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Real Disposable Income Plummets Most In 40 Years
We may not know much about "Keynesian economics" (and neither does anyone else: they just plug and pray, literally), but we know one thing: when real disposable personal income drops by 0.2% from a month earlier, and plummets by 2.7% from a year ago, the biggest collapse since the semi-depression in 1974, something is wrong with the US consumer.
And longer-term chart:
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WTF happened? The Bernank and Zero happened, that's WTF.
WTF! This is WTF time all around. The UK is partially flooded as NEVER BEFORE IN RECORDED HISTORY.
WTF?
Plus, the supply side paradigm of consumer bads companies make people spend on shit that was once far away wants, now needs.
I need an iPhone. Like that.
WTF?
Disposable income is for the MyRA, tuppence at a time.
ori
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/the-homo-sexual-oxymoron-dis-...
And these numbers are calculated in 2009 dollars!
So QE was trickling down?
This yet another reason why you should always store a good portion of your savings in high interest savings accounts and risk free US treasuries. The silverbugz who saw their disposable income fall this year are also sitting on huge losses – the last thing they need.
Read about the irresponsible attitude and narcissistic tendencies of one silver bug "Jack Riley" in today’s exclusive article at the Accredited Times:
ACCREDITED INSIGHTS – A DAY INSIDE THE LIFE OF A SILVERBUGHave you ever heard a death rattle before? Do you think it will live up to its name?
Savings?
We don't need no steenking savings!
That's what the fuck savings are for!
To Spend
Tha'ts what bumpers on cars are for. To mash the shit out of driving recklessly in accidents
That's what bankers are for. To not give you your money back
I mean, Let's Get Real People!
BTW, I got a new form to sign and send to the IRS from my accountant. It says that I hereby yada yadda yaddddda do swear that all my shit is real and reported. A whole brand new form
What the Fuck Ever Happened to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980?
Fuckers forgot abouut it didnja?
When you pay your taxes it helps to remember that you are part of the problem.
I am getting ready for next quarter already.
You may not know much about Keynesian economics, but you can learn a lot about it by reading what Keynes himself said about it:
"By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method, they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth. Those to whom the system brings windfalls . . . become 'profiteers', who are the object of the hatred of the bourgeoisie, whom the inflationism has impoverished not less than the proletariat. As the inflation proceeds . . . all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless." From pages 220-233 of The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919), by John Maynard Keynes
http://americandictators.blogspot.com/2014/01/economic-studies-even-you-...
Hence, I refer to our current oppressors as Neo-Keynesians as they threw out his warnings along with the concept of the word "temporary" a long long time ago.
Neo-Keynesians are much much more nefarious!!!
Can anyone remind me what "disposeable income" is? Back in the day when I was a factory slave, my expenses were $360 per week and my after tax income was $380 per week ( I did night shift ). So a 2.7% drop in my wages would have given me a loss of $10.26 thereby dropping my "after expenses" income ( or "profit" ) from $20 to $9.74.
Or does "disposeable" refer to the $20, a 2.7% drop being 54 cents, still leaving me $19.46?
Anything above you living off rat traps, pigeons, dumpsters and a new to you coat every year is 'disposable'. As in you will be disposed of that money. After all, compared to the worlds leader in efficient labor cost, North Korea LLC, you/me/we are way over compensated.
All the Paperwork Reduction Act does is create paperwork. One of the truly dumbest jokes in American government history.
Mr. Bonus,
My silver ounces weigh the same as last year and the year before. No losses.
Sincerely, Xit Sam
You can't sell them for as much as you could last year. Accountants count that as a loss, but for some reason silverbugz think they are invincible and that losses don't count for them.
I understand you're striving hard for sarcasm here, so I'll forgive the innacuracy. But losses are only incurred when/if you sell
Precisely, and when you are preserving your wealth, you are not selling. Personally, I have never had trouble getting someone else to work for PMs or changing them into whatever the fiat du jour happens to be.
Physics, I had a B-day party for my wife a couple years back at one of the local restaurants. Talked to the owner about paying the bill with a roll of Eagles (Ag), he looked at me like I was some kind of Kook! He would've made out like a bandito, as it was at a Mexican restaurant.
By the way, where you at, I'll clean your toilets and do your laundry for Ag!
As an aside, MDB, your refreshing commentary is always appreciated by those here who are really in the know. Thank you.
Shit, I was afraid I wasn't really in the know.
"high interest savings account" - LMFAO!!! If you are suggesting that interest need to rise, then you are correct, why don't you go tell that to Janet Yellen. You are halarious. Yes, we should have high interest savings accounts, unfortunately The Fed has kept interest rates zero-bound for years. No troll like the original troll, nice work MDB.
Welcome back, MDB. I never realized how good we had it with you until Satoshi and Fonestar tried to fill the troll vacuum you left behind.
High interest savings account? your losing your magic touch MDB
MDB is actually a gold bug. (Comedy GOLD, bitchez!)
I have a feeling that the article describes his marriage and "narcissistic" attitude.
He's waiting on a million dollar bonus that will never happen.
MDB:
Savings? What the fuck are savings? Are you new here, boy? High interest savings? Is that when you get 96 cents interest for a year's worth of cashflow but then you have to pay $36 in bank fees? Go back to sleep.
You think the sun only shines when you open your mouth? Get your head out of your arse and you might see things a bit clearer. But stay away from the rest of us. Your shit does stink and we can smell it a mile away.
I know MDB is trolling but no kidding just the same. My very small side business directs electronic payments into an account where they're left alone. Last week I was notified that I wouldn't receive some tax form because my dividends were too low. Almost $3000 had returned less than $2. Wow. Back before the depression, the "terrible" 1% rate on a garden variety savings account would've done ten times better!
On the other hand, less compliance, score!
Think of all the free time you now have from not having to file that 1099, I'm jelous...
The rot started with wages being directly deposited into bank accounts. Suddenly the banks lost their biggest, most important competitor - non participation. Very hard to get paid in cash over here.
What happened to all them security guards that used to deliver the weekly payroll?
It's cool. Some guy on CNBC said that flexible working hours and paid vacation makes wages worth way more than 40 years ago. See, the middle class is keeping up.
Fuckin A ! Plus, Obama promised a 'Year of Action" !! We're cool !!
Waiting for the idiots in Washington to raise more taxes and fees so everyone can have even less disposable income.
1070s: "How do we get people to work longer hours for less money and still buy unnecessary shit?"
CREDIT
40 years later, here we are in a faux economy of crony capitalists, corporatocracy and consumerism. THAT is our culture.
Get out now or go down with the turds.
CREDIT has propelled the rocket-ship of growth over the past 40, particularly the past 15 years. The booster rockets are burning out and GRAVITY always wins. The rocket is coming back to earth.
Be prepared.
To quote Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in Goodfellas: "Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? Fuck you, pay me."
Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized since 1943
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?id=TOTALSL
that's just precious ..... pay me .....back
....is this a prediction ...the Mob is going to make a comeback .... collection skills never ever go out of fashion.
The LESS people play into this bullshit, the faster we FORCE TPTB to show their hand.
Goldbugs: Holding a Royal Flush
Hoarders: Holding a Royal Flush
Gun Owners: Holding a Royal Flush
Other Tangible Asset Holders: Holding a Royal Flush
Politicians: Holding 1 pair
Banksters: Should've folded out, while they still could.
Fast-forward...to the future:
Banksters will be disinterred, to have stakes driven through their hearts. It's the only way to kill them. And y'all thought Vampires were just a legend.
Yeah, the politicians are holding your pair.
Yep, the bankers have been buying the pot with the big stack for years. We could have a queen, ace, suited with a jack, king suited in the flop but THEY have the stack so they don't have to play their cards.
Until they do...
should read "1970s"
My proofreader is off today
Thanks for the clarification. I was afraid the IRS had come out with another form we had to fill out.
Deflation coming to your country soon.
SNAPS and unemployment check cuts < short WalMart > < long Fitty Cent Stores >
How about "Make Us An Offer" stores? Let's see, I got two dimes, a shoelace, a Hope And Change poster....
can I get a franchise?
I have hope and looking for change?
"Deflation in plastic crap you don't need, hyperinflation in everything you need to survive." - FIXED.
I know what happened to my disposable income. The government disposed of it.
MyRA + Obamacare = all your discretionary income belongs to us. No more iPhone or X-Box for you.
How long will it be before your favorite sneaky uncle sam creeps into your bedroom late one night with a raging hard on for a piece of your 401(k)'s ass?
Don't worry. To entice the Free Shit Army, the govt will offer you a nice new piece of shiny iShit for opening a MyRA.
No one leveraged cheap labor abroad more than the American consumer. There were clear watersheds throughout this process that were largely ignored in favor of cheap grills and tatty clothing that falls apart in the washing machine. At the end of that process we have Bernanke and Zero that absolutely refuse to allow that process to reverse itself, and in fact willfully contribute to its continuance.
Enter TAFTA and TPP. Thanks, Obama!
Good morning Sloane
It is amazing to watch isn't it? The nation is slowly dying no matter what they do, and the sheeple still continue to believe that their guy can fix it if only.......
Nobody wants to take the medicine this country needs, which is a reset so the system can cleanse itself.
G'morning Doc. Good to see you.
The media has become an excuse machine for "if only". Nothing is anyone's fault or responsibility unless its the other guy's political party. Then its all their fault. Politicians in this country have been elevated to pop culture status that demands idolization of its class, meaning that people at political rallies resemble 11 yr old girls at a Justin Bieber concert and less like informed citizenry.
Nobody wants to take the medicine. You are absolutely right. Its only fair that the other guy drink the medicine first because, after all, its his fault. I have seen 5 yr olds take more responsibility for their behavior than most politicians, yet we keep voting them in.
I don't have two nickels to rub together. I'm a broke dead dick. Oh well.
Actually what happened was that last year there was a big one time boost from the expectation of tax code changes, some bonuses were paid earlier etc etc.
I can tell you WTF happened (and is happening)...
PUSHING ON A STRING
You have to wonder how far in the future that our GDP will be revised much lower.
i think you meant to write "kenyan economics"
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr was a Kenyan senior governmental economist...
Dreams FROM my father...
This sucka is goin' down.
Hey, look. He's got three more years to make this worse than the 70's. Shazaam!
He just executive decisioned himself a 3rd term, so make that another 7 years of Tele-Mulatto and Wookie.
Hi Slaughterer. You were absolutely right in your characterization of Obama and what can happen when an idol ceases to be idolized. Great call on your part.
While the thought of annointing himself a third term has probably gone through his head, it was quickly overriden by the thought of Bill and Hillary..............and Vince Foster.
zirped
The poorest "health-care" joke system in the world and a set of companies out to get you with every non-natural additive they can, and strange trails from the sky and flouride in the water....
It's a surprise people can even stay cogent. I went nuts....
Sometimes I get th efeeling that BO is merely getting the population ready for Hill Areeee......he died, we cackled.....
Holy shiite, president H Cleeton sounds positively shudder-inducing....and she is looking younger in her recent pictures...
Free Vince Foster....unleash the crackhead....
etc...
Pardon the tangents, but it is the road less travelled....
ori
Triclosan: The Soap Ingredient You Should Never Use
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/29/triclosan-...
Yeah but Twatter and Farcebook are going to rule the world, so stop worrying about shite
Tax strike!
Here's a thought, let China open their books to world and have the funcking reserve currency. Please, the plan since 1971 has been to get everyone to work for chinese wages.
Let me be clear, roll the mother fucking guillotines, absolutely nothing will change otherwise.
Your "representation" was bought and sold years ago sheeple. You are fully owned now, and your owners want more.
I'm fully on board with it. Let those mean little bastards take over. See how long it takes before the whole shitshow collapses and we can get a proper shooting war going.
These piddly little regional conflicts are never going to provoke our economy. /s/
That which cannot be sustained, won't be, period.
Same as it ever was.
WTF happened?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Tmt7U-BSEc/T5nUlRtxpnI/AAAAAAAAEmg/8HTqlvKK-O...
Blame the FUCKED UP FED and their "screw the middle class policy". Enough already.... Why not just collapse this freakin' nightmare.
If I could push the button I would.
The change I want isn't going to happen as long as the PTB are the PTB. Why? Causin ... I'd ditch liquidity for solvency. Of course the PTB are all insolvent.
If you step out of the Hamptons and visit the parts of this country where a Mercedes Benz is NOT the typical second car, these figures should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody. Unfortunately, those tasked with interpreting this data live in the kind of bubble that makes this information seem...otherworldly.
"Groupthink" is a nasty little theory.
I life in FSA country and in what used to be called "black" neighborhoods the car of "making it" has changed from Caddies to Mercedes. Lost the house but bought the car. All of them have damage, either purchased that way or behaviourly added later on....
Just the way it is
Precisely why MLK's dream has been everyone else's nightmare.
I had dinner with a buddy of mine in Santa Clara, CA the other night. This is the city where the 49ers new stadium will be, in the heart of Silicon Valley. I looked around the packed restaurant and had a Saving Private Ryan moment (hat-tip fonzannoon) where the room went quiet and all I saw were rich statist libtards in slow-motion, clinking wine glasses and laughing, toasting to good times that will never end. I wondered how many of them had ever left their cocoon and driven east to the central valley, which relies on actual free-market capitalism to survive, not inflated tech stock shares, to see the aftermath of their votes for higher taxes and more regulation.
When I left the restaurant and was walking to my car I saw a sea of luxury imports with Obama-Biden bumper stickers and laughed to myself as I thought of the looks they'll have on their smug faces when they see it all collapse. I then climbed into my 12 year-old, paid-off suv and drove home with a warm & fuzzy feeling in my soul.
Fuck em all.
SUCCESS!!!!!!!
Fall FORWARD! HOPE you land on some spare CHANGE!
Its called..Fees..service charges..licenses....taxes...insurance..are all increasing and eating up any gains and then some of ones income...
Remember they don't look at inflation on things you NEED like food and energy. So, if after buying things you NEED, that have in many cases risen 100% in the last 5 years, you would not have a lot left over for buying 2nd houses, third cards, or a 1"-bigger-than-i-have-now flat screen tv.
WTF is going on when ZH pretend that they are surprised that disposable income plummets? This is not rocket science. When wages stagnate and debt increases the probability of disposable income dropping is 100%. This is how the banksters rape us.
That sucking sound is getting down to it's last slurps.
If we increase EBT and disability payments it should fix it
I'm thinking a raise in the minimum wage. You know, so high schoolers can buy more dime bags.
Of course, the rest of us get a paycut as prices rise to reflect this raise.
pods
Hmm, and probably noone is, yet, paying for that Obamacarepseudoinsurance-thingy. (I'm signed up, not received correspondence or bill yet). Where "mandates" and "confiscation" is the new normal.
But Obama is on it. He just introduced a retirement plan where the money goes in, but if you try to claim it, you get a free IRS audit. America, hell yea!.
This is Bernanke's legacy.. it's gone no where since 2006.
Don't forget the Greenspam. Give that SOB his due, too
Let's see, The Federal Reserve was created, then Nixon ended the gold standard and unleashed China on us. Then the savings and loan bailout gave corporations carte blanche to get bailed out, then Clinton ramped up Globalization, then Glass-Steagal was removed, then all the banks became insolvent, and then Fed accelerated the dollar collapse, and now Obama is signing us on the TPP and mandatory health taxes.
the trend is NOT your friend...
A minor point perhaps, but you forgot FDR confiscating all the gold that We the People held. 1933, I think.
Not really. My grandfather had plenty that was not confiscated. You see, the thing about laws that can't be enforced is that they really aren't "laws" at all.
Exactly. In times of desperation, they will go after the easy targets. Mining companies, bullion banks, retail bullion dealers, commercial vaults, and safety deposit boxes. Everything else isn't worth the time or 'money'.
bye bye miss america pie....
Disposable Income. Were you misinformed??? It wasnt yours to dispose of. So the fed did it for you.
There must be a main street that runs thru wall street.....because Bernanke said QE has definitely helped main street ....either that or he is fucking liar
He whispered "the" when he said that. He really meant the main street, which in his opinion is Wall Street.
Yes we can......?
My wife had a performance review and when the topic of a raise came up she was told,"your position is at market value".
My wife is incedibly competent and always goes the extra mile (hope you're reading this honey), but she has been denied a raise for two years, with an inflation rate of at least 7%.
Then people wtf when disposable income falls? Really?
The problem the USA faces is that your wife is probably overpaid compared to the world workforce....we have to cut our costs to get back competitive....it will take a few generations..but that is where we are going...think third world county where many people do labor for very little..hand work..will people learn to sew again and work in a sweat shop..I think so...in a generation or two...
Nothing will be more effective to achieve this goal than to grant amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants who came here. Grant them legal status, allow them to apply for jobs more openly, and watch wage rates fall. After all, it's not like they're going to compete for bankster jobs. And there are side benefits to said legalization:
More Americans will be looking for more handouts from the gubbermint, yielding more votes for the self-anointed.
No more worries for the self-anointed that they will be rejected for government positions because they hired illegal nannies.
I can't go on. I'm getting depressed.
Your comment either was sarc or did not take into account the relative values of currencies. In swiss franc land, Baristas make 75-100G, cause the coffee costs 15-20$.
Hellova lot of equalization from there
That's what I've been calling the race to the bottom...
There are many problems with your reasoning here, but that may be intentional. One, not all jobs are global, therefore global wage rates should have limited effect, depending on the industry. Two, you fail to consider inflation of the currency and who is best positioned to benefit from it. There is a reason why income equality is becoming such an important issue. Three, there are bankers and corporate management all over the globe, but this phenomenon is mainly restricted to humbler employment positions. Four, people in power are capable of rewarding the groups they want to control.
This issue is not so simple to throw the globalization argument out and expect it to fly. Yes, wage pressure exists for some.
My point was this: why would anyone be surprised by declining disposable income? We shouldn't, because that is what overlords do when the slave population exceeds its' need. The excess will be culled.
Unfortunately that is exactly what is happening. Our firm is trying to raise prices so that raises can be given, and guess what....cannot land any work. Layoffs imminent. I guess the current wages (no raises in 3 years) are not even at market value. There is an over supply of labor so we have wage deflation going on. Right now, if you have a decent/good job that actually pays you money, make sure you hold on to it.
Hang on with both hands and all teeth.
I thought being a generalist would help me being employed. Two years of unemployment later, I found being a specialist is the key. I hope it last a few more years....
Also the other key is building your own brand. Assume that you are always unemployed and operate from there.
Last year it took me 6 months to find a job. I finally found one - but two titles lower than I was and making the same amount of money that I did back in 2001. That is a fall in disposable income....
Welcome to the global ponzi. Compared to people in other countries, your wife is overpaid.
better than our company. we've had one raise in the last 6 years. they don't even bother to do reviews. "the economy has been tough" they say.
The recession that was supposed to happen in 2000 then 2003, postponed to 2009, temporarily delayed until 2014?
And the can that was kicked has morphed into an oil drum, then a storage tank,...
Oh, who cares? I have beer, football, and pussy. I'm good to go.....
/sarc/
Bullish retail!
Plenty of savings still to be spent.
Wait until the end of this year when most companies stop paying for insurance for their employees and throw them onto the health care exchanges. Then the crap really hits the fan. No disposable income for the masses. The number of small businesses closing the next 2 years will be devastating.
Yep. My CPA, who does the taxes for about 120 small corporations, says that most of his clients are doing away with employer health insurance, as they have no profit and sometimes not even enough left after to meet payroll.
So yeah, the end of 2014 is gonna be "interesting".
no mun no fun; got visa, lets go!
This is the end my friend...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIQgEVDM4
Other applicable titles that showed up when I followed that link: "When The Music's Over" and "Comfortably Numb".
Disposable income was spent by paying our mortgages to keep our cedit scores up................why I do not know.will default anyway. then our favorite hedgies can rent it to us at a discounted price.
If you don't have any credit cards or debt those facts lower your credit rating!
I wrote about one of the casuses of this the other day, Inflation for essentials services utilities,rent,energy, petrol, food caused by QE is killing disposable income.
http://renegadeinvestor.co.uk/the-elephant-in-the-room-rising-sovereign-debt-rising-interest-rates/
This makes it much more difficult for me to remain calm...
Bullish! BTFD Bitchez!
Notice anything interesting about these charts? Every time disposable income plummets, they rocket back up almost instantaneously.
Kenesian Collectivism lacks a useful method for transferring money out of the banking system/Government into the productive economy. You don't get paid for work. You get paid to be connected. It is just a bunch bankers and politicians in a dark basement of a shack, back in the woods, far off of main street, masterbating.
All my disposable income goes to stacking. Instead of going to the mall or Amazon, I just go to a coin show or bullion dealer and turn my fiat into bullion.
Besides stacking Ive stocked up on lots of booze, I don't want to miss out when the shtf.
And don't forget lead and toilet paper.
Stores and malls are empty this week. I don't know if it's just post-holiday norm or a reflection of the Brokeback Consumer.
Also noted two more vacated stores...I wish they wouldn't put black curtains in the windows of these empty bankrupt stores. Gives the appearance of....a Depression.
So a "number of small businesses will be closing in the next two years." Really? Look around? I think there is even a website dedicated to dead shopping malls. I mean dead as in all the way closed down not just 30 to 40% vacancy like a "normal" mall. The mall where wife and I walk has more employees than shoppers. If it didn't have a food court I don't think there would be any shoppers. The people eating at the food court are mall employees. If you make 9 bucks an hour how can you spend an hour's wages before taxes for an overpriced greasy burger or some three day old stir fried rice? It is all broken. America, glad I knew ya!!! Oh,,, wait until you get your nat gas and electric bills next month. Supposed to be below zero again next week here in N Illinois.
Real median wages per worker praked in the 70's.
Thus the two income family
And thus the DINK couples and individuals who never marry or never support their kids if they ever have any.
A family is outside of the budget for many.
Corporate profits are at an all time high at the expense of the workers.
Low wages, reduced hours and no benefits.
Who has disposable income besides the rich?
my credit card gives 3% cash back on groceries, 2% cash back on select department stores, and 1% on everything else. that adds up over time you know. and high yield monthly dividend stocks on DRIP major compounding effect. the money practically grows itself. I buy a flatscreen and its a free meal or 2.
Fortunately,
the fees charged to the retail stores by the credit card companies
are not reflected in higher prices for everyone,
and a bigger cut in the overall economy for the parasitic financial sector.
I just did my taxes for this year...cap gains was nasty. No more purchasing power to...you know...stimulate the economy through investments and purchases.
(Also less money to stack pm's.)
With all the savings folks are about to experience in their health insurance, this temporary drop in disposable income will surely be remedied.
FORWARD!
Disposable income, HaHHHHHHHHH!
My take home pay has gone down and everything that I need has gone up! What little disposable income I had, I ended up losing in a terrible boating accident.
It's not really news if we already knew it was coming.
So why is this chart telling such a different story just asking?
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/DSPIC96
I don't know much about the validity of drawing conclusions from one month of a choppy time series, but I'm sure I should BUY GOLD!