General Thoughts and Observations, Long Beach

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As anyone can observe, more and more people do the strangest things, behave in the strangest ways and drive in the most dangerous ways.  I was coming down a hill looking for a parking at Casa Grande blinkers set to turn right when someone coming the opposite way turned in front of me, running a stop sign and making me break hard.  He stopped at the next street and was about to do a U-turn.  I went by him and only honked.  I was thinking how an unstable person could have easily gotten out of his car and start punching the living heck out of this idiot.

More and more, people are acting irrationally.  Less and less people vote and considering how the two main parties represent less and less, it is not a surprise.

What I am getting at is that people are sending a very clear and loud message that they are not happy and things need to change.  Sadly, I do not see politicians understanding this and working to make our political system healthier.  Indeed, they would rather continue to fight sterile debates and talk about everything except what matters most to people, here right now issues.

We are living in a great moment in history when we desperately need change our ways and set the foundations for a healthier society.  It will happen, it has already started.

Interest Rates Steady, Long Beach

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The Federal Reserve left interest rates alone for the first time in two years, hoping the economic slowdown will throttle inflation.  It wasn’t unanimous as one Federal Reserve Bank of went against it stating that some inflation risks remain.  However we should remember that a pause is not a stop as the Fed is divided in its action.

As inflation recently topped the informal "comfort zone" of 1% to 2% , mainly due to firms passing higher energy costs on to consumers.  With the housing market and consumer spending to cool off, the Fed believe business investment and exports will pick up the slack.  However, recent data contradict that view.  Since inflation has gone up, new data hints that pressures have been active longer than experts thought.

One thing is for sure, the Feds are not doing what they did fifteen years earlier when they raised interest rates too much and halted the economy.