots, including key battleground states.

Democratic strategist Doug Gordon said, “Hijacking the Libertarian Party ballot line won’t change his odds of winning the presidency, which he has no chance at. But it does increase the odds he could play spoiler and hand the keys to the White House back to Trump.”

To paraphrase Hamlet, “Methinks the strategist doth protest too much.”

Democratic and Republican elites fear RFK Jr.’s growing path to victory

I know all you self-styled independents do not want to hear that a third party is becoming strong enough to challenge the idiots in the two parties….but there it is.

There is still a long way to go before we have the dash for the finish line in 2024….but now is the perfect time to look at candidates and possible candidates for you support.

Personally I have a problem with these anti-vaxxers and would never vote for someone so callous….it would do nothing to improve the plight of the people of this country.

But that is just me.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”