Jim Stanford of the Globe & Mail, reporting on the Canadian economy, has come to the same conclusion The Mayor reached over a year ago: our economy is screwed:

Tepid GDP numbers released Tuesday by Statistics Canada confirm that Canada’s economic recovery, such as it was, is sliding completely into the ditch. We’re clearly heading for stagnation at best, and quite possibly another “double dip” downturn.

The headline number was disappointing, to say the least. Real GDP grew only 2 per cent (annualized) in the spring quarter. That’s just a hair faster than the U.S. economy (which everyone knows is still deeply in the soup). Two per cent doesn’t keep up with population and productivity – implying higher unemployment ahead, not lower. Typically, at this stage of recovery, the economy should be growing three times faster.

Dig a little deeper, and the picture looks even worse. Half the growth reported Tuesday was a statistical “shadow” of the faster expansion experienced in the first quarter – earlier growth that automatically boosted the second-quarter numbers, whether the GDP kept growing or not. From March through June, actual growth was weaker, about 1 per cent annualized.

Moreover, the growth that did occur was due solely to inventory accumulation, as businesses began restocking the shelves in hopes of stronger market conditions. Strip out new inventories, and real GDP actually declined. But consumer spending is already slowing, and now those inventories will drag down future growth.

There is no growth. The only reason there was any growth the last year and a half was because of our *Conservative* government flushing $60 billion down the toilet on an idiotic stimulus program. Now the stimulus is gone and there is no cash left. The *Conservative* government shot their bolt, and all that is left is to watch businesses close down, the housing bubble explode, and unemployment soar. The Conservatives should pack a really big box lunch, because come spring they will be shipped off to the political desert for another 20 years. But that’s what happens when you govern like a bunch of liberals.

Also, consumers have stopped spending. That’s because they have no cash left. Like our American brothers and sisters, Canadians got credit card fever in the 90’s and haven’t stopped spending since. Now it’s time to pay the piper, and Canadians from BC to Newfie are looking for a place on the piper to swipe their maxed-out Visa card (that was pretty funny):

The average Canadian family’s household debt rose to $96,000 last year, a new study says.

Debt-to-income levels rose to 145 per cent – the highest level ever recorded in the study, which has run annually for 11 years.

The Vanier Institute of the Family study found a dramatic rise in late debt payments.

Mortgage payments that were at least 90 days late were up 50 per cent over 2008.

Additionally, there was a rise of 40 per cent in credit card payments that were three months behind.

If you care to look up the statistics, the average Canadian household has  far more debt right now than the average American household did when everything crashed in 2007-2008. Our debt-to-income ratio? Yup, we’re #1 again. Yippee!

Multiply that with the housing bubble that is already here and you have a recipe for disaster.

Jim Stanford of the Globe ends his piece in typical msm pump-monkey fashion:

Governments clearly need to keep stimulating through budget deficits and low interest rates (rather than choking off recovery with premature tightening). But in the absence of business leadership, they’ll also have to take on a bigger task: finding ways to directly expand output and create work, filling the vacuum left by the private sector’s continuing failure to borrow and spend.

Of course, spend more money on more idiotic stimulus projects. Why didn’t our government think of that before? Oh, they did? Well then, maybe the idiotic stimulus wasn’t idiotic enough. Maybe if the “Conservative” government can find something more idioticer to waste money on, our economy will shape up quick-smart.

I have another idea that may help. I know, it has never been tried before and is probably pretty dumb, but you never know, maybe, just maybe it could make a teenie-weenie bit of difference. Here goes: maybe if the government, on ALL levels, cut their spending and got the flying fuck out of the way of the business person – the wealth creators – maybe then we would be on our way to economic growth.

Keraaaazy, eh?

But what kind of government cheese can be cut out on all three levels of government?

I’m glad you asked.

Firstly – get rid of the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs. What the hell purpose does it serve? Oh, to “provide advice to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Cabinet on federal-provincial-territorial relations, the evolution of our Federation and Canadian unity.”

That’s dumb and useless. Get rid of it and everyone associated with it.

Next – get rid the Ministry of Western Economic Diversification and combine that department with Natural Resources. It’s overlap, it’s expensive and ridiculous.

Next – get rid of the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Stop apologizing and start living. We are broke. We have no money. The Indians have to realize it and move on starting 25 years ago. We are all equal under our constitution (I think), let’s stop degrading the Indians by treating them like welfare cases.

Next – combine the Ministry of the Environment with the Ministry of WED and Natural Resource into one smallish ministry. It’s all the same thing. It’s like having a Ministry of Knives, a Ministry of Forks and a Ministry of Spoons. Combine them and make a Ministry of Cutlery. Think outside the box, Jeeves.

Citizenship and Immigration? Cut the budget by 2/3. Why? Because we’re cutting immigration from 300,000 a year to 100,000. Again, we are broke. We have no money. There is no gravy left. Yes, I know, immigrants contribute to the tapestry of diversity which is our strength. Sorry, we don’t need any more tapestry. Someone peed on our carpet. To repeat: we are broke. We have no money.

Ministry of Canadian Heritage? Gone. No one gives a rats ass about such trivial and wasteful things like Canadian Heritage. If I want more Canadian Heritage I’ll YouTube up the Beechcombers and eat a pound of poutine.

Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans? Again – combine it with the Min of Nat Res. Done.

Ministry of Agriculture and Agrifood? See above.

That’s a start. I’m sure we can work on Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Public Works, but my fingers are getting tired saving our country billions and billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars.

As for the province and the municipal governments (as well as the feds) – ANY program, agency, board, offices, councils, tribunals, centers, commissions, services, etc; ANY and ALL of those that encompass any group – racial, sexual, religious, environmental, or anything with the word *wheat* in it, is to be disbanded and never talked about again.

Think about it: if the Ministry of Canadian Heritage was gone tomorrow, would you miss it?

Can we live without the Human Rights Tribunal?

Is the National Film Board really necessary?

Is the CBC worth a cool billion a year?

What’s the name of the chap that runs Defence Construction Canada?

Our governments’ need to stop spending. They are out of control spendaholics. They need to cut. They need to cut government ministries and ministry jobs. The need to streamline immediately. If they don’t, we need to get rid of them right away. There are no second chances.

Folks, we are seriously fucked in this country and no one gives a shit. Our governments’ (that’s plural) are all bankrupt, yet they continue to spend recklessly and we actually let them. Hell, we re-elect them. Imagine, we keep re-electing those that have screwed us without kissing us, all the while believing that even though they have shown not one iota of common sense in the past, they are sure to be better stewards with our money next time.

That is insanity.

Classic insanity.

I’m not sure where to go with this, it’s tiring and frustrating. I got way off topic, but it was fun.

Invest the 38 seconds it takes to watch this video. It’s tough to swallow, but perspective can be an enlightening thing.

Canadian retail sales were flat in June, indicating our economy is going back into the tank:

Meager growth in June Canadian retail sales disappointed markets, but sales surged in volume terms on consumer demand for cars and other goods, leaving expectations intact for a September interest rate hike.

Sales for big ticket items went up in June because consumers’ in BC and Ontario tried to beat the 13% HST that was introduced July 1. In other words, they pushed forward demand.

The value of retail sales edged up just 0.1 percent after two months of declines as falling gasoline prices partly offset strong demand for vehicles, household goods and building materials, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Markets had expected sales to rise 0.4 percent.

Statscan revised downward its May figures to show a decline of 0.4 percent versus a decline of 0.2 percent initially.

Sales in June were flatter than Saskatchewan, while May was revised from the garbage disposal to the toilet.

The silver lining in the report was sales volume, which jumped 0.9 percent. While little comfort to retailers and not necessarily a sign of underlying economic strength, some analysts were heartened at the willingness to spend on nonessentials such as new cars, sporting goods and computers.

This is pump-monkey talk, nothing more. As The Mayor mentioned earlier in this piece, consumers’ bought in June to save themselves 13% in July. What is shocking is how little they bought in June, and May, and April. What will be “shocking”, although not to The Mayor, is how bad retail figures will be from here on in.

Everything from here on in is simple economics. Canada exports about 80% of its goods to the US. How is the US economy right now, pretty good? Exactly.

“Oh no, Mr Mayor, Canada won’t go into the crapper, we have oil and natural resources!”

“Oh ya, and what position do you hold at Esso? Or are you a VP at a Potash corporation?”

You see, the wells have already been dug, and we have these things called “pipelines” which deliver the gas and oil. So, unless you are a pipeline or a gas pump, you are not going to profit from the oil/gas or mineral conglomerates.

Retail sales are garbage because the bright among us aren’t spending cash right now, we’re circling the wagons. We see the writing on the wall. We know what is going to happen in the next year and we are preparing for it.

The BOC raised interest rates at the dumbest possible time, idiot liberal governments in BC and Ontario hit 60% of the country with a 13% tax in the middle of a recession, housing prices are WAAAAY over-valued, and we have hooked our economy onto the American horse; a horse that has four broken legs and should have been shot and made into glue years and years ago.

If you started to prepare, do so yesterday. How many more warnings do you really need?

Canadian real estate data for July was released today, and it shows that sales were down over 30% from a year ago:

This is the Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping line, chartered to Wal Mart.

What a ship….no wonder ‘Made in China ‘ is displacing North American made goods big time.
This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!!

This is one of three ships presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012.

These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China . They hold

an incredible 15,000 cartons and have a 207 foot deck beam!! The full crew is just 13 people on a ship
longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000)

With it’s 207′ beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals ..
It is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots.

The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on
a China -to- California run. 91% of Walmart products are made in China .

So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.

The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded.
The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs

that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.

Additional info: Country of origin – Denmark
Length – 1,302 ft
Width – 207 ft
Net cargo – 123,200 tons
Engine – 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP)
Cruise Speed – 31 knots
Cargo capacity – 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
Crew – 13 people !
First Trip – Sept. 08, 2006
Construction cost – US $145,000,000+

Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water
resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.

A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that
all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY.

**The Marginalized Action Dinosaur emailed this to The Mayor, and I copy and pasted nearly the entire piece for your ocular pleasure.

As part of the Obama Administrations pledge to keep more high-tech IT jobs in the US, the United States Agency for International Development will spend about $36 million to train 3000 Sri Lankan’s to become *specialists in IT*:

Despite President Obama’s pledge to retain more hi-tech jobs in the U.S., a federal agency run by a hand-picked Obama appointee has launched a $36 million program to train workers, including 3,000 specialists in IT and related functions, in South Asia.

Under director Rajiv Shah, the United States Agency for International Development will partner with private outsourcers in Sri Lanka to teach workers there advanced IT skills like Enterprise Java (Java EE) programming, as well as skills in business process outsourcing and call center support. USAID will also help the trainees brush up on their English language proficiency.

To be fair, Obama was told he needed to create jobs for his fellow countrymen, so that’s the reason he decided to set up shop in South Asia.

These are important jobs that will affect tens of tens of American’s yearly. Important “Specialist IT” jobs that will have a direct benefit to the American economy. Like the Specialist IT Call Center Support® jobs being set up. Everyone knows there are hardly enough foreign speaking Telemarketers as it stands, and that unless we ramp up the supply of Call Center Workers, we might not get that important call during dinner time to remind us that now is the time to have the ducts cleaned in our house.

According to Census, the 2009 American trade balance with Sri Lanka stood at about $1.3 billion. As in, America exported about $229 million to Sri Lanka and imported $1.6 billion. And for that reason, the American government needs to ship MORE money to Sri Lanka to create MORE jobs which will in turn create MORE jobs for Sri Lankans to take from Americans. Rinse & repeat, have a nice day.

And in case you were thinking The Mayor is just talking nonsense about creating those Sri Lankan jobs:

USAID is also partnering with Sri Lankan companies in other industries, including construction and garment manufacturing, to help create 10,000 new jobs in the country.

USAID needs to partner with Detroit, for crying our loud.

The Obama administration has a pretty terrific track record when it comes to creating jobs in foreign countries. But when it comes to creating jobs in America? Not so much.

Don’t worry though, Obama and gang know what they’re doing, something like that could NEVER happen to the USA.

Sleep well tonight.

The cowrie shell (which these are) is the longest and most widely used currency in history. It dates back to 1200BC.

The cowrie is a shell of a mollusk, and was found predominantly in the shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was the Chinese that first started using the cowrie as currency, and soon other peoples starting using them as well. Funny thing, up until the middle of the 20th century, parts of Africa still used the cowrie as its currency.

The Mayor would like to see out western governments’ ditch its fiat loot and get back to using the cowrie. The peoples of Florida and other coastal areas would find themselves awash in great riches overnight. And The Mayor wants nothing but prosperity for our friends from Florida and other warm climate havens.

The cowrie – you would be wise to stock up on these bad boys.

The following are some of the tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect in 2011…. 

1 – The lowest bracket for the personal income tax is going to increase from 10 percent to 15 percent.

2 – The next lowest bracket for the personal income tax is going to increase from 25 percent to 28 percent.

3 – The 28 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 31 percent.

4 – The 33 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 36 percent.

5 – The 35 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 39.6 percent.

6 – In 2011, the death tax is scheduled to return.  So instead of paying zero percent, estates of $1 million or more are going to be taxed at a rate of 55 percent.

7 – The capital gains tax is going to increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

8 – The tax on dividends is going to increase from 15 percent to 39.6 percent.

9 – The “marriage penalty” is also scheduled to be reinstated in 2011. 

It is being estimated that the total cost of these tax increases to U.S. taxpayers will be $2.6 trillion through the year 2020.

**Here is how the Obama administration is framing the looming tax increases: “This week, the administration also repeated its intention to let tax cuts for the wealthy expire in January.”

In other news, according to Barack Obama, you are now all officially rich.

Feels good, don’t it?

***Thanks to The Economic Collapse

TLDG and I were taking Clare for a walk through one of the many expansive parks in Mitchieville, when we bumped into a lady who was walking her dog. We made some small talk and then she told us how there was a family of three that have been camping by the lake for the last 3 days. What makes her story interesting is that it’s illegal to “camp” at this particular lake as it’s government land. I said to the lady that the way the economy is going, it won’t be long before there’s a settlement there. She responded by saying the economy is actually pretty good in Canada, and at least we’re not the States.

I know there are a lot of Canadians that think our economy is purely roses and sunshine, but are things really going that well as we are led to believe by the drooling mutts of the msm?

The Mayor thinks not, and I have a few reasons why I think things are about to go sideways very quickly.

First off: Debt. We have plenty of it. Our federal government is awash in debt, many of our provinces are up to their collective ears in debt; municipalities are losing or have lost their AAA rating and are near bankruptcy, and personal debt is higher than it has ever been. Ontario, once the “engine of Canada” is sputtering. Ontario is still the engine, but unfortunately it’s one of those crappy GM engines that only lasts a few years.

Last year, Ontario racked up close to $25 BILLION in debt. This year, 2010, Ontario is on pace to rack up another $24-28 BILLION in debt. This from a province of only 12 million people. It was only a few years back that Ontario was a “have” province, we NEVER ran a deficit. Now, Standard & Poor’s have knocked our credit rating down from AAA to AA-, and we have deficits lined up as far as the eye can see. Ontario is now a beggar province, a “have not” province.

The liberals have destroyed Ontario with debt, but the Conservatives in Ottawa would never do the same, right? Wrong. This year it’s expected the feds will run a deficit of over $60 billion. All in all, between the feds and the provinces, total debt will be in the range of a $100 billion. For our American friends, Canada is 1/10 the population of the States, you can do the math.

Add in some municipal debt and our debt clock now reads approx.  $833.8 billion, or (64.9%) of its 2009 Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

As for Canada’s household debt? It aint purdy, either. Canada’s household debt stands at $1.4 trillion bucks, or,  $41,740 for every man, woman and child across this nation.

Manageable debt is one thing, but do those numbers above indicate manageable debt?

And one day, one day soon, everyone will have to pay the piper.

“But Mr Mayor, Canada’s GDP is expected to rise to 6.5% this year, and unemployment is coming down – good times are here again!”

Great. Put on your party hat and dance like it’s 1999. As for The Mayor, I’ll hunker down in this bunker of mine.

Stimulus. Where do you think Canada’s 6% GDP miracle is coming from? Any chance from the feds $60 billion stimulus? Any chance the stimulus might end one day. Like, say, later this year?

Everywhere The Mayor drives he sees signs announcing new projects brought to you by Action Canada. Taxpayer funded stimulus programs designed to get Canada “back on its feet again”. Hooray! Honestly, you can’t miss the signs, they are EVERYWHERE. I have a friend who had his street paved three years ago, well guess what? It’s being paved again! Hooray! Stimulus money! Free cash! It’s raining loonies!

What is going to happen when the stimulus money runs out, you ask? Construction will stop, unemployment will rise, and tax receipts will plummet.

And the best part – everyone in Canada will be on the hook for $60 billion dollars. Plus interest.

HST – Starting July 1, the Ontario (liberal gov’t) and the BC (liberal gov’t) will be introducing the HST – meaning, add 8% to EVERYTHING that currently doesn’t have the PST. Do you drive a car? Budget 8% more for gas. Do you heat your home with gas or oil? Add 8% to your heating bill.

However, children’s clothes and feminine protection products will not have the tax imposed on them. For some reason, any product that touches a woman’s vagina should not and will not be taxed. Yipee.

It may not be immediate, but a few months down the line Ontarians will start to feel the pinch. The gas tax will hurt immediately, but you’ll really hear the squeals around January when the extra 8% added to the massive heating bills start coming in. Families living paycheque to paycheque are going to start to fold.

The Ontario government not once thought about reducing government waste, they only thought about taxing more. As the saying goes, when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And McGuinty and his brethren have nailed us good.

Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, the three biggest cities in Canada are in a housing bubble.

Think – in Toronto, 44% of disposable income goes to housing and in Vancouver the figure is a 68%. Is that sustainable? It is if the diets of these homeowners consists of eating dirt and drinking toilet water. Combined with interest rates that can only go up, an extra 8% on everything that doesn’t have the tax now (except for feminine hygiene products), a job market that is about to go flat, and stimulus which about to end, and Houston, we have ourselves a problem.

Also, there’s no getting around the fact that 70-80% of Canadian exports go to the US. And if they’re not buying, then….

Oh right, we’ll just sell our products to the Chinese. And since the average Chinese worker makes about $200 a month….

There is no getting out of where we are. We are a society consumed with debt and we have hit the debt wall. We can’t go around it, we can’t go through it, we have to confront what we have done to ourselves and bleed the debt out. When our bubble pops, which will be soon, there is going to be hurt like we’ve never seen it before. But this is necessary. It is what the leftists call a “teachable moment.”

The Mayor’s only suggestion to you is to live within your means, purge your household of debt, and stop buying useless Chinese garbage. Oh, and a few extra bags of flour, beans, and rice wouldn’t hurt, either.

And things are ALWAYS going to be this great in the housing sector, forever and ever and ever:

Luxury homes in Canada sold briskly during the first three months of this year, shattering records for first-quarter activity in nine of 13 Canadian markets, a RE/MAX report says.

The report called Upper End 2010 cites improved economic performance, increased personal wealth, immigration and foreign investment as catalysts in the sales surge.

Sales rates over the same period last year increased 700 per cent in Kelowna, B.C., 300 per cent in Montreal and 263 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area, RE/MAX says.

Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president of RE/MAX in Western Canada, who is also a fan of pixie dust and purple unicorns, had this to say:

Ash told CBC News he believes higher prices and renewed activity are here for the long term.

If you ever want to hear a realistic view of the housing market, ask a realtor, and then turn everything they say 180 degrees. THEN, you’ll find the truth.

Realtors are only slightly behind politicians and bankers when it comes to the sleeze department. Realtors would sell their own mothers into slavery if they thought they could reap a commission. Let’s face it, realtor’s are bottom feeding scumbags. It has always amazed The Mayor that you need a license to become a realtor, yet realtor’s don’t really do anything. Sure, they take you on a tour of a bunch of houses you’d never buy and completely waste your time, but other than scamming 3-5% commission, what the hell do they really do?

Simply put, you cannot trust anything a real estate agent has to say. Ever. This Elton Ash unit is blowing smoke up our collective asses and laughing all the way to the bank with the insanely high commissions his lapdogs basically stole from us. He never mentions the fact that the HST which will be implemented in July in Ontario & BC is going to have an adverse affect on the housing market. Nope, he missed that one. Or how promised interest rate hikes are going to blow millions of home owners out of the water come July – especially the kids who got 40 year mortgages at 0% down and 1.85% variable mortgage rates.

Everything is roses and sunshine for the real estate group, no harm will ever touch the housing industry. The average housing price in Vancouver is $900,000? That’s normal and will only go up. The average housing price in Toronto is half a million? Totally normal, we all make $250,000 a year.

The Remax report states that the improved economic performance is due to “immigration and foreign investment as catalysts in the sales surge.” Think about that for a bit. If this is true – which it’s not, it’s ludicrous - will Canada have enough rich immigrants to keep this surge going forever? How about for 10 years? 5 years? 6 months? Buehler?

Nonsense. The Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal housing markets are going to crash very soon. They are even more inflated than the bulbous heads that created the Remax report. And for the people that are jumping into the housing market right now because they are being told that if they don’t get in right now they will never have a chance to ever again; and when the bubble bursts and they lose 50% of their wealth, I hope they remember to thank a real estate agent and the good folks at Remax Realty for their sound advice.

Figures released by the Commerce Department yesterday shows that consumer spending rose for the 5th straight month. Stocks and commodities around the world rose today with the news, as supposedly this is further proof that the American economy is back on its feet and running.

And that sounds great and all, but what about this little nugget of information tucked far into the article?

Because spending rose and incomes were unchanged, the savings rate fell to 3.1 percent last month, the lowest level since October 2008.

Consider that again: Stock markets around the world rallied today, and the DJIA rose yesterday on the news that American consumers spent more in February. Yet, the savings rate plummeted. This is the cause for celebration. Also consider that the savings rate fell to the “lowest level since October 2008.” And what was the savings rate in October 2008? Dismal. Absolutely dismal.

The American federal government is basically broke. Kaput. The States are in virtual bankruptcy and individual debt is through the roof. Yet, we are told the recovery is around the corner because Americans are spending more and taking on more debt. Excuse me if I don’t put on my party hat.

But money is being spent, it’s coming from somewhere. But where?

More than 7.4 million home loans nationwide are in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure, with another 1 million properties either bank-owned or sold out of foreclosure. An incredible 10% of all U.S. loans are delinquent.

That’s a lot of money NOT being spent on mortgages or loan repayments. I suppose the not-being-paid-mortgage-money can and is being spent elsewhere. Hell, if I didn’t have to pay $1500.00 on the mortgage at The Manor each month, I suppose there would be no reason why I couldn’t afford that spiffy new IPad.

This Friday the US jobs report will come out and there will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 160,000 jobs that were created last month, and I’m sure Monday will be a banner day on the stock market. Just as it would be if the US lost 160,000 jobs. We’ll once again be told that the economic recovery is well under way and that good times are here again. You won’t be told that between immigration and people entering the workforce every month, that the US needs to create about 150,000 jobs just to keep the unemployment rate steady. Nope. 160,000 jobs will be proof that Obama’s policies are stimulating the economy. No mention that under his watch, 6 million jobs have been lost.

We’ve been told since the start of The Greatest Economic Downturn Since The Great Depression (TGEDSTGD)™ that banks, businesses and consumers need to purge themselves of debt. Debt was the noose around our collective necks. But now that that doesn’t fit the narrative, debt isn’t so bad after all and personal savings aren’t something to worry about. You would think that with this sudden reversal of thought that there must be an election around the corner, or something.