Welcome to another exciting edition of Black Coffee, your unusual weekly digest of what’s going on in the world of money and personal finance.
Well… another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started!
The real problem is not whether machines think, but whether people do.
– B.F. Skinner
Credits and debits
Credit: Have you seen this? After the $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit expired in September 2025, the trajectory of electric vehicle sales in the U.S. went backwardsdropped to just 234,000 units last quarter – that’s a drop of 46% compared to the previous quarter. As we strongly suspected, the only thing sustaining the mass appeal of electric cars was the tax incentive. On the other hand, it doesn’t help that people are also struggling to make ends meet – unlike in the past…
Debit: Hey…if you think working in a quarry is hard work, think about this: it’s no secret what the tech sector is suffering from high turnover rates due to stressful environments that often involve complex tasks, unrealistic timelines and job instability. In fact, the average talent turnover rate in the technology sector is around 16%. For the tech industry, this is a serious concern, if only because replacing tech talent can cost as much as 150% of an employee’s salary. Meanwhile, in the cosmetics industry…
h/t: @spillthememes
Debit: One of the biggest focuses of the tech industry is, of course, artificial intelligence (AI). With that in mind, Dario Amodei – who runs AI developer Anthropic – now predicts that AI will do just that eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within one to five years. Now the point: many people in the AI industry believe so conservative. Uh oh.
Gary Larson – The Other Side
Debit: On the plus side, while the potential for massive employment disruption could indeed be there by the end of the month this It will take some time for the economy to soak through. That said, AI’s underlying ability to replace a huge number of human jobs is arrive now. The good news is: life shall continue. If you don’t believe us, just ask the people we used to depend on this: (er, if there are still people alive)…
Debit: Meanwhile, the latest CBO report predicts that the US national debt will rise from $39 trillion today to $64 trillion in 2036. Translation: The US national debt will reach $100 trillion by 2036. Oh… and if you’re wondering why every dollar of new debt only generates about 10 cents in GDP growth these days, well… there’s your answer. If only there were financial historians who would help the profligate politicians responsible for all this debt learn from the past. Oh, wait…
Debit: In 2023, current US Secretary of State (SoS) Mario Rubio warned that the world was aggressively working to end of the US dollar (USD). “They are creating an economy that is secondary to the US economy and completely independent of the US. In five years we will no longer be talking about sanctions because there will be so many countries trading in other currencies that we will no longer be able to sanction them.” Uh huh. Perhaps more importantly, it also means that America’s open credit line with our lenders around the world will soon be a thing of the past. The damage is of course entirely your own fault…
h/t: @kyotrixitaly
Credit: For those struggling to understand the meaning of the SoS’s shocking admission, astute macro analyst Franklin Sanders summed it up this way: “There you have it from the horse’s mouth: the world is rejecting the USD as the world’s reserve resource.” Indeed it is. And if Mr. Rubio’s prediction stays on track, the world will effectively be free of USD hegemony by 2028, if not sooner. Although it looks like Grandma hasn’t gotten the memo yet…
Credit: Needless to say, Mr. Sanders is not alone in his observation. Last week an analysis of Sprat concluded that: “Markets seem to be coming in a new monetary regime shaped by increasing geopolitical fragmentation, declining institutional trust and the increasing use of financial systems as policy instruments.” As for that “new monetary regime” displacing the fiat USD? Well… that’s how it is Real money that never loses value, in the form of physical gold. Why? Because in 2022 rediscovers the world which, unlike debt-based fiat currencies, holds physical gold No counterparty risk. Zero. Zipper. Nothing.
Debit: Unfortunately, very few Americans seem to notice that this change in the monetary regime – a change that could affect the purchasing power of their long-term savings – is currently underway. In fact, the latest data shows that American investors allocations to gold portfolios have increased only slightly in the past year. As a result, these gold allocations persist far below previous highs from 2009 to 2012. Imagine that.
h/t: @duediligenceguy
Credit: We end this week’s recap with a few more recent words of financial and macroeconomic wisdom Spratwhere they note that “in a system in which financial assets can be frozen, politicized, or devalued, gold stands out as neutral, unencumbered outside of money. As fragmentation deepens, geopolitical risks increase, and trust in fiat architecture becomes more conditional, gold’s long-term appeal shifts from a hedge to a neutral reserve in a new monetary regime still taking shape.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Got gold?
By the numbers
A survey of new homeowners found that 50% of them say their home currently needs necessary repairs or renovations that they cannot afford. Here are some other findings from that study:
64% The share of homeowners who would rather renovate their home than move to a home that has already been renovated.
70% Percentage of homeowners who completed a renovation that exceeded budget in the past five years.
22% Percentage of homeowners who say the completed renovation was not worth the cost.
16% The share of homeowners who say the renovation took too long.
19% Homeowners who say they had to stop a renovation project before it could be completed because of unexpected costs.
85% Homeowners who say they spent money on an unplanned repair in 2025.
26% The share of homeowners who spent more than $5,000 on unplanned repairs in 2025.
58% Homeowners who say they currently have nothing saved for emergency repairs.
Source: Smart
The question of the week
The result of last week’s survey
How many car accidents or fender benders have you been involved in?
A 27%
Two 24%
Four or more 19%
Three 16%
No! 14%
More than 1,900 Len Penzo dot Com readers answered last week’s survey question and it turns out that more than 1 in 3 of you have been involved in at least three car accidents. As for yours truly, I have only had one accident while driving – and yes, it was my fault. (Story here.)
This question was submitted by a reader Frank. If You If you have a question that you would like to see here, please send it to me Len@LenPenzo.com and be sure to include “Question of the Week” in the subject line.
Useless news: good question
(h/t: Susan)
Squirrel Cam
The Squirrels are holding their own Olympic Games this week. (Unfortunately, the French judge only gave this squirrel a 9.1 for his efforts.)
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More useless news
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Here is another complaint sent to the Len Penzo dot Com complaints department Jayson:
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Oh yes? That’s not what the Department of Homeland Security told me.
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Photo credit: stock photo
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