DEBT: PERSONAL, ALL KINDS MAY 2017

Credit cards are on the move again (quotes [Italics] and figure are from the reference

...171 million consumers now have at least one credit card, the highest level since 2005, according to the most recent quarterly report by credit monitoring firm TransUnion.

That works out to about 2.7 credit cards per consumer, TransUnion said, with the total number of cards in circulation now at more than 405 million.

That number peaked at just over 496 million in the second quarter of 2008, and fell sharply during the global financial crisis by 24 percent to about 379 million in the third quarter of 2010, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.*

............................................................................

But in addition to the rising number of card accounts, credit-card balances are also steadily creeping higher. Total balances for cards reached $693 in the first quarter of 2017, up from $644 billion last year, an increase of more than 7 percent, according to TransUnion.*

(Click on figure to enlarge)

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/09/credit-card-growth-is-back-to-its-prerecession-high.html

THAT'S GRATITUDE FOR YOU

So President Donald (The Bully) Trump has fired the FBI Director James Comey allegedly for how he treated Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  That's a laugh, make that a double laugh.  First of all Donald (The Bully) Trump praised Comey multiple times on how he managed the Clinton e-mail affair and, second, Comey's behavior over the matter is why Trump became President. That's gratitude for you.

I slept better last night knowing that Sec. Mattis  was head of our armed forces and Trump's National Security officer Lt. Gen. McMaster was to be informed if the "Red Button" was pushed to initiate a nuclear war.  Incidentally there are those who are out to get Lt.  Gen. McMaster also.*

Of course no one (make that only a few) are fooled by the firing as Comey and the FBI is getting uncomfortably close to the real reasons behind Donald (The Bully) Trump's dealings with the Russians.

But actually, it was the FBI organization getting uncomfortably close and not just the Director.  Lindsay Graham assures us that the FBI investigation will continue (but will the Justice Depart. act on their findings?).  The investigation is not on The Bully but does hit more than one of his associates, and this might lead to Trump.  So The Bully is getting nervous.

What good is a 10 yr term, if the President can fire him at any time?  So any time the FBI Director does anything that disagrees with the President, the job of the FBI Director is in jeopardy.

Note May 11, 2017: Two reasons for the firing of Comey are bandied about.  One is that Comey said it gave him mild nausea to think he might have influenced the election, and two that he went to the Justice Dept and asked for more resources to concentrate on the Russian probe and participation by the Trump campaign.  If Trump thought this would squash the Russian collusion probe, he is sadly mistaken.  Now Trump says he fired Comey because he is a showboat and grandstander!  Comey was getting too much attention and getting more famous than the president.  I can understand Trump couldn't tolerate that.

Notes added May 14: Now there are claims that Comey never asked for more resources to pursue the Russian "affair" (my italics):

But a Justice Department spokesman denied that Comey had made the request.“Totally false,” said Ian Prior. 
Comey “never made the request for more resources and money for the Russia investigations.”**

Now it is suspected by counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance*** on a news program this morning that Rosenstein may not have even written the memo.  Diane Feinstein said:
Given Rosenstein’s legal expertise and 27-year Justice Department career, I would have expected him to produce a detailed and comprehensive rationale for Director Comey’s firing including input from the agents and staff who worked with Director Comey.
 But instead of a document that provides meaningful analysis, the memo reads like political document. It includes quotes from op-eds and television appearances that are as old as six months. It doesn’t include any contemporary insights from inside the FBI. The memo appears to have been hastily assembled to justify a preordained outcome.****

* http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/09/the-knives-are-out-for-hr-mcmaster-trump-bannon-nsc/
** http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-comey-asked-for-more-resources-for-1494434774-htmlstory.html
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Nance
**** http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-feinstein-rosenstein-s-memo-reads-like-1494511819-htmlstory.html

REPUBLICANS LIKE TO FALL INTO LINE, DEMOCRATS ...

LIKE TO FALL IN LOVE.  This saying was popularized (but did not originate) by President Clinton..  We just had a demonstration of this in the recent passage of the American Health Care Act bill by the House of Representatives that is actually a tax cut bill masquerading as a health bill..

Many so-called Republican "moderates"* (Tuesday caucus)  originally opposed the bill as put forth because it would take away the Medicaid expansion from the ACA (Affordable Care Act).**  This opposition was because their districts had many people who were on the Medicaid expansion.  Thus, they were afraid that, if these people lost their Medicaid, reelection might not be possible.  There was also a group of ultra conservative Republicans (Freedom caucus) opposed to the original bill because it was what they called Obamacare Lite.**  Plus they wanted the money in Medicaid expansion to give it to the wealthiest Americans as a huge tax cut plus some extra for future tax cutting.

So the bill was modified by the Rep. MacArthur Amendment to make it even more conservative.  A couple of the "moderate" Republicans were given an excuse to "fall-in-line" and support the revised bill by adding $8 billion to the High Risk pool to cover people who had dropped out of health insurance but then rejoined but now had  pre-existing health conditions.

However, the revised bill still eliminated the Medicaid expansion that was the reason they originally opposed the AHCA.  We will see if, what they sold their souls for, will appeal to their constituents.


* There no longer anything like a moderate Republican.  People now given this title may be somewhat less ultra conservative than some in the Republican party, but they are still very conservative compared to the Republican party of say 1964-1965 when many Republicans supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
** The Freedom caucus really doesn't want a government health care act at all  (http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/03/trumps-base-escapes-silver-bullet.html).

U.S. STEEL AND AMERICAN PIPELINES - REDUX

President Trump once again trips over his own proposals.  For example on the requirement that new pipelines must use American made steel from American mined ore:

There are very few, and in some cases zero, U.S. companies that make steel for the parts required by large pipelines, so companies must buy overseas, says the American Petroleum Institute.
...........................................................................
Energy Transfers Partners (NYSE:ETP) tells the Commerce Department that requirements to use domestic steel for its pipelines would "severely delay project schedules, drive up costs, decrease availability, and lower quality."
............................................................................
Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMB) says "any sort of requirement to use U.S.-sourced steel or pipeline materials manufactured in the United States has the potential to cancel or delay projects." - also, WMB already has purchased more than 1M ft. of pipe in storage for its Atlantic Sunrise project, and nearly 500K ft. for the Constitution pipeline.*

Wasn't Trump in favor of getting rid of regulations?

* https://seekingalpha.com/news/3261954-pipeline-companies-rebel-trumps-buy-american-rule?uprof=46#email_link

SELF-DRIVING CARS AND TRUCKS IMPACTS

The impact of driverless cars will have a great impact, and not only by putting taxi and truck drivers out of work.  For example: The U.S. has about 144 billion square feet of total parking, which represents up to one-third of the total real estate in some large cities. Reports estimate self-driving vehicles have the potential to reduce parking space by about 61 billion square feet, which is about the size of Connecticut and Vermont combined. A reduction in the demand for parking can result in reclaiming this valuable real estate for more beneficial social and economic purposes. However, it also means significantly less money for cities through parking tickets. In 2012 alone, Washington, D.C. collected $92.6 million in parking ticket revenue.*

And here is a weird one you may not have thought of: The need for lodging will drop as people sleep in their cars during overnight road trips. Utilizing cars as a moving motel is much more cost-efficient and convenient than purchasing a hotel room. Audi's vice president of brand strategy and digital business, Sven Schuwirth, has predicted that car interiors will eventually be able to morph between driving mode and sleeping mode, presenting a major obstacle for the hotel industry.

These are just two of the 10 examples of how autonomous vehicles will change America.  For the rest, see the article cited.

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/03/self-driving-cars-will-disrupt-10-industries-commentary.html

BEST CITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS 2017

CNBC has an interesting article on the best cities for small business.  I was surprised to see that New York City was the best, but not by a long way.

(click on figure to enlarge)

New York City overtook last year's small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it's the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.*  I'm surprised that New York City is lowere cost than Silicon Va;;ey.
............................................................................
New York City overtook last year's small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it's the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.*
.............................................................................
Just four years removed from Chapter 9 bankruptcy as a result of the auto bailout, Detroit is on the rebound. Last year was a banner year for automakers, and car manufacturers are incorporating technological advances into their designs. Car buyers want the latest gadgets. Motown has risen to the top 15 of this year's study.*

Detroit was also mentioned in 2016 by BankRate as the 5th best city in which to build wealth.**  Also see best states for business that states Utah is the best and Michigan is 7th, New York is 29th.***

* http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/new-york-owes-top-spot-for-small-biz-in-america-to-its-immigrants.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/10/detroit.html
*** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/09/top-states-for-business-cnbc.html

WHAT IS GOING ON IN LIBYA 2017?

Well, what about Libya in 2017?

You may recall that: United States In 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama stated that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was the "worst mistake" of his presidency.*

But what about 2017:

 JANUARY Two United States Air Force B-2 bombers attacked Islamic State training camps in Libya overnight, killing more than 80 militants, including some who were involved in plotting terrorist attacks in Europe, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The attack, which also included strikes by armed reaper drones flying from a base in Sicily, was a parting shot from President Obama at the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and one of his final actions as commander in chief.

“We need to strike ISIL everywhere they show up,” Ashton B. Carter, the departing defense secretary, told reporters. “We know that some of the ISIL operatives in Libya were involved in plotting attacks in Europe.”** ***

FEBRUARY Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj stated in late February that he hopes Russia will serve as a mediator between the GNA and the government in Tobruk**

MARCH On 2 March 2017, GNA vice premier Ahmed Maiteeq and foreign minister Mohamed Taha Siala met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. There they discussed solving the Libyan crisis, including the possibility of dialogue between the GNA and the House of Representatives.

APRIL  Rome has brokered a diplomatic breakthrough in Libya that has the potential to bring the two main warring sides together in a new political agreement after years of division, fighting and economic misery.****

VACATIONS IN LIBYA  There is still time to plan your vacation in Libya with special items for children.  Here is just one vacation package: https://www.temehu.com/tours/family_vacation.htm  Here is just one opportunity you may want to pursue: Tripoli Zoo: the zoo, located south of the city centre in Annaser Forest, is a very popular destination for Libyan families who take their children for a day out, and therefore is a great opportunity to introduce your children to Libyan children.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)
** https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/united-states-bombs-isis-camps-in-libya.html?_r=0
***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)#January_2017
****https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/libya-warring-sides-diplomatic-breakthrough-rome