The Scourge of Inflation.

59.1 million of our friends and neighbors are collecting Social Security.

And some 76% of them rely solely on SS payments for their continued livelyhood.

Imagine the surprise of those who've retired on SS in the past few years to wake up one morning and discover their money is now worth 21% less.

Because their elected Congressweenies have enacted laws during that period that have made them poorer.  They've spent more than we've taken in, resulting in rampant inflation.  Up to 9.1% inflation during the Biden Administration.  The very highest rate of inflation since Jimmuh Carter was screwing up 'Murica.  And maybe even worse than that...

I, The Chuckmeister, am a noted near-Egyptologist, a budding cryptozoologist, a certified gunsmith, an Eagle Scout and an actual graduate economist.  Which means I know all about money and banking and inflation and how we got $38 Trillion Dollars in Federal Debt.  Upon which we are now obligated to pay more than $1,050,000,000,000 in annual interest payments.  That's with a "T."  As in $Trillion.

I might add about here that Trump just signed into law our upcoming Federal Defense Budget, which totals $905,000,000,000.  That's with a "B."

Put simply, we're now paying more in interest on our Federal debt than we are on keeping our fighter jets and submarines, and tanks running, along with the 1.7 million soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines fed, clothed and armed.

All that stated, here are some factoids you might wish to inculcate.  The very first job I had paid me $0.75 cents an hour to sweep out a store after school and on weekends.  The average family income when I was a junior in high school was $5,700 a year.  That was in 1960.

The average family income in 1970, just 10 years later, jumped up to $9,700.  How about 1980?  Average annual family income leapt up to $21,400.  Almost quadruple a decade earlier.  Why?  Because the Federal Gubmint spent too much of our money.*  Actually, they had to borrow from others to spend too much of our money.  Contributing to our Federal Debt.  It started waaay back then.  And hasn't stopped since...

In 2020 the Biden Administration borrowed and spent some $6 Trillion Dollars more than our Country took in.  Even though during that period our income tax receipts totaled more than $4.6 $Trillon.  An all-time record.  

This caused the value of our money to drop like a stone.  And resulting in unheard of inflation.  Resulting in the price of our goods and services to skyrocket.  Rendering the buying power of those 59 million retirees, collecting Social Security, to drop by more than 20% over the coming three years.

The first time I visited McDonalds, I purchased two cheeseburgers, two orders of fries and a vanilla shake.  I got $0.13 cents back out of a dollar.

Now?  That same order would set you back more than $15.00.  That's called inflation.  And it's resulted in our retirees now forced to live on less.  Much less. 

Trump is now endevoring to help increase workers' wages in order to counteract inflation.  But retirees can't do that.  Unless they want to get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter, they have to make do with less.  And their Gubmint did that to them.  It stuck in the knife, and then twisted...  

15% of our population has been shat upon.  Maybe the Gubmint doesn't fear their response.  Maybe the Gubmint just doesn't give a damn about our older folks.  And maybe our Gubmint will do it again, just as soon as those who did it before are back in power.

Now that you know how and when this outrage occurred, vote more wisely in the future.  Your grandpa and grandma are counting on it...

*   The simple definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods and services, resulting in rising prices and decreased buying power.  It's happened before.  It could happen again...

Flying's for the Birds!

There were 44,000 airplanes in the air the day before Thanksgiving.

As opposed to the average of 25,000 on any previous day ending in "y."

And all those airplanes were (are) managed by our antiquated Air Traffic Control system.  With many of it's computers still requiring floppy discs to function.   

So this is how it's supposed to work:  All those airliners are supposedly kept 1,000 verticle and one mile horizontal feet separated.  Supposedly managed by air traffic controllers, which are presently 30% understaffed.    

Aluminum tubes crammed full of pissed off travelers hurtling across the sky at 500 miles per hour.  While barely separated by too-few controllers who are overworked and kept functioning by loads of coffee and who knows what else.

When a car crash occurs there might be one or two killed.  When an airplane crashes there might be 250 killed.  And if you're saying they don't crash all that often, you're uninformed.  There have been more than 50 airliners crash so far this year.  50.  Does this give you confidence?

When I started flying on business several decades ago the planes were all new, they took off half filled, and those flying were all wearing suits and carrying briefcases.  And the stews (what they called themselves) were all 25 and beautiful.  And friendly, if you know what I mean.  

Then the Gubmint got involved.  It decided to deregulate the airlines.  Now?  The planes are all old, they take off with every seat filled, and the stews are all grandmothers.  And the guy on your right weighs 350 pounds and the one on your left has a comfort chicken on his lap.  

We're told that some 93 million of us will be traveling over the Christmas holiday.  With about 6.7% of them traveling by silver tube.  Fighting their way to the airports, fighting their way through the check in process, getting felt up by some 400 pound TSA agent, and then fighting for a seat once they get on the plane.  And then paying extra to bring their baggage, and for their drinks, and for a blanket, and for something to eat.  Treated like cattle.  Worse then cattle!  Like a Greyhound bus in the skies.  And if you've never taken a bus, just take a plane.  It's the same deal.  

Why do we do this to ourselves?  I say if you cannot get there by car, don't go.  If you have to fly to visit grandma, I say move granny into your extra bedroom and save all the time, money and grief.  It takes hours to finally get your size 10 ass into your size 8 seat on Leroy's Airline.  IF you can score that seat.  Odds are you just might find your flight's delayed, or perhaps even canceled.  Too bad, so sad.  They don't care.  You should.

And there's another thing you might consider.  All those overworked airplanes were built by humans.  Union workers who are overworked and, according to them, underpaid.  It's the same deal with cars, except when cars quit working, the result is just an inconvenience.  You pull over to the side of the road and call AAA.  When a plane quits working, it's a fiery crash and bodies are spread everywhere.

I quit flying, even after a million miles in the air, when it stopped being fun.  I decided to no longer subject myself to the awful strain, anxiety, cost and inconvenience.  I decided not to pay to be mistreated.  Expecially when I could fire up old Jessie and drive to my destination at my pace, and on my schedule.  In my comfy bucket seat.  Stopping every hundred miles or so to grab a drink, empty my bladder and stretch my legs.  With nobody, NOBODY telling me what to do and how and when to do it.  I opted for freedom.  FREEDOM!    

You might want to do the same...

       

The Law of Thermodynamics.

"Energy may not be created, nor destroyed."

The Law of Thermodynamics specifies it may, however, be modified, changed or converted.  Such as the chemical energy contained in TNT may be changed materially by lighting its fuse and causing it to explode.    

Or the energy locked up in a lump of coal may be changed by converting it into electricity.  And then converting that electricity into torque in one of Elon's little Teslas.  Get it?

Which brings us to "FAT."

Fat is nothing nore nor less than that extra energy you carry around on your waist.  Which you might convert into jumping jacks.  Or push ups.  Or running from a bear.   

Or pushing the buttons on your remote.  

Buuut, we now learn that a series of drugs called "GLP-1's" created for folks suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, now have a side effect of offering you the opporunity to do away with that extra fat by converting your food into large molecules.  Molecules too large to be absorbed through the lining of your gut.  So that the food you paid too much for will pass straight through to waste.  Causing your waist to shrink.  While causing you severe gastrointestinal discomfort.  And unexpected violent diarrhea.  While at the company Christmas party.

From waist to waste.  Pun intended.

For only the modest retail sum of $1,066 per month for Ozempic, or slightly less for Mounjaro or Zepbound, you can hire this class of drugs to do what eating less and exercizing more could do for you.  

For free.*

In fact, the pounds fall off so fast you could then contend with what's been called "Ozempic feet."  Or "Ozempic butt."  Or "Ozempic ears."  Or even "Ozempic lips and teeth."  Google these terms if you care to learn more about this horror show.

However, since we know you cannot destroy energy, only convert it, I'm wondering what happens to all that fat when you lose it?  We're told that upwards of 15% of the adult population has tried one or more of these drugs.  And about 8% are now on them.  Since we have 266.1 million adults in 'Murica, that means some 20 million of us are now shipping off $Millions to these drug companies in order to lose weight, my question is where does all that weight (energy) go?  Does some poor Chinese farmer gain it?  Does it disappear into the ether?  Does it hide in the bushes waiting to leap onto some unsuspecting jogger as he/she/it passes by?

I think our Congressweenies should conduct a hearing on this problem we didn't even know we had.  Macht schnell.  

What do you think?

*    BTW, the package inserts on these drugs specifies you must eat less and exercize more in order to take full advantage of their benefits.  Eat less and exercize and lose weight.  Or eat less and exercize more for an extra $1,000 a month.  You decide...