Post 339: From Keynes to Krispy Kreme: The Economics of Unsustainable Indulgence

• A look at social security in the US.
  • It will be insolvent within ten years in large part because deductions from payroll to pay for social security are consumed rather than invested.
• Krispy Kreme is experiencing consumer demand that is softer than their donuts.
  • And a look back.
• Sales for Gucci and Yves St. Laurent are less bad.
  • And they sign a new deal with L’Oreal.
• L’Oreal continues to grow its like-for-like sales.
  • And has been a solid long-term investment.
• Nestle announces thousands of layoffs.
  • And their coffee sales pale in comparison to Fed money printing.
• Over the last five years Coca-Cola has increased prices over 50%.
  • Unsurprisingly, concentrate sales are falling.
• Target also announced layoffs.
  • Sales of essentials are falling while their largest category, food, is just above water.
• In Financial Ructions:
  • US business bankruptcy filings are now above pre-COVID levels.
  • Auto loans and mortgages moving into serious delinquency are rising.
    • While credit card delinquencies remain at an elevated level.
  • A look at the impact investors have on home prices in the US.
    • And the percentage of homes bought by first-time home buyers is at a historic low.
  • A quick look at how baby boomers have benefited from the system.
    • And who is being told to pay for it.
• We start a new book in our book review section.
  • Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles and Busts by Hunter Lewis: 2009
    • Keynes’s economic doctrine was highly influenced by his ideology.
      • That is, economics as he wanted it to be rather than what it actually is.
    • And economists are no longer “custodians of the future.”