“Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)”

01 Feb “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)”

Image by Andrew Khoroshavin from Pixabay

“I’ve been laid off from work, my rent is due, my kids all need brand new shoes. So I went to the bank to see what they could do. They said, ‘Son, looks like bad luck’s gotta hold on you.’ Money’s too tight to mention… I can’t get an unemployment extension…”
-“Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)” by The Valentine Brothers (later covered by Simply Red)

Again, I’m not a psychic or an all-seeing oracle from ancient times. I don’t know. But my spidey senses are sort of telling me whatever this is that’s brewing up could be like: what if the 2008 Great Recession and the early 80s recession– what if those two time periods got together and had a baby. Because I can see similarities brewing up right now with what was going on in the early 80s, but then also what was going on in the 2008 recession and it just turns my stomach, it really does.

– Saturday Broadcast 10, published on August 6, 2022 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1125110/11058329

In spite of the supposed generational warfare where the younguns have been told that the Baby Boomers know nothing, you’re now directed to them for how to survive an early 80s nightmare. Imagine!

“The Great Inflation of the 1970s and 80s
Experts have drawn parallels between the high inflation of five decades ago and what’s happening today. Back then, there were several factors that played into it, low unemployment, the removal of the gold standard (the monetary system in which a currency is backed by gold), but energy prices pushed things to their limit.” –https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bear-down-frugal-baby-boomer-130000334.html

Well, ya don’t have to be an “expert” to draw parallels here.

Low unemployment.
Hmm. Sounds a lot like how we’ve been told that there’s a 3.5 or 3.7% unemployment rate and 2 open jobs for every 1 unemployed person.

Removal of the gold standard.
Oh, you mean like fiat currency not backed by anything other than an edict and hot air? You can print up money from thin air if you want and make stimmy checks? Yeah, that rings a bell to me.

Energy prices.
Yeah, like paying more for your gasoline and natural gas and seeing oil companies raking in the cash. (“Chevron reported a record full-year profit of $36.5 billion, buoyed by high oil prices.” –https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/investing/chevron-record-earnings/index.html  “Exxon smashes Western oil majors’ earnings record with $56 billion profit for 2022” –https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/exxon-smashes-western-oil-majors-earnings-record-with-56-billion-profit-for-2022.html) Yes, that also sounds familiar to me…

“Debt at that time rose quickly, says [Mike] Drak — on houses, on credit cards and on vehicles. -Yahoo Finance, Ibid.

Yeah, that also sounds pretty familiar.

–https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-27/car-repossessions-grow-as-inflation-slams-consumers

–https://www.ft.com/content/398fe5be-cf44-459c-83d1-5105adef7337

–https://storeys.com/canadians-risk-defaulting-mortgage/

–https://www.americanbanker.com/news/debt-default-would-make-lehman-bankruptcy-look-like-a-walk-in-the-park

–https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/us-foreclosure-activity-doubled-2022-attom

–https://www.npr.org/2023/01/11/1148122555/credit-card-debt-inflation-interest-rate-payments-federal-reserve

–https://fortune.com/recommends/article/inflation-has-led-to-a-credit-card-debt-crisis/

Yes, I’d have to say the same bells are ringing for me.

“I don’t make enough to survive, I need to stay alive, M-O-N-E-Y. They’re talking ’bout, ‘We’re in recession’ when they know the world is in a depression. Now what are we all to do when the economy’s got a hold on you?” -“Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)”

By the time the politicians and media talking heads actually say, “OK, um, well, we’re officially in a recession now,” God help us.