THE OCCUPIERS ARE WING NUTS

I'm inclined to believe that everyone in the occupy movements going on around the country are all mad. Not mad as in angry, though they are that too. Mad as in crazy. Mad as in stark, raving nuts.

The left wants this to be their cause. We've heard from Nancy Pelosi on it. The President of the United States has touched briefly upon it, and seemed to simply nod and acknowledge it as a "real" movement that is a reflection of America's being fed up with the big boys. We've heard from wingnuts like Cornell West about it, and even Don King, the flamboyant (and let's face it, weird) boxing promoter has said he would go there and encourage the protesters to exercise their right to protest.

Have at it buddy. Whatever.

The reality is that this entire occupation is a disaster, and it's only becoming worse. Violence is erupting in the streets, people are being beaten down and businesses are being hurt. Not to mention there is one thing that is absolutely certain in this occupy crowd. Racism. And I find this hilarious when I think back to how badly the left wanted to paint the T.E.A. party crowd as racist. Yet not a shred of evidence could be found on film, on tape, or in pictures to prove that anything racist was being said or encouraged in any T.E.A. party rally. They're still crying racist to this day at anyone on the right. But, racism is rampant in the occupy movement, and most of it seems to be directed at Jews.

Funny too that when you look at the real history of the democrats, there seems to be a strong racist element there that nobody wants to truly acknowledge. It makes me want to scream something very juvenile back at them all on the left when they call me a racist because I oppose the views of the president, "I know you are, but what am I?"

The plain truth is that the left is not going to get their T.E.A. party counter. The truth is that the left should be completely embarassed by even the suggestion of it. Quite frankly, the left should be running for their lives having had any association with these nuts at all. If ever there was a living, breathing example, this occupy movement was the left's attempt to clutch at straws. This was the left's hope for a confirmation by the American people themselves that their (the left's) progressive, socialist agendas were resonating with the voice of The People.

They weren't. And they're not. And now it's time to go home boys and girls.

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Trouble Looming For Perry

When Texas Governor Rick Perry first came onto the scene I thought there was some promise for a real conservative voice entering the republican race, and I thought there would be no way that Mitt Romney would be able to compete with that. Then I saw the debates, and the first thought that came to mind was, "Oh no." And then I thought of John McCain and something I often said about his campaign. That is, I thought it wasn't McCain's message that was the problem. It was articulating his message that was the problem.

Granted, McCain was no conservative. Let's be sure about that. But clearly his plan for America was a much better one than Obama's plan was no matter how you sliced it. On paper McCain was the better candidate. But those debates were the death knell for him. What's on paper doesn't matter at the end of the day. McCain simply could not convey anything to the American people in those critical debates that made any sense.

There's no question that Obama is a strong campaigner. He's an even better debater. He proved that in the last election. I think we can't lose sight of that fact. Neither can Rick Perry. The republican voters, and the independents who are not in Obama's camp know this as well, and no one wants another candidate who cannot beat the opponent.

While I'll admit that there are perhaps too many debates—13 to be exact—if there are going to be debates Rick Perry needs to be in those debates. His decision to pull out of the debates tells me one thing. He can't handle the pressure. He can't articulate his message when it matters. And he's going to need to be able to be a strong debater if he wants to have a shot at beating Barack Obama if Perry is ultimately to get the nomination.

The bottom line is that I'd like to see Perry succeed. He really is the real conservative up for the job of running the country. And I like him over Romney. If Perry were to get the nomination he would have my vote hands down. His tax plan would certainly work, and I think would pump tons of revenue into the government's coiffures. His energy plan is spot on. And let's make no mistake about it, Mitt Romney is no conservative.

But Perry needs to show he can be there through thick and thin and handle himself under pressure. These debates, while cumbersome and boring to some, are the stage that tells us all how each of the candidates will perform in the final debates when it's down to one republican and one Barack Obama. Right now on all counts Rick Perry has performed badly. Leaving the debates now will only serve to solidify how poorly he's done in the mind of Americans. And I'm certain his absense will be an ongoing topic for discussion in the future debates, making a bit of buffoonery (if that's even a word) out of anything Rick Perry tries to accomplish outside of the debates.

There's that old saying that if you can't stand the heat you get out of the kitchen. But if you want to be a chef, you either stand the heat in the kitchen, or you're just not cut out to be a chef.

What About Bob?

Does anyone else notice a theme that seems rather apparent in this crappy economy we're all stuck in? Everyone wants more money.

We are all well aware that of course the government wants more money. President Obama seemed to almost chant that with his "pass this bill" rhetoric—the real message behind his jobs bill is of course more taxes. And not a day goes by we don't hear from somebody in the Congress, or a representative from our local municipality that the coiffures are dry, we need more, more, more!

The banks are considering charging fees for the use of their debit cards now. Of course the answer to that is because we are having trouble turning a profit. When you travel to Las Vegas, they want to charge you a resort fee that can be as much as $15-$20 per night. For? Would you have guessed it's a charge for the use of their towels, and to have a maid come in and toss your sheets? All things that back in the day used to be a part of what you pay for in your regular nightly rate to stay at a hotel.

...because we all know that the hotels in Vegas are financially wheezing so that these fee resorts are a must charge—even though profits were up by around 36% last year despite the lagging economy. Do pardon my sarcasm on this particular item, thank you.

In all of this I ask, "What about Bob?" What about you and I? Aren't we Bob? Look, we're having trouble too. We are having trouble turning a profit just like everyone else. Our costs have gone up too. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me right now, but I can tell you that nearly every single daily necessity has risen in cost steadily, and heavily over the last at least four years or so.

Might I only ask one other begging question besides asking, "What about Bob?" Where exactly in hell is all of this frigging money?

I'll admit that this is a bit of digression, here, but I do think it's important to make a note of it. That is, I hate to get back on my bash the CEO bandwagon here, because every time I do that I get called a moron for not understanding about risk reward, and entrepreneurship, and for not appreciating hard work. But the reality is that all the while, while CEOs keep saying they need more to keep the wheels of their business turning, I see their paychecks rising in record numbers. The money isn't going into infrastructure. It's not going into improving efficiency. It's not going into giving their employees pay raises.

But CEOs are getting pay raises. So is the Congress. So are the guys who cut the grass in the park that's across the street from my house.

So again I ask, "What about Bob?" Because if the argument seems to work for everyone else that the costs keep going up and that's why I must charge more, and need more to get by, why can't Bob make the same argument? When Bob goes to the table and says, "It just ain't cuttin' it boss," the boss just nods his head and sends Bob back through the door.

"Whine, whine, whine," the boss says. "Just deal with it. Times are tough."

And to that I say the following. Exactly! So why don't you? Just deal with it, that is. I think it's high time one of these geniuses, be they in Congress or be they in business, with all of their fancy degrees actually use an ounce of their brain to figure out what the problem is before they determine what the solution is. Because every time one of these solutions come up, Bob has to give up more of his money.

Oil Prices Could Not Be Sustained

This most recent price drop in oil, and ultimately the price of a gallon of gas is a bit interesting. I think it says quite a lot about where the economy really is right now, and to what extent we are in recovery. I also think it means oil prices will continue to go down, not up. The truth is consumers are still tapped out. Jobs numbers may be slowly bouncing back, but just because more people are back to work does not mean those same people are caught up financially, nor that they will have much in the way of disposable income. People are going to pull back where they must in order to save money. And because oil is so closely tied to every other thing we buy, people will have to pull back not just on driving, but on other things as well.

This pullback is showing already in a decline in miles driven and gallons of gas sold. I think the fact that we got to a pullback on consumption of gasoline so soon is telling. Oil prices simply could not be sustained. People cannot afford the additional cost. Granted, I've made the argument that oil is perhaps one of the most important commodities in the United States, and when you value it against its current prices, even the higher prices, it seems rather cheap. I've made comparisons to a 20 oz. bottle of Coke which runs around $10 per gallon, and 5-Hour Energy which sells for as much as $192 per gallon. Still, the reality is that while the actual prices of those things are much higher than gasoline, we don't consume those items in the same quantities that we do of gas, and so inevitably the price of a gallon of gas is going to take a bigger, more hurtful chunk out of our wallets, and as a result, it is going to cause us to have to make some decisions as it relates to spending. Certainly it gives us cause to make decisions about driving.

The result? We won't likely see $5 per gallon of gas anytime soon. And I think if we do see gas rise to $5, there will be a major spike downward in gasoline consumption, and I think discretionary spending goes out the window, spiraling us into an interesting dynamic of very, very slow economic growth, higher savings rates by Americans, and lackluster consumer demand. In a way, we're kind of in this mode right now. But I think if we can keep prices down, we can have better growth going forward. Not great growth. But better growth than what we'd see if gas prices were to run up to $5, because obviously that cost would trickle upward eventually into especially food prices, and it just is not possible for Americans to have their two highest expenses see dramatic cost increases and have any possibility of any significant growth in the economy.

Again, the folks are tapped. What's that old saying? You can't get blood out of a stone. Prices will have to be adjusted to what the market is willing to bear. And right now that's not a lot. So, companies will have to go back to the drawing board and draw down their margins and look for better ways to create jobs for Americans despite it all (because without jobs there'll be no growth), and they'll have to get really creative in how they do this profitably. No more are the easy days of easy decisions to simply move work out of the country and take away people's pay and benefits. Government has tossed as much money as they can into the economy. Now its time for corporate dollars to make it into the hands of Americans through work. There's simply no other way. Corporations need buyers. Buyers need money. It really isn't rocket science is it?

I Still Believe Gold Is In A Bubble

The excitement hasn't exactly quieted down yet. People are still very much sure that gold is the investment to hold right now. I think they are half-right in their thinking. Gold will continue to hold value over time. I think that's fairly indisputable. However, I'm inclined to believe that the current price of an ounce of gold is inflated by a lackluster economy in not just the U.S., but across the world, a lagging dollar, and all of the uncertainty that those two things have on people's confidence in paper currencies for which there is no tangible backing for.

Simply put, gold is the most recent example of a bubble in play, and like all bubbles, it is going to burst one day. It's only a question of when.

There are telltale signs of this. For one thing, there are standalone operations that have set up shop in strip malls, and kiosks have even been opened up in the bigger malls. Pawn shops have become major operations just from buying used gold to be sold and melted down and resold to eager buyers. People are flocking to everything gold, and they are turning their attics and basements upside down trying to find anything gold that they can sell.

It's the crazy, in my opinion, that marks the end of a bubble. When oil was going through the roof, people in the know started shouting out that the price for a barrel of oil would surpass $500. An outfit formed that would sell gasoline at today's price that could be used when tomorrow's price went higher. That business tanked. It was another example of the crazy. Oil crashed. When housing boomed and people began getting crazy, refinancing over and over and taking out more and more money each time, buying lavish vacation homes, boats, cars, and anything else their hearts desired. Housing crashed. When the Internet was at its height and people began talking about 'the new economy,' and how business could be transformed, not needing a penny of any real revenue to make it big, and wages were being replaced by stock options and straight shares of company stock, this was the crazy. The Internet boom crashed.

Granted, gold may not be quite on scale with these other bubbles. But with people converting a lot of their dollars to gold, it still will have an impact. And it's still a bubble. It will still burst like all bubbles ultimately do. My only suggestion is to proceed with caution.

Links of Interest

Gold Market, Investing in Gold
What are some good penny stocks?
Consumer Financial Protection Is A Necessary Evil