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22 Reasons To Be Concerned About The U.S. Economy As We Head Into The Holiday Season
Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog,
Are we on the verge of another major economic downturn? In recent weeks, most of the focus has been on our politicians in Washington, but there are lots of other reasons to be deeply alarmed about the economy as well. Economic confidence is down, retail sales figures are disappointing, job cuts are up, and American consumers are deeply struggling. Even if our politicians do everything right, there would still be a significant chance that we could be heading into tough economic times in the coming months.
Our economy has been in decline for a very long time, and that decline appears to be accelerating. There aren't enough jobs, the quality of our jobs continues to decline, our economic infrastructure is being systematically gutted, and poverty has been absolutely exploding. Things have gotten so bad that former President Jimmy Carter says that the middle class of today resembles those that were living in poverty when he was in the White House. But this process has been happening so gradually that most Americans don't even realize what has happened. Our economy is being fundamentally transformed, and the pace of our decline is picking up speed. The following are 22 reasons to be concerned about the U.S. economy as we head into the holiday season...
#1 According to Gallup, we have just seen the largest drop in U.S. economic confidence since 2008.
#2 Retailers all over America are reporting disappointing sales figures, and many analysts are very concerned about what the holiday season will bring. The following is an excerpt from a recent Zero Hedge article...
Chico’s FAS [CHS] Earnings Call 8/28/13:
“Traffic was our issue in quarter two. In a highly promotional and challenging environment, comparable sales result was a negative 2.6 percent on top of a positive 5.6 percent last year and a positive 12.8 percent in 2011.”
William-Sonoma [WSM] Earnings Call 8/28/13:
“The retail environment, it seems to indicate there’s still a lot of uncertainty out there, that the promotional environment has not gone away and that the retail environment in general continues to be choppy, especially with the recent earnings releases and this global unrest, and we just don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
Zale Corp [ZLC] Earnings Call 8/28/13:
“Overall, we continue to take a conservative view of market conditions in both the U.S. and in Canada. That being said, we do expect to continue to achieve positive top line growth. We expect store closures will impact our overall revenue growth for the year by about 250 basis points. It represents net closures of approximately 50 to 55 retail locations.”
DSW Inc. [DSW] Earnings Call 8/27/13:
“We did have a traffic decline in Q2, sort of similar to what just about every other retailer in America has reported.”
Guess? [GES] Earnings Call 8/28/13:
“The Korean business continued to be strong as revenue grew in the high single digits in local currency during the quarter. This was offset with the weakness from China, where we are seeing clear evidence of a pullback in consumer spending behavior because of the slowdown in the economy.”
Aeropostale [ARO] Earnings Call 8/22/13:
“Our business trends in the second quarter did not change materially from earlier in the year, which was disappointing given the level of change we registered with the brand. This performance in the third quarter outlook is being influenced by a challenging retail environment, with weak traffic trends and high levels of promotional activity.”
#3 Domestic vehicle sales just experienced their largest "miss" relative to expectations since January 2009.
#4 One of the largest furniture manufacturers in America was recently forced into bankruptcy.
#5 According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2013 holiday shopping season is already being projected to be the worst that we have seen since 2009.
#6 The Baltic Dry Index recently experienced the largest 4 day drop that we have seen in 11 months.
#7 Merck, one of the largest drug makers in the nation, has announced the elimination of 8,500 jobs.
#8 Overall, corporations announced the elimination of 387,384 jobs through the first nine months of this year.
#9 The number of announced job cuts in September 2013 was 19 percent higher than the number of announced job cuts in September 2012.
#10 The labor force participation rate is the lowest that it has been in 35 years.
#11 As I mentioned the other day, the labor force participation rate for men in the 18 to 24 year old age bracket is at an all-time low.
#12 Approximately one out of every four part-time workers in America is living below the poverty line.
#13 Incredibly, only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.
#14 U.S. consumer delinquencies are starting to rise again.
#15 The Postal Service recently defaulted on a 5.6 billion dollar retiree health benefit payment.
#16 The national debt has increased more than twice as fast as U.S. GDP has grown over the past two years.
#17 Obamacare is causing health insurance premiums to skyrocket and this is reducing the disposable income that consumers have available.
#18 Median household income in the United States has fallen for five years in a row.
#19 The gap between the rich and the poor in the United States is at an all-time record high.
#20 Former President Jimmy Carter says that the middle class in America has declined so dramatically that the middle class of today resembles those that were living in poverty when he was in the White House.
#21 According to a Gallup poll that was recently released, 20.0% of all Americans did not have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed at some point over the past year. That is just under the record of 20.4% that was set back in November 2008.
#22 Right now, one out of every five households in the United States is on food stamps. There are going to be a lot of struggling families out there this winter, so please be generous with organizations that help the poor. A lot of people are really going to need their help during the cold months ahead.
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What a mess and it's going to get worse!
we've seen articles like this for 10 years or more, and the markets are making all-time new highs.
I'm beginning to wonder if they are written to temp people into going short, so they can trade the other side.
I semi concur. I keep hesring doom and gloom and Peter cryimg "Wolf!", but things appear to be chugging along more or less. Monkeyboy's obamanomics is to paint a rosy picture and the sheeple buy it. Meanwhile the top 0,1% and the poliyicians are receiving massive wealth and an imperial lifestyle respectively thanks to the printing press and all us peasants and serfs struggle on. How bad must it get b4 the sheeple wske up. Not holding my breath.
Hey, everyone, Merry XMas!
[I wasn't sure if we are still able to say that "C" word on the internet anymore]
You can't write "Christ"mas or Abe Foxman of the ADL will pressure Obama to get Placeholder to indict you.
Back on subject now -
#23 - Simon Black, in Puerto Rico, with Margaritas laid out before him on a sandy beach beneath blue, sunny skies, working on his tax shelters, catches word that Puerto Rico is imposing immediate capital controls.
Are they? Seriously? I just spent the afternoon looking into setting up a business in Puerto Rico.
The only thing anyone has to worry about this Christmas is being caught in the Walmart food section when the EBT network goes down.
It can potentially keep on running so long as oil maintains a semblence of being cheap. I personally don't think it will keep on going that long, but I do recognize that is the upper bound. If oil actually were cheap (i.e. ~$30/bbl,) it would likely keep going for longer than you could stomach. Cheap plentiful oil means a higher standard of living. Comfortable people don't like to make waves.
well said saywhatagain. another bullshit article. just check out baltic dry index... largest 4-day drop in 11 months? yeah, sure. it went from 2146 to 1985. nevermind the fact that only two months ago the index was around 1000.
these guy(s) aren't obviously charity. at worst these articles are written to tempt people into selling, at best written - with ample amount of exaggeration and distortion of reality to grab doom-sayers' attention - to get more traffic and ad money.
ZH is way too biased toward end-worlders and goldbugs, the only time the stuff on this site make sense is times of market downturn/panic/crash - only about 2% of the time.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. ZH, Peter Schiff, Marc Faber, Kyle Bass, Ron Paul, Rick Santelli et al are a good counter to all the MSM nonsense especially coming from the Keynesian, CNBC, and all the liberal elite. We should concentrate on how we can make money in this market. That is all we can hope for. The market is based on psychology and if you play the contrarian card right, we stand to profit. I bought in to the dip and dollar cost average my way up from 2008 and made some good money by sitting on my ass. But you have to admit, ZH makes for great satire and great entertainment.
Let's not forget, too, that sailors could learn a thing or two here about how to use, uh, 'colorful metaphors', shall we say?
Draghit,
The article highlights the murkiness of the economy, its inabiliy to "grow" because real jobs are being lost at a terrifying rate. Articles like these highlight the problem pf economic collapse: it's inevitable yet not predictable. Yes, we are bankrupt, the dollar is a fiat currency backed only by opinion, the market is high relative to economic outlook. But this does not mean that next week everyone will burn their house, storm the stores and start shooting. It sure doesn't translate to "prepare for the future by living as a cave man." Perhaps the many survivalists out there are suffering from a case of overload on the WALKING DEAD.
I don't consider these realities to be short teasers. The dangers of shorting in these fake markets are real regardless of the economic news. I don't read this as investing advice. I read this is a continual reminder that we all need to be preparing for something tomorrow that will be worse than yesterday. That preparation can take many forms. Shorting is probably at the bottom of that list.
I could not agree more. My financial advisor (who reads ZH) considers folks who don't invest due to eventual collapse as fools. He says, "Do we not go to the doctor because some day we're going to die?" With Plunder Woman coming on board at the FED, QE is now the 4th (or 5th) rail of US politics. Folks should invest (100-1 most of the Tylers are long), take profits, buy THINGS that matter (food, PM, land, offshore island - lol) and stop sitting around waiting for the end The US is not crashing today, tomorrow, next year or anytimes soon. Despite all the hard work of our politicians it takes time to destroy a 250 year old economic tradition with global dominance.
Many posters don't get this. Most of the world does not WANT to see a US decline because of the ease of using the dollar as a global currency today. A whole, new mechanism would have to be created to support a new platform.
"Plunder Woman" lmao.. classic
Indeed. Mutually assured destruction can abate a lot of ill will.
Good point. If I remeber correctly, most of the 1930's the market itself was stagnet and rising. It didn't really go down much outside of the major crashes. The fact the dollar was tanking is another story. I think with the margin hikes and a few other things I wouldn't want to bet too much, keep your stops in place. With Miss Yellen saying that inflation is not high enough I could imagine the markets to back up after the upcomming bump no matter how much sales are down or companies are losing. Right now I am out.
You are correct, but sadly many have NO idea of exactly how Bad it is going to get........
You are correct, but sadly many have NO idea of exactly how Bad it is going to get........
I figure "the rate at which things get worse" will increase...so I'm looking for a time when "Big, Nasty, Crap" is happening on a daily basis, with "systemic threats" becoming an almost-constant state of normalcy.
The system is structurally-flawed, and is the elephant in the room, since nobody in politics, or the business world seem to be taking any steps at addressing the problems in any meaningful way.
Instead, they're doing the exact opposite, which, in my mind, only illustrates the fact that it is intentional on their part.
JMO
Yup, yup, yup.
And when even the Chinese start openly questioning the dollar's Reserve status, and talk about the need for a "new world order", it's time to pay attention, or more.
abracadabra........EBT...=....handy dandy rationing card.
@Obummer
Good gawd, another "XXX Reasons to be........"
Is there anything left?
These guys burn out. Msrk Grant is long gone.
Don't we all get there? I try to appreciate my life for what it is and be grateful for the time I have to do what I need to do. At the same time I have this burning itch for the muddle through to be over with so I might see what's on the otherside. I have these dreams of a better world with a decentralized economy based on sound currency, barter, and a heavy local theme.
Victor Frankl (Man's Search For Meaning) describes a moment in the concentration camp when they were all huddled together sleeping in the fetal position for warmth. The man next to him was having a nightmare, and Frankl was about to wake him when he came to the conclusion that whatever nightmare he might be having it was better than the reality to which he would awaken.
I sometimes wonder to myself if these dreams I have are actually a dream within a dream, where I am living my life in 'the muddle through', and should I somehow shake myself awake from this I will find the real nightmare - the future. A future where there is nothing but a jack boot stomping a human face, mass starvation for many, and radiation for all. A life on a scorched planet full of Chernobyl babes and elitist thugs in riot gear tanked up on ssri's, soylent green and violence.
I still read my ZH and do the next right thing, because it's about this 24 hrs and no other. Yesterday is a canceled check, tomorrow is but a promissary note, but today my friends is cash. We all know what to do with cash.
And I'll shut up with this: I want to give a heart-felt thank you to the folks behind the scenes at ZH, and the men and women that write these articles for the rest of us. I don't care how burned out ya'll get, keep writing; you're a source of motivation for all of us to stay sane in an insane world. Peace, out.
+1 to your post man.
In another life, in another universe, you are floating towards a dying nebula while practising perfect meditation in a biosphere (like that movie The Fountain). Stay true brother - there is no reality, only instance.
Life is what happens when you're making other plans. Don't be afraid. Its better to fail spectacularly than to have mediocre success. Go out and grab life by the balls.
+1, in large part for the Viktor Frankl reference.
There's a part in there, where the strongest to survive were the ones who realized that the only true freedom is within:
No matter how horribly the (Nazi) captors/world treated them, they had the inner freedom and privacy to think as they wanted, and to respond as they deemed best.
That's powerful stuff, when a person comes to that realization -- whether on their own or with help from others.
Yeah, love the world, but the management leaves something to be desired. And yes, first we are taught and then we are tested ... still working on ironing out a few flaws. So much to learn and so little time.
Well said my man.
Yes. 50 ways to leave your lover.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=298nld4Yfds
I don't think the bad stuffs going to start for a while. I'd keep playing.
Check me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key...
Good luck finding a golf course. They are all starting to close down. Three of the five golf courses within 20 miles of my home are closed and boarded up. The remaining two are in trouble and are only operating on Saturday and Sunday in an effort to reduce hours so all employees can be classified as Part Time. The Mechanic quit so good luck renting a cart, bring your own. Course maintenance has been contracted out so the fields look and play like shit.
FOUR!
Get barry, he knows a ting or two about golf.
Golf was a fad as long as Tiger Woods was popular. It was bound to fizzle. Might as well complain that you can't make money running a disco.
People don't join clubs the way they used to AND those of the lower economic strata can't afford to play golf regularly. Need to work for the NSA to play golf regularly.
Keep your charity personal. If you're fortunate enough, do what you can to make a meaningful impact on one family that truly needs and appreciates the help, so that one day, hopefully they can be in a place to pay it forward. But the last thing you should do with your hard earned money is give it to worthless bureaucrats, churches that build opulent temples or...shudder..the federal government.
The churches piss me off as much as anything. Preachers driving Cadillacs. I think God has a special place for such hypocrites.
It is NOT a coincidence that the US has more churches per capita in the Western world than any place: Tax Exemption! If I wanted to enjoy that status, I'd consider starting a new church or new religion.
Of course it is also true that the US has more hustlers and snake oil salesmen than any place.
The new religion gig worked for L. Ron Hubbard.
I gave up on church a couple decades back when I saw the local pastor's wife climb out of a Lexus with what my wife told me was a Louis Vuiton (sp?) purse at the grocery store. Wife said that fuckin purse cost something like $200 bucks and at the time I was a young Sgt in the Marine Corps suckin shit through a straw for pay and droppin a Jackson in the plate every Sunday.
Best advice ever regarding churches came from my late father.
Don't contribute to any preacher who won't marry you or preach at your funeral.
WonderDawg,
Clearly you're not a religous person, so let me give you some insight.
Possible reasons the preacher drives a Cadillac.
1) a member gave them their old car
2) the preacher being provided housing, etc. doesn't have a lot of overhead and wanted to use his/her salary to buy a nice car.
3) a church member that owns a dealership provides the car, and the car is sold as a demo.
those are just some quick instances that I personallly know of as to how preachers get cars :)
4.) Jesus drove a late-model luxury brand, too.
Could not agree more. I get great joy out of giving little things here and there with no name attached. One of my favorites is just sticking a preloaded debit card(yeah I know, but cash is easier to blow on shit) in someones mailbox or vehicle when they are not looking or around. I figure the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and moreso one that does not see the need to toot the horn. Some folks around here are really generous, but then act all "embarrased" when they have a set of bleachers named after them or have a plaque placed in their honor on a building addition or new building.
Whatever. I rather like to remain silent about it. In fact if gives me greater joy than even tithing at church.
I am giving toilet paper with oBUMMERs face on it for stocking stuffers this year. Very personal.
TP, now that's worth stackin' (that and Evan Williams Black). One day, maybe soon, it'll be more valuable than silver or gold and I've become accustomed to it so that FRNs will simply irritate my posterior once they've achieved their intrinsic value.
Moar free shit will save them all...get to work Barry!
Obamacare is going to bankrupt the middle class. There will be two classes of people in the USA. The Elite who are exempt and the Poor. Obamacare is the vehicle of slavery of the citizenry. This has been the goal of the Elite and they have won the game. Everyone that can leave this country should do so before the collapse. After the collapse the walls go up and no one will be allowed to leave.
God, just shut up. You're too stupid to comment. Try doing some reading and stop coming here and regurgitating Fox talking points.
Enjoy your part time job and the free time that allows. I also hope you can afford that $5,000 deductible before your "Insurance" starts covering your health care bills.
Please continue to post throughout the next couple of months, we can all have fun as the oBUMMERcare facts roll in.
Pretty Please?
Give him a break, he's just pissed it's been next to impossible to sign up online for his free insurance
Lifted from another comment board. The boy distills the essence
Jeff Parkerpetersen 5 hours ago
That is NOT how insurance works? Insurance works because there is something called an underwriter involved. Risk is assessed and rates are justified. Obamacare is NOT insurance. It is blatant redistribution of young people’s money to the elderly. Not only does Obama want to saddle the youth of America with MASSIVE Federal debt, he wants them to have huge students loans and now he want to take the little money they have in their pockets. Any buyer’s remorse young people?? Any at all?
Last I saw, youngsters were too busy texting to think about redistribution. Today's kids are paying an awful lot for those "free" cellphones and college educations, but hey -- that's tomorrow.
Maybe we're startin to bang through the hard headed skulls of youth.
There is moar:
"Worse, the backroom connection between the insurance companies and the federal government is a disaster. Things are worse behind the curtain than in front of it.
Here is one example from a carrier--and I have received numerous reports from many other carriers with exactly the same problem. One carrier exec told me that yesterday they got 7 transactions for 1 person - 4 enrollments and 3 cancelations.
For some reason the system is enrolling, unenrolling, enrolling again, and so forth the same person. This has been going on for a few days for many of the enrollments being sent to the health plans. It has got on to the point that the health plans worry some of these very few enrollments really don't exist.
The reconciliation system, that reconciles enrollment between the feds and the health plans, is not working and hasn't even been tested yet.
When health plans call the special health plan "help desk" they are lucky to get through. When they finally get through, the feds are creating a "help desk ticket" to be researched."
Now, if we are enrolling 20 to 50 people per day per health plan per state through the federal exchange, that might be sort of manageable. But if this thing ever ramps up to thousands of enrollments a day..."
http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-many-people-have-signed-up-for.html
Bottom line, a colossal cluster fuck with three years to get it ready, just like everything he's ever laid his hands on or set his name to, in his entire life, completely fucked up...all the way back to Annenburg Challenge and before.
If one simply looks at the original idea: Have a group of people who have no money or means to make it, fund those who are at their peak of health spending. The outcome is pathetically obvious. You have either an incredibly dumb idea proposed by an idiot who can't do simple math or an arrogant asshole. The final assessment of the Annenberg Challenge, after a horrifying amount of public and private money spent, concluded there was no significant difference between Annenburg and non Annenburg funded schools. In short, a colossal waste of millions. Any average pragmatic person after observing this would never make the same mistake. Obama not only doesn't learn but vaults the scale to damage the entire USA economy. I keep banging my head against a wall in disbelief this is really happening. Is there anyone out there that still believes this has a remote chance to work?
Miffed;-)
Only if there is a much more rapid reduction in those who are at their peak health spending, logically.
The reduction in old people is coming. Those Georgia Guide Stones aren't there just for fun, they are a warning.
FORWARD SOVIET!
Those guidestones say the world population should be kept at less than 500 million. That would be 6,686 million less than now.
If by "this has a remote chance to work" you mean that it will benefit the average American citizen, the answer is a resounding NO. If, however, one takes the position that Obamacare, along with numerous other initiatives promulgated by the Progressive/Fascist elites, is intended to put an end to the American experiment, to remove liberty from the lexicon and mandate serfdom, then the answer is YES, the plan is working wonderfully. And so much is done in the guise of 'good intentions', and we all know what the road to hell is lined with.
Well put. I guess it depends on ones position and perspective doesn't it? A small exclusive club of which I am not a member.
Miffed;-)
Three fucking years and we have a computer system that is supposed to enroll people over a computer, which BTFW computer programming is well understood and has been for quite a fucking while, and they fuck it up. And they expect me to believe that they'll implement the rest of Obamacare smoothly? They expect me to believe that the law isn't flawed beyond repair? Fuck the little bureaucratic scrotum weasels. They can get the fuck out of my life and get fucked.
Um, Vaquero, they don't give a shit if it implements. This is NOT about insurance, it's all about "fines" to get more revenue. Fuck your health, there's real power to be gotten.
FORWARD SOVIET!
The fines won't equal the outlays. If this isn't about feel good rainbow shitting unicorns and ming julep flavored bullshit, it's about control. Or maybe some of both. Take your pick. Or don't take your pick, because either one ends in disaster.
Hey, El Vapido ... it's not like anyone ever invented any kind of password controlled internet sign up thingie before. These guys are in completely uncharted territory, and doing a pretty good job so far with the limited money and time they were given.
Ever notice that almost always when government buys a new technology the system is either too complicated for the employees to use, or it has bugs up the wazoo.
I think the companies selling the program or technology have learned that once the contract has been signed, they can make write their ticket on support, and .gov will never change or cancel their contract because it will make them look incompetent.
Yet, in the '40s, we went from a rudimentary understanding of fission to wiping two cities off of the Earth in a period of a few years. WTF? Back then, people without anything resembling modern computers could, in a few years, give humanity the capability of destroying itself, yet today, we cannot take established technology and make it fucking work. And people want these assholes to solve more of our problems? Fuck me to tears we live in a fucked up country.
google "diminishing returns of complexity"
Here is the wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Tainter
"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."
4 enrollments and 3 cancellations for same person... Why we just got 4 more people enrolled... Prez Obomber. They will count only "enrollments" and bullhorn the success of the program.
Here's a good Forbes article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/10/14/obamacares-website-is-crashing-because-it-doesnt-want-you-to-know-health-plans-true-costs/?partner=yahootix
I finally found the name I was looking for: ORACLE, the company that made my working life a living hell:
Weaver and Radnofsky say that the core problem stems from “the slate of registration systems [that] intersect with Oracle Identity Manager, a software component embedded in a government identity-checking system.” The main Healthcare.gov web page collects information using the CGI Group technology. Then that data is transferred to a system built by Quailty Software Services. QSS then sends data to Experian, the credit-history firm. But the key “identity management system” employed by QSS was designed by Oracle, and according to the Journal’s sources, the Oracle software isn’t playing nicely with the other information systems.
Oh, buck up! In any of the last decades I could pull 22 bad reports, but ,hey 22robins don't make a winter. We got the Bernanke put and printing machine, we got the ESF, the POMO, the algo hi-speed machines, everyt market is fixed for good times. This can go on for a long time. "Let the good times roll!"
You bet! And if things DO go belly up we can always stay warm sitting around a fire of burning fiat dollars!
I am not so sure that it will keep going much longer. The vast increases of IRS gunned forced payments to young people that have lousy pay even if they have a job will hurt them to the point where they fold or rebel.
I don't think much of these numbered lists other than a quick compilation of links to outside articles that may or may not have validity.
If the under 40 crowd gets a gander at what they are facing in these forced payments they will stop spending whatever they might have as their pitiful discretionary income.
Screw Corporate America and it's bottom line, it's getting exactly what it deserves. Support your local Mom and Pop this year while focusing on the important things in life such as family, friends, health, and whatever other blessings and opportunities you may have at your disposal.
I'm waiting for the 45, 38 or even 22 reasons why Mike Snyder will never stop with his Hitlist approach to posting articles. ;-)
The cat's out of the bag; I hear there's a little-known - in the USSA, that is - HUGE brain-drain into Russia. Going to the Russian Embassy myself tomorrow. Yes, I took the time to learn the language when my uncle did his post-doc in Kiev.
YOu have been reading the ZH cool-aide too much. There are hoards of old farts with man crushes on Vladimir the macho man. They know no reality
But I am all for being a expat..... Just get the international rates, not the local change...
"Our economy is being fundamentally transformed..."
A promise kept.
Well, there's a first ;-)
Well, I guess it was good news that merchandise was flying off Walmart shelves. Too bad it was with our money.
Miffed;-)
Walmart knows they will get reimbursed. They played it masterfully to squeeze a little more money out of the US taxpayer....
Walmart's response to the EBT problem was a horrible idea. Not only do the masses now have an expectation that should more outages occur, that they can force this process to be repeated by Wally World but also on smaller retailers(who will get slaughtered if they do it). And the plan had to have backfired in a bigger way than WW anticipated. Did you see the stores once the 'all clear' was given? Hundreds of carts full of product that had to restocked on the shelves and there would be large amounts of meats, frozen products, and easily damaged items like breads, that wouldn't have survived the overnight wait to go back on the shelves. Between lost product and extra man-hours to put the store back together, even if WW does get reimbursed(which I haven't heard they will be), they will have lost revenue and set a dangerous precedent for the next outage. I'd bet fiat money that the next one of these results in the people simply walking out the door with their carts or setting the place on fire when they realize that their 'valuable time' was spent standing in line for free shit and suddenly free ain't free no mo'.
Absolutely. We've seen the effects of moral hazard on the financial side but this can be seen just as easily on the lower end of the spectrum. Human nature is universal in this matter. I look to the Rodney King riots in LA as an example. Many businesses crushed by looting. Lives destroyed. However the one scene where the Korean shop owner standing on his roof holding a rifle kept the angry irrational mob at bay. The question " is this free shit worth my life?" generally is no. WW by not prosecuting has set a terrible precedent that may bite them in the ass at some point.
Miffed;-)
Are we talking about a holiday from the government? Can we shut it all down?
It will be fine if you shop here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMtqF3R6sJo
Makes you all Tingly Christmasy does'nt it?
Mercedes is booming. Go figure.
Yeah, but my '92 non-mercedes is paid for, and I can fix almost everything on it.
It's not as "Bad" as you think.
You can still grab a zero down or near zero down house with min job verification (if you don't like that Section 8 free house)....a zero down car (zero interest) and five years to pay the principle....free cell phones...free food and free medical care free student loan money...free...free...free!
Even if you are not a Citizen of this Fine Nation....it's free.
So why moan and groan?
It's all FREE!
And all you gotta do is ... .
http://www.xmasclock.com/
Christmess comes early: 2200 rounds of 22 WMR.
For me.
Recently picking up a mint condition Automag II for $400 was Christmas and New Years for me.
I held one of those in my hands once and was sorely tempted, but had essnetially decided to get a semi auto rifle. Got the Magnum Research semi auto in 22 wmr. With an Aimpoint Micro and a Kidd 2 stage trigger, its the primary HD gun (good combination of handling, high accuracy, and muzzle energy).
~600 rounds so far and not a single FTF or FTE ....... except ... twice with Dynapoints that I was trying to use up. The MR is spec'd for 40 gr. or greater. The Dynapoint is a known inconsistent round; no issues with anything else.
#23 The Chinese are not backwards in coming forwards regarding US economic policy. The New World Order will be impossible to resist, this brave new world was ordered long ago and is now being served up to the masses that are now ready to embrace it with open arms.
When the EBT cards, pension funds, 401k's and superannuation all come crashing down TPTB will not even need to fire a single shot to win this war.
http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/china-world-should-de-americanise/story-e6frfm30-1226739274267
The 17 states with EBT failure sound not fully believable in their cause from a xerox sofware test. The states with failures seem to have no pattern except to be random like a planned experiment.
The other 33 states were not using Xerox as the contractor for EBT processing.
Jimmy Carter says... "Fuck you Michael Snyder".
When will Americans get tired of the political class sucking them dry and finally send their asses outside to pick our mother fucking cotton?!
#7 Merck, one of the largest drug makers in the nation, has announced the elimination of 8,500 jobs.
October 15, 2013
Two Lawsuits Accuse Merck of Lying about Vaccine Effectivenesshttp://healthimpactnews.com/2012/two-lawsuits-accuse-merck-of-lying-about-vaccine-effectiveness/
22 is not enough to feed 'american' paranoia.
BUCK FARACK!!!
That stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure killed Christmas!!!
Fucking Grinch!!!
N.Y. Fed Moves to Seal Documents in Ex-Bank Examiner’s Suit
federal judge in Manhattan is pondering whether to grant the request of the New York Federal Reserve to seal the case brought by former senior bank examiner Carmen Segarra.
As reported by ProPublica last week, Segarra filed a lawsuit against the New York Fed and three of its employees alleging she had been wrongfully terminated last year after she determined that Goldman Sachs had insufficient conflict-of-interest policies.
On Friday, the Fed asked for a protective order to seal documents in the case as well as parts of the complaint. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, New York Fed counsel David Gross said the information should be removed from the public docket because it is “Confidential Supervisory Information,” including internal New York Fed emails and materials provided to the Fed by Goldman.
“These documents show that at the time (Segarra) left the employ of the New York Fed, she purloined property of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,” Gross wrote, citing Fed rules that prohibit disclosing supervisory information without prior approval of the Fed.
Gross argues that the Fed’s obligation to keep bank supervisory records secret outweigh the public’s right to know. “The incantation of a 2018 public right to know’ cannot ever be a license to discharged employees that they may violate Federal law simply by filing a complaint in Federal court,” Gross wrote.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/ny_fed_moves_to_seal_documents_in_ex-bank_examiners_suit_20131014
And yet a predominance of the highest-median-pay counties are in the Washington, DC area.