Friday, January 25, 2019

Why I said no to an interview

Last year, I got a call about a job opportunity in my field of study. I have my resume still on sites, but I haven't applied anywhere since starting at FedEx in November '16.
The job was at WPAFB, so I knew it paid well, but I also knew it had potential to be a casualty of any federal budget showdown.
I passed on the opportunity. The recruiter seemed incredulous.
Meh. I feel validated.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Recession talk, 2020 contention, jobless claims, DJI

The year continues to slog with no real news... the partial government shutdown has not been affecting enough to matter... China trade impasse has not destroyed the economy... the Fed has paused rate hikes... Speaker Pelosi is anti-SOTU perhaps due to the potential optics of her hoard of unruly freshmen that don't reflect well to the majority of American voters... Kasich is free of the governor's mansion... documented spouse beater Senator Sherrod Brown is doing a listening tour of early voting states... live feeding from your home while drinking a beer has become a trend... snow blankets parts of America... missing abducted teenager is found alive...
The whisper campaign of a pending recession is going no where fast. The stock market has slowly bounced back after steep year-end declines. Jobless claims are down in spite of the partial shutdown where TSA and such are working without pay, thus unemployment benefit eligible?
I expect all of the early candidates to announce their bid to be president will fade. None have a pitch to be president that strikes me as being reality based, aside from not being Trump.
The thing about "chaos" surrounding Trump is that he's not really bothered by it. Sure he tweets responses to his critics but has he buckled on any controversies over his agendas? The separating of children from parents is perhaps an example... but the practice may have been a holdover from an earlier administration.
Pelosi is the perfect foil for Trump to be re-elected if he chooses to stick with it. I believe he will and step down soon after winning, just so he can play more golf. He's already beyond typical retirement age, but he's not really much of a quitter, is he?
Now, who ever comes after Trump leaves office, will the "chaos" be resolved. Trump has "chaotic" irons in the fire that he's just let sit as an impasse.
Oh, what is the timetable on Russian Collusion?
Slow news.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

wall thoughts

I read someone say today that funding a border wall would be a waste of money because we have homeless veterans and an underfunded education system. Curious, I looked up how many homeless vets there were and was shocked that more unaccompanied minors are apprehended at the border than there are actual homeless vets.


Wednesday, January 9, 2019

PayPal

Took a few tries, but we transferred our Ibotta funds to our checking account. Would have done a flat $500, but we had $506.66 in Ibotta to redeem.
I don't know how anyone can say Ibotta isn't worth the time.
Sure you have to setup PayPal to get hard cashback, but PayPal is a standard these days, right?

What's with the market?

The thud of Pelosi's return has been kicked aside, it seems.
We truly live in a strange time. It's almost like somsome is steering the economic stories just enough to jolt the markets either direction.

Friday, January 4, 2019

Sunday, December 30, 2018

end of year rollercoaster

The stock market is down one day then down some more then starts to bounce... could be the summary of '18. Jobs exist. Unemployment is low, so pain isn't abundant. Speculation abounds... the Fed hiking rates means market unease.
The first tax return checks from the tax cut have yet to cut, so I expect a stimulus for much of the country. 2020 Census will create jobs as well.
Nancy Pelosi being speaker again, will give Trump a foil. Trump had no one to attack aside from the media and cop killing illegal immigrants, so any economic malaise will be blamed on Pelosi.
Finalizing trade deals will linger. When they resolve... another stimulus will be unleashed.
Price of fuel has dropped drastically. The Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela aren't benefiting.
The price of gold hasn't gone up drastically like it did immediately after Brexit, so there's a certain stability in that we're nowhere near the economic climate of  its peaks in '11.