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Week In Review (Week of 1/4/2021)
Risky Business
The biggest headline this week was how domestic terrorists were able to storm our sacred US Capitol building. I cannot think of any other word that would describe the acts of these people. As you cried out "Storm The Capitol", you assaulted law enforcement, caused our lawmakers to fear for their lives, and literally tried to stop Democracy in progress. What seemed like a cute slogan is more akin to treason if your objective is to try and intimidate and tear this country apart. We truly live in two different worlds, when a bunch of thugs think it's okay to lead an insurrection and no response occurred for hours. Luckily patriots in our news, our government, and our nation are speaking out and these people are being held accountable. So as I consultant, I share a simple rule with my readers: "You may be engaging in risky behavior if what you are doing any point in your life (no matter your age) COULD NOT be printed on the front page of the newspaper or be the lead story on your local news." Your brand always matters and will follow you as the internet never deletes anything. There have been recent stories of students kicked off college campuses for their racist remarks, athletes dismissed from sports teams for being photographed for not wearing masks at gatherings, and yes thugs fired from their jobs as facial recognition and the public reported these bums boasted about damaging our democracy.
Link from the Streets: Corporate Execs Fired for Participating in Riots
Keepin in Real - Why is Housing Breaking Records
Did you know that the housing market was on absolute fire last year. How is this possible in a Coronavirus pandemic environment?? If you recall, I began my rants on having a national holiday to starve the virus in March 2020. As corporations raced to implement Work from Home (WFH) orders to keep Corporate America going strong, corporate workers began to taste another concept I have written about for years: optionality. While I have been working from home exclusively since 2017, many non-front line employees began benefitting from this trend in 2020 while still being productive. So you have this strange irony:
1) White Collar Employees - Have work, NO commute, earning a paycheck, saving $$
2) Blue Collar/Essential Workers - Many unemployed, forced to work if essential w/ no vaccine (at the time), no PPE, no hazard pay, and still may need to use public transportation to commute to work
Unfortunately, my image depicts the front-line, blue collar worker as the mouse. There is a pandemic on the loose and while those guys (me included) get to work from home, they are being told they are "essential" -- please risk your life everyday. Often blue collar workers are more likely NOT to own homes, have monies in the stock market, and may only be benefiting IF they participate in a state or federal pension that have monies in the stock market. They also may need to stay close to the city because the hospital, city-county, or federal building they work in is in the city. Few bailouts have been given here - the primary was unemployment benefits and immediately negative comments were made about how unemployed people were living high of the hog because they were given an extra $600 a month.
#facts - White collar workers on the space ship are benefiting from a bailout, handout, or an entitlement. The Federal Reserve which has the ability to print money did just. And what did they buy with that printed money?? See for yourself: Fed Buys 1 Trillion in Mortgage Bonds
#facts - The reason why housing prices went up 16% alone from May to June 2020, is because for the last year the Federal Reserve has kept their interest rate at 0%. This means you are earning nada, zilch in your saving account and they are politely "forcing" you to spend your money to earn a return. So many are using low mortgage rates to buy homes as a way to earn a return...the rest of us are throwing our money in the stock market. It's safe to say if you own a home or stocks, you are on a rocket ship flying high.
This breakdown of very complex financial market activities was brought to you by Urbanomics.
Ballin on Wall Street
At the end of 2020 and already in 2021 everyone is buzzing about sustainability. I laugh because now that advanced nations have depleted the Earth of everything she has to offer we finally want to invest in companies that will help to save it. This concept is NEW right?? Not really, but the fact that we have to rally privileged people around the world to do the right thing is mind boggling. So my buddies on Wall Street call our latest mission ESG investing, which stands for Environmental Social Governance. This may be the reason why my boy Elon Musk became the richest man in the world this week. That's a bad boy and his mission to electrify everything is a good start. But shouldn't ESG start at the top?? What about ESG politics, laws, leaders, and then yes companies and investments that support those initiatives. Do we need fancy letters to tell us to be good to the planet? Do we need fancy letters to tell us to STOP killing black men at the hands of the police who have a shield of immunity? What about the widening gap between the rich and poor? The middle class is getting eroded and the working class isn't just black and brown...there are many poor white folks in America now. This increases as non-college manufacturing jobs are shrinking across the nation. Do we need letters to tell Corporate Executives that they should do and say the right thing:
- Did anyone tell Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf after he blamed the lack of diversity at his bank on "a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from." #wtfdidhejustsay
- Did anyone tell the former GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt who often jet-setted around the world with two corporate aircraft — one that actually carried him, the other flying just behind as a backup “shadow plane” on the off chance that a mechanical problem might delay his busy schedule. His aircraft was rumored to stock both lobster and steak so the boss could choose his midflight meal. In his 12 years as CEO, Immelt raked in an roughly $168 million as GE sank further and further into irrelevancy. #newgoals:become Greedy CEO
Similar to politics, I don't need letters to tell me what's right and wrong. There has been a lot of wealth created and benefits and perks realized in politics and Corporate America. Strangely all the while, the earth and poor working class people has been depleted under their governance and supposedly with ESG at the top of their mind.
Because who needs letters to tell people there is a talent pool of black people or to NOT fly two jets (even if the company is paying for it). I guess I would storm the capitol too if slowly these perks were being taken away from me or someone that looks like me.
But really, at the expense of Democracy?? #DAMN
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