Notes From All Over -- We Start With Retirement Update -- October 25, 2021

Link here.

Data points:

• the average monthly benefit for retirees in 2020 is $1,503, or $18,036 a year;
• if you start collecting at the earliest opportunity, at age 62, you won’t receive your full benefits;
• in fact, you’ll only receive about 70% of your benefits

Example:

• non-working spouse who starts collecting at age 62 years of age:
• $1,503 * 0.70 * 0.50 = $525 / month
• that may or may not be accurate but we can start there. 

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Labor Shortage: A Short History

Labor shortage? Was the labor shortage a long time coming? Did the roots of the labor shortage begin with President Trump?

Highlights from the 2020 data: 

In 2020, the share of the U.S. civilian labor force that is foreign born was 17.0 percent, down from 17.4 percent in 2019. 

From 2019 to 2020, the overall labor force declined by 2.8 million; the foreign born accounted for 1.1 million of this decline, or 38.4 percent. -- May 18, 2021

I don't have the data for 2016 - 2020, but folks might remember there was a huge effort to downsize the foreign-born segment of the work force during the Trump administration. To help the American worker. Okay.

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Tesla

Tesla raises prices by about 5% over the weekend. These are $100,000 cars. I would have to see price changes of Porsche, Lamborghini, etc, to put this in perspective.

• Lamborghini:
• the topless Aventador (Lamborghini): $577,661 - over $643,000, July 12, 2020
• other sources: the average price of a Lambo sits around $300,000 to $320,000
• other sources: the typical Lambo goes for about $200,000
• Porsche, various sources:
• 2022 Macan: from $55,000
• 2022 Cayenne: from $69,000
• 2021 Cayman: $59,900 - $100,200
• 2021 Porsche 911: $99,200 - $216,300

Bottom line: Tesla price increases --

• simply keeping pace with "transitory" inflation;
• demonstrates continued demand outstripping supply;
• for the elite who already have two or three other ICEs;
• yes, I know there are exceptions -- for some Tesla owners, it's their only vehicle, or perhaps a second vehicle
• did not change my mind on whether to order a Tesla one way or the other

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Picture Perfect