Investment & Finance Thread (Labor Day week edition)

Weekly investment & finance thread ^ | Aug. 29, 2014 | Freeper Investors

[expat_panama]

This morning looking in today's Real Clear MarketsGet I got a real kick out of this link that appeared :  Kick Off Labor Day Weekend With Some Depressing Charts - Quartz. 

 

What the Quartz guys were wetting their pants over was how employee pay % total Gross Domestic Income was falling.  Here's a plot of the numbers they stole from the American Tax Payer supported BEA.gov:

 

(Note: Freepers can't post Quartz articles because of an alleged copyright complaint)

 

 

 

 

Apparently what's really got them upset is that the evil capitalist is exploiting the American Worker and the the share for evil corporate profits was climbing --here're the numbers the plagiarized from the BEA to 'prove' their point'.

OK, like everyone's probably guessed, they left out a lot. 

 

One thing is the fact that--

 

---total employee compensation per worker is at an all time high, even after adjusting for inflation.  

FWIW, the % plot at the top only showed wages and salaries, not total comp like this one does.  Over the years employees have been getting and ever increasing % of their pay as benefits --obamacare etc..

One other thing we ought to keep in mind while we ponder relative percents of the pie, namely the slice that the federal government's gobbling up. 

Looking at those numbers it seems that the good news is that it's been going down since the turn of Y2K, though lately we're seeing a rebound.  Let's hope the Nov. elections help there.

 

Almost forgot; the evil corporate profit %'s shown above that were used in the Quartz op-ed was based on profits before taxes.  The real world after tax profit numbers are much smaller...

 

This is the thread where folks swap ideas on savings and investment --here's a list of popular investing links that freepers have posted here and tomorrow morning we'll go on with our--

Open invitation continues always for idea-input for the thread, this being a joint effort works well.   Keywords: financial, WallStreet, stockmarket, economy.

[Chgogal]

: )

Perfect timing!

[Chgogal]

Almost forgot; the evil corporate profit %’s shown above that were used in the Quartz op-ed was based on profits before taxes. The real world after tax profit numbers are much smaller...

To paraphrase Maggie Thatcher, “The problem with Socialists, they run out of other peoples’ money.”

[expat_panama]

Our don't-let-'em-spoil-the-weekend ping...

[expat_panama]

...problem with Socialists, they run out of other peoples’ money.”

had to laugh.

Tho it did remind me of the Walgreens fiasco where the president didn't want to lose revenue and by making 'em stay he ended up destroying billions in wealth.

Ah, but when it comes to taxes it's not revenue that matters, it's fairness...

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

” employee pay % total Gross Domestic Income was falling”

I would like to see that chart along side one of entitlement spending. I’m gonna go out on a limb here but I bet that would more closly mirror that chart then the one one on corporate profits.

[NormsRevenge]

I am pessimistically optimistic..

Global conflicts will be the markets millstone..

Or maybe not.

Wanna flip a Bitcoin over it?

I look forward to our Asia trip, it should be enlightening and entertaining.

And hopefully not too expensive.

[Chgogal]

What is really scary about the Walgreens fiasco, America's CEOs take the garbage the POTUS shovels at them without the smallest of protests. Very scary. : (

[Chgogal]

When are you going to Asia and what part of Asia?

[NormsRevenge]

Late Oct early Nov..

Singapore,hongkong,bangkok,phu my,shanghai,busan,Nagasaki,Beijing

Two day stays at each end,, GReat Wall visit or Bust!

[expat_panama]

that chart along side one of entitlement spending

That would be good.   The prob is that total taxes/entitlements really aren't part of GDI --the GDP & I accounts are for production and working for a living type stuff.  Federal government numbers are on a different page altogether and really shouldn't be mixed in. My doing it was actually well, cheating...

[expat_panama]

Global conflicts will be the markets millstone..

Like Ukraine maybe.  That one really messed up Russia as much as it did Ukraine.  This past year Putin's great war of imperial conquest has destroyed a third of a $trillion in Russian market cap.  The day of invasion alone cost $60B. 

This is the Russian Index along w/ the S&P 500.

[Chgogal]

You will love it. Asia is organized chaos. China will amaze you - there is a work ethic there that is live and well. America beware! My niece studied in both Beijing and Hong Kong. I have not been to Asia since 1998. I love Asia, especially Southeast Asia i.e. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Do beware of traffic when visiting Bangkok. It is a long way to Bangkok proper from the harbor so take a cruise excursion (the port you will most likely be docking at is called Laem Chabang on the Gulf of Thailand about 2 hours south of Bangkok). Thailand is fabulous. The ship will not leave without you. We got caught in traffic in Jakarta (8 hours) and the ship had to wait for us and we got free gifts once we arrived back. Yes, it was THAT bad. If you take a private excursion the ship has no liability and will not wait for you. So chose wisely. I took a private two day excursion on Bali (stayed over night in Ubud - heavenly) and my end port was Singapore.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“The prob is that total taxes/entitlements really aren’t part of GDI —the GDP & I accounts are for production and working for a living type stuff.”

True but as people migrate from the working class it has to reflect on the percentage of income from working it would seem.

[expat_panama]

as people migrate from the working class it has to reflect on the percentage of income from working

You're absolutely right, I don't know what I was thinking last night.  I cranked out the "Federal Social Benefits" as a % GDI and it turns out that since 1970 they've increased by the same amount that employee compensation has decreased.  We are definitely seeing a huge migration from the working class to the welfare class.

[Jumper]

Does "Federal Social Benefits" include payments under Social Security Insurance/Disability Insurance; Veterans Affairs payments or care, Federal/Military Retirements?

Oftentimes, we just look at this as Welfare, EBTs, unemployment, etc., when if fact it may include "earned payouts/benefits".

[expat_panama]

...Veterans Affairs payments or care, Federal/Military Retirements?  Oftentimes, we just look at this as Welfare....

That's right, and it irks me too when Rush lumps gov't salaries/retirements in w/ welfare.  The BEA has a break down in Table 3.12 of their interactive data; what they did is they left pensions over in "compensation" but they put unemployment insurance and veteran's benefits in 'social benefits'.    We can say that last part's wrong but we're talking 3 or 4 % of total federal social benefits --not even enough to move the line on the graph.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

THE TRUTH ABOUT TAXES: Here’s How High Today’s Rates Really Are
http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-tax-rates?op=1

[expat_panama]

THE TRUTH ABOUT TAXES

The left loves using the word 'truth' in a well, liberal fashion.  The word 'PRAVDA' means "truth".  The article repeatedly shows this:

to "prove" that taxes are low, and the low taxes is why the economy is so bad.

 

 

humph....

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

BI seems to always peer from the left side of everything. LOL, “Truth”. A loose usage of the term.