US federal budget crosses grim milestone as interest payments overtake defense spending

Political Unrest Worldwide Is Fueled by High Prices and Huge Debts
Economic turmoil is spreading across the globe, and the response has been protests, attempted coups and elections of far-right politicians.

Like a globe-spanning tornado that touches down with little predictability, deep economic anxieties are leaving a trail of political turmoil and violence across poor and rich countries alike. (...)

The causes, context and conditions underlying these disruptions vary widely from country to country. But a common thread is clear: rising inequality, diminished purchasing power and growing anxiety that the next generation will be worse off than this one.

The result is that citizens in many countries who face a grim economic outlook have lost faith in the ability of their governments to cope — and are striking back.

The backlash has often targeted liberal democracy and democratic capitalism, with populist movements springing up on both the left and right. “An economic malaise and a political malaise are feeding each other,” said Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University. (...)

“There is a problem of representation and discontent,” Mr. Guzmán said. “That is a combination that leads to social unrest.” (...)

Overall, Europeans have felt that their wages are not going as far as they used to. Inflation reached nearly 11 percent at one point in 2022, chipping away at incomes. Roughly a third of people in the European Union believe their standards of living will decline over the next five years, according to a recent survey.

Cue the usual scapegoats.

 kurtster wrote:

Maybe it's just that your ears are getting bigger. 

Shrinkflation has finally gone too far.

Of all things, Q-Tips brand cotton swabs has greatly reduced the amount of cotton on the tips making them more of a dangerous pointy object than useful.

Another venerable trusted old brand, trashed.  Shoulda just left it it alone and raised the price. 

 rgio wrote:
Not really, but there is the tendency to call mixed systems capitalism as well.

---

Then the context (and article) is about (hallowed) pathological self-interest.

 miamizsun wrote:

I assume we're talking about capitalism.  There is a definition beyond "the private ownership of the means of production and their profits"?  

 R_P wrote:
Pity you stopped reading there. But, you know...context is hard.

He goes on to say:

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages. Nobody but a beggar chuses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens."

 black321 wrote:

a lot depends on how someone defines it as well

 thisbody wrote:

It's the worst economic system there is...except for all the others humans have conjured

Noted anti-capitalist agitator Adam Smith had it right: "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

(1/85)

 black321 wrote:
I’ve had USAA for decades (Dad was Chair Force) and a few years ago when they started running commercials I began to think it was time to switch. The product is so prevalent with the military, why would they need to advertise so globally to somehow capture the folks who are qualified to join - but haven’t heard of it? That’s gotta be a very small number. So it seems like a horrible business decision that can do nothing but cause a rate rise.

 Isabeau wrote:
We all hear facts and stats and data in support of things getting really hot really fast... but the fact that water temps in Florida reached 100 degrees last summer still makes me shake my head.  It's not "shoreline" water (a bay)...but still.

I've been in hot tubs at 103... 105... and had to get out.  100-degree ocean/bay/sea/lake water?  

 rgio wrote:
'just'
Heat related Deaths last Summer:
874   AZ
450   TX
226   NV
  84    FL
  83    LA

Many believe these numbers are lower than the reality.

No climate change here man...  s/

 black321 wrote:

This gets incredibly complicated... because storm counts, deaths, damage costs, etc. (the quantitative measures) can't embed the severity.   There are only "so many days" in a weather pattern per season, so while the number of hurricanes in Florida might not rise, the severity of them can significantly change financial impact/exposure.  

On top of all of that... insurance company employees enjoy unreasonably high compensation levels.  As I've heard Scott Galloway say a few times ... "if you meet someone average who seems to make a lot of money, they likely work in insurance" 

 rgio wrote:

you're talking about diversification...putting everyone in the pool to share the risk. this lowers cost by reducing variability...and one of the reasons why we need some type of universal health care. 
the cost of the risk is calculated using the probability of the event and the cost of the event. 
we know the cost of the even has increased, at least your 20% #, but I havent seen real data that shows how the probability of the event has changed. 
and i was being facetious (kind of) about the advertising. 

 black321 wrote:
Insurance, for some asset classes, is very competitive.  It is... because there is so much money made.  How do you think Warren got soooooo rich?

The deflection to inflation is short-sighted and wrong.  Sure the cost of shingles and labor are a big part of the pricing, but when you need twice as many roofs repaired every month, the supply and demand for materials and people to use them will remain high. 

Insurance is based on 100% of the people supporting the financial needs of 1%.  If the need doubles to 2%... without any inflation ... it costs twice as much.  That's MUCH more expensive than a 20% increase in the price of lumber.

 kurtster wrote:

Well yes, as RP commented, its a contributor.
Material costs have actually somewhat normalized, but labor rates are through the roof. The small business cos are really driving ridiculous inflation for home improvement.
For a 12x 14' deck, i received quotes from $18-$25,000. I calculated material costs from Home Depot at up to $4,000.  
To fix some concrete shingle tiles and add a few feet of flashing around gutters, no material costs, quotes up to $7,000. At most this was a 20 hour job for one person. 

As for insurance inflation, how much cheaper would it be if geico, state farm etc...weren't running tv ads every 15 minutes? 

 kurtster wrote:
A false dilemma (with the usual side dish of denial). It's not one or the other, it's both, and more. Location (such as Florida) is a factor.

Insurance rates have been climbing for a number of reasons: Storms have become more frequent and severe, inflation and labor shortages have driven up the cost of repairs and home values have increased, requiring larger policies. The biggest jumps occurred in Texas, Arizona and Utah, which were among 25 states in total that posted double-digit surges last year. In some places, including Florida, rates are up more than 40 percent over the past five years.

It is not climate change that is driving up the cost of home owners insurance. Primarily it is from the rapidly rising cost of building materials and labor as well as replacement costs for personal items.

The rise in cost of building materials is primarily driven by inflation and supply or lack thereof.  Construction labor is in extremely short supply driving those costs ever higher.

Anyone bought any drywall or plywood lately ?  If so, you know of what I speak.