Money

The walk in was kind of chilly this morning. I didn't listen to radio on my phone. I heard that T-Mobile is going to start charging per byte so I'm cutting back. I'm not sure, but it looks like you will not be able to get an unlimited plan in a couple years. They want to nickel and dime you to death.

There was a note in one of the podcasts this morning about Pepsi and some other company ganging up to twist the arms of content providers like TV and radio to get better advertising rates. Isn't that illegal? When does collective bargaining become monopoly and collusion?

30% of residential rental space (apartments) are unoccupied. I know some folks who are doubling up because of finances. Property taxes are skyrocketing. My taxes stayed almost the same from last year. That is not a good thing honestly. They should have gone down because the value of my house is dropping. The tax rates are going up. Bastards.

People are still spending beyond their means. They are just not using credit. That means they are dipping in to their savings. What savings? Retailers are shitting themselves looking for people who are willing to spend money regardless whether or not those people actually have money to spend. The only growth is "value conscious consumers."

The price of tobacco products has doubled in France. The number of people smoking has climbed. The more people are told they can't or shouldn't do it, the more they do it. You can't smoke in the building at my work. At any given time, there two or three folks out front or huddling in the parking garage to have a smoke. Better than working I suppose. I just can't stand the smell.

All of the gloom and doom and threats that you better save and other threats that you may as well not save because of inflation and that kind of crap, Nat and I are trying to make a date night soon. I hope we can get it together long enough to enjoy an evening out.