The long awaited day of reckoning. Starting today, 10,000 boomers a day (on average) turn 65 years old. This is the situation I've watched for years. Let's see if they are any smarter today than they were in 1946. My opinion is they thought they were the chosen few, but in fact, their complacency caused all the problems in the USA (and Canada) today. They allowed wars, inflation, corruption, and house prizes to fly unchecked with their "I'm alright, Jack" attitudes, narrow minds about personal privacy, and blind trust of politicians. Now, we shall see.
This photo says 77.3 million, but I tend to include 1965 births (when the replacement rate rather than the birth rate began to decline) bringing it up to 80+ million. One in three of these boomers owes more money on their house than it is worth. Of them, 18 million play guitar, 20 million are on welfare, and there is no way all of them can sell their houses and retire in comfort. And once the housing market implodes, so does the mortgage-backed security industry (stocks, bonds, CDs, debentures). Unless you are capable of at least partial self-support, the strangulation will be gradual. Those relying totally on Social Security and unfunded or under-funded pension plans (civil servants, teachers, wage-earners) will not see the light of day again until 2032. Ahem, for the record, I will be fine no matter what. Can't say that about the people who let me down, though.
The first obvious signs will be runaway inflation. Ten thousand people a week will start spending money without having jobs that provide anything. This will further shift value away from the traditional home as a store of personal wealth. A loaf of bread is $3 and milk is already more precious than gasoline. A journalist would say that's just the tip of the iceberg, and for once he'd be right.
I’ve got good news today, but it is too early to say anything, so I won’t mention it. There are two scooter shops out of business since New Year’s, they just can’t keep the doors open. They are good locations on busy thoroughfares and people can’t see the closed sign until they pull right up to the entrance. I advised Shay to do some psychological advertising: plaster those doors with his business address.
I’m eyeing a new scooter, or at least a newer one. I’m working a deal for a few hundred dollars off to do Internet ads. They notice quickly how my ads draw in the customers. But don’t take my word for it. Go to Broward motorcycles on Craigslist and see for yourself which ads are most appealing. No, copying the ads won’t work because the real draw is they are linked to huge blog that you don’t control.
Which brings me to blog stats. My readership has dropped by slightly over 800 people. The few other daily blogs I investigated are showing the same percentage decline. The consensus blames Facebook. I can’t compete with social networking and hope I don’t appeal to the same audience.
One of the Frenchies came over and wanted to buy my wheelbarrow. They are leaving in small batches. There is a trailer court up in Boca that is paying for anyone to move in there. The Frenchies are taking the offer, so watch for some real bargains around here soon.
There are about 30 counties in all of Texas where nobody has discovered oil, and I may be heading for one of them for a visit. The timing for the trip will be tricky depending on finances. If everything goes right, I may be away three weeks. I intend to take the new scooter if that happens. It will do 70 mph but I do not intend to go over 40 or 45, taking back roads the entire way. Trip of a lifetime. Indeed, it may be the scooter that makes the trip possible. Consider the stats that follow.
Operating the scooter at 55 mph has a variable cost of $2.30 per hour. Can’t go to the movies for that. A six-hour drive costs $13.80. That is the cheapest form of entertainment in this town. Still, it would take two weeks to drive to Texas and back and that means $200 in gasoline. I believe I’ve already pointed out that the plane, train, and bus all cost around the same $200, which must be pure coincidence, right? The difference is local transportation once you get there.
On a lark, I may do a pilot trip around Lake Okeechobee. This is speculation. I’ve been warned about the summertime fly infestation. Wallace, Millie, and I can confirm that first hand a couple years ago. It was high summer and nobody said anything or warned anybody. We were instantly caught by swarms of green bugs, which oddly Millie just ignored and was ready to romp. It was us who ducked into the Malibu.
Today’s trivia. People who sail around the world average 250 miles per day. If there was a road, I could do 330 a day on my scooter, but I wouldn't. Anything over 5 hours takes away the fun.
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