THE ONLY GAME THEY PLAY The breakeven price of oil for Saudi Arabia in 2020 is $78 a barrel. 80% of the total government revenues in Saudi Arabia come from the sale of oil. The price of oil closed at $35.79 a barrel. (Source: Statista) COMMUTING From March to September of this year, Americans spent 60 million fewer hours commuting to work than before. As estimated 35.3% of the time previously used to commute went to working more on their primary job, something like 22 million hours. … [Read more...]

WAS IT WORTH IT? 56% of the $1.54 trillion of student loan debt in the United States is held by individuals with graduate degrees, i.e., beyond a bachelor’s degree (source: Federal Reserve, 2019 data). BREWERY Over the past 15 years, craft brewing rising popularity means that 85% of American snow live within ten miles of a brewery. Although craft brewers only make up 14% of beer, they use 32% of the American hop crop. (Source: Outside) BAD, BUT NOT THAT BAD The 3/27/20 CARES Act … [Read more...]

WAY UP During fiscal year 2019, US government outlays for “Income Security,” a category that includes federal unemployment benefits and the nation’s “food stamps” program, were equal to 49% of the outlays made for Social Security benefits. During fiscal year 2020, US government outlays for “Income Security” were equal to 115% of the outlays made for Social Security benefits. (Source: Treasury Department) JUST FIVE SURPLUS YEARS The budget deficit for the United States in fiscal year 2020 … [Read more...]

FUTURE TAXPAYERS The nation’s “general fertility rate,” defined as the number of births per 1,000 women between ages 15-44, was just 58.3 births in 2019, a record low rate for birth data that has been tracked nationally since 1909 or for the last 111 years. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics) HALF-AND-HALF The United States government has maintained financial records since 1789, i.e., for the last 231 years. As of 9/30/10, the US had reached a national debt of $13.56 trillion. … [Read more...]

FAMILY MONEY Jeff Bezos is ranked #1 as the richest person in the world (worth $188 billion as of 10/08/20), but the 7 living heirs of Sam Walton (he died in 1992) are worth $239 billion. (Source: Forbes) TOP FIVE In August, the value of the top five companies in the S&P 500- Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet- was 9% greater than the total market cap of the bottom 300 companies in the index. (Source: Axios) LIVE-STREAMED Audiences watched 7.46 billion hours of … [Read more...]

AS LONG AS RATES STAY LOW The average interest rate that the US government pays on its interest-bearing debt as of 8/31/2020 was 1.795%, down from 2.331% as of 12/31/15. That means our government can borrow 29.9% more money today than it borrowed 5 years ago and still have the same out-of-pocket interest expense cost. (Source: Treasury Department) SOCIAL SECURITY Age 62 is the most popular age to claim Social Security, with nearly 40% of men and nearly 35% of women claiming benefits as soon … [Read more...]

HOME RENOVATIONS A surge in home renovations and do-it-yourself projects during the pandemic has driven lumber prices up 134% year over year. That adds around $14,000 to the cost of building a new home. (Source: Fortune) LARGEST EVER Through 8/31/2020, the government’s budget deficit had reached $3.007 trillion, more than double the previous red-ink record of $1.413 trillion from fiscal year 2009. (Source: Office of Management and Budget) JUST FIVE YEARS 55 of the last 60 fiscal years … [Read more...]