The sponge economy.

Today's Tids Issue 2,179
Opening Stuff:

Washington these days is all about the Democrats forcing the Republicans into “When did you stop beating your wife” dilemmas. It’s a savvy political strategy that will result in a lot of bad and very expensive laws

A reader after reading the Comedian list and the “…Standing in the rain.” line, sent along this poignant message from Comedian/cancer survivor: "The secret of happiness is not to curse the storm, but to learn how to dance in the rain."

The Question:
Business people find it hard to be without their smart phones. It has become a necessary appendage. What do Business travelers use their phones for most?

The Headlines:
--Relief Well Should Reach Broken Well This Weekend.
--Government Watchdogs Tell Congress That 0-Man’s Mortgage Salvation Program Is Not Working; That US treasury Has Failed To Fix The Program.
--Pedophile Hedge Fund Billionaire Jeffery Epstein Set free After Five years Of Legal Wrangling.
--Scientists Discover Star In Galaxy 100 Times More Massive Than Sun.
--Obama Gang Outlines New Sanctions Against North Korea.
--Wall Street Flat Awaiting Bernanke.
--0-man Signs Finance Overhaul Bill.

Back to More Stuff:

As of yesterday, the national debt was $13.1 Trillion and growing at a rate of $1.5 Trillion per year. To be able to start paying down the debt, the Government budget must generate surpluses of $500 Billion to $800 Bil per year. That ain’t gonna happen because nowhere in the White House or Congress do I see people jumping up saying they can’t afford this or that mammoth bill.

What are we starting to notice as earnings report are delivered? Lower than anticipated revenue (Top Line) but healthy bottom lines. This is typical of a recovery in normal times. I don’t think these are normal times. These are times when average wages are forced to decline meaning that real growth rates will decline too. And revenue will fail to return even over time.

You can never have enough khacki shorts for Summer.

Through the Same Eyes: I have entered the severe writer's block phase of this novel. Be patient.

Cute little Lindsey Lohan is looking about 45 years old these days. Jeez, acting must be tough on the body.

Supermarket prepared “Home cooked” meals are never as good as what I remember as home cooked meals. But a lot of people must be buying a lot of them because they are ubiquitous.

Isn’t a ubiquitous a South American dish using the bark of the Cockspur Coral Tree?

I’m still slaving away poring out the Tids, but my mind is on a vacation in a secluded get-away. I fact, it is so secluded that I haven’t been able to find it for weeks.

Somehow, to me, a summer landscape doesn’t inspire a lot of poetry.

The Answer:
56% use it to adjust travel plans. 49% use it to make dinner reservations; 43% -- Get sports scores; 41% -- Check into hotel, But, surprisingly a full 39% use smart phone apps to find a coffee shop.

So, are they telling me I should by a $400 smart phone so I can find a coffee shop? Don’t you think that there is something really sad about an economy that relies on coffee shops and coffee shop locators?