Coal Mine Canary is... sick!

3,200 brick-and-mortar stores have announced closures so far in 2024, according to a new analysis. That's a 24% increase from a year ago.

My daughter's job is meeting with business owners and managers to allow display advertisement for credit card acceptance. She reports that there are many depressed owners/managers who say their business is way down, costs are way up and they may be on the brink of failure.
Recently Red Lobster, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Dollar Tree, Rue 21, Big Lots, etc. have announced closures while small "mom and pop" store owners are depressed.

Businesses that are still open are suffering from the leniency now shown to shoplifters & restaurant walk outs.
Then there is this: California law boosted the hourly wage for fast food workers on April 1 from $16 to $20 an hour

Locally, our streets are lined up with homeless beggars wanting money.

Meanwhile, Is the F-35 truly worth its $2 trillion price tag?

Got Gas?
Phillips 66 to shut down in its refinery in Wilmington, Ca. Wiping out more than 8% of the state's crude oil processing capacity, increasing California's already high prices.

Our last meal may be that canary!

Edited by Rogerdodger, 18 October 2024 - 01:05 PM.

You are right! They have been talking recession for over two years now since Euro rates first inverted. People who own assets are doing very well. Those without assets have been decimated by inflation.

October 17th 2024 Bankrate.com:

In the aftermath of hot inflation and high interest rates, many Americans have been stretched so financially thin that they’ve borrowed up to the limit on a credit card, new data from Bankrate reveals. 

20 percent have maxed out a card and another 17 percent who came close.

• Here are some other details about credit card debt in the United States:
  
  • Delinquency

    Delinquency rates are increasing, with 7.18% of cardholders falling behind on their payments in the second quarter of 2024. 

    INCOMEThe lowest income groups are most affected by credit card debt. For example, 61% of households in the seventh decile have credit card debt, compared with 26% in the first decile.

    Cost of living

    Americans are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, which includes high prices for food, housing, and auto rates.

    Credit use

    Americans are increasingly using credit cards to make ends meet. For example, 60% of adults used credit cards to buy groceries in 2024

PS: I almost always use my Sams Club CC because of the cash back offered and their gasoline is always lowest in town. .

(They just hope I will be late paying some day.)

Edited by Rogerdodger, 18 October 2024 - 03:54 PM.

the canary is tired, not sick. He went to Vegas and now he can't stand on his feet. But he is not over yet. 

Edited by andr99, 18 October 2024 - 04:25 PM.

I just got back home to the UK from my first trip to the US in five years.  I was shocked at what I saw in rural southern America.  Rampant obesity, even high school cheerleaders at a football game were fat. Scenery pool-side literally hurt my eyes.  Crazy grocery prices, many higher than in the UK which is ridiculous.  Widespread prescription drug overuse and addiction.  Everyone I met at about my ripe age were taking a hand full of pills every day.  Friends who took mood altering drugs like Zoloft were like characters in a zombie movie, moving slowly, reacting slowing in conversations and generally lethargic, definitely not their old selves.  Old friends had violent, unyielding political opinions on both sides with compromise no where in sight.  Everyday, not just weekend, drinking or pot smoking to the point of stupidification was the norm.  What the heck have you guys done to the US since I've been away? 

Regards,

Douglas

I just got back home to the UK from my first trip to the US in five years.  I was shocked at what I saw in rural southern America.  Rampant obesity, even high school cheerleaders at a football game were fat. Scenery pool-side literally hurt my eyes.  Crazy grocery prices, many higher than in the UK which is ridiculous.  Widespread prescription drug overuse and addiction.  Everyone I met at about my ripe age were taking a hand full of pills every day.  Friends who took mood altering drugs like Zoloft were like characters in a zombie movie, moving slowly, reacting slowing in conversations and generally lethargic, definitely not their old selves.  Old friends had violent, unyielding political opinions on both sides with compromise no where in sight.  Everyday, not just weekend, drinking or pot smoking to the point of stupidification was the norm.  What the heck have you guys done to the US since I've been away? 

 

Regards,

Douglas

Is Europe such a better place to live in ? 

Edited by Bernie, 19 October 2024 - 06:00 AM.

andr99, I spent most of my life in the southern US, but the change I saw after being away these last five years was stark. Something bad is happening to people that I've known for many decades.  The laidback, easy Dixie lifestyle that I knew and loved is disappearing. 

Rodgerdodger started this thread talking about the demise of small businesses which is typical of the decay that I saw on my recent trip.   The speed by which this is happening is what's shaken me.  Europe has its problems too, but I haven't seen the level of decay in the human condition here in the UK since I arrived in 2010 that I saw in the US over these last five years.  I can't for the life of me say exactly what's causing it, but the relentless increase in the high cost of low living in the US is definitely one of the causes.   Another clear cause is the over-prescription of drugs.  I noticed that every other advertisement on TV in the US was for some sort of drug for some new fangled illness that I have never heard of.

Regards,

Douglas

andr99, I spent most of my life in the southern US, but the change I saw after being away these last five years was stark. Something bad is happening to people that I've known for many decades.  The laidback, easy Dixie lifestyle that I knew and loved is disappearing. 

 

Rodgerdodger started this thread talking about the demise of small businesses which is typical of the decay that I saw on my recent trip.   The speed by which this is happening is what's shaken me.  Europe has its problems too, but I haven't seen the level of decay in the human condition here in the UK since I arrived in 2010 that I saw in the US over these last five years.  I can't for the life of me say exactly what's causing it, but the relentless increase in the high cost of low living in the US is definitely one of the causes.   Another clear cause is the over-prescription of drugs.  I noticed that every other advertisement on TV in the US was for some sort of drug for some new fangled illness that I have never heard of.

 

Regards,

Douglas

sorry to hear that and let me say that I hope that the western civilization that we have inherited from those who lived before us, may still have the strenght to resurrect and stand up, because all the signals we are observing are very worrysome.    

"I noticed that every other advertisement on TV in the US was for some sort of drug for some new fangled illness that I have never heard of."

This is a well known Big Pharma scam. Most TV channels depend on them for advertising $. That's why you'll never see negative coverage of Big Pharma on TV.