A SIGN OF THE TIMES: THE RETAIL BLOODBATH CONTINUES

The traditional American place the shop, the local mall, is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Online shopping, and discount giants such as Walmart, have made enormous progress in taking business from traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets. This Christmas season is witnessing countless more retail chains filing for bankruptcy.

The conventional wisdom from industry insiders is to blame Internet sales and discount outlets; however, there may be a more serious problem than most realize. The US economy is in a giant inflation bubble that has affected every aspect of our lives: from shopping patterns, to the way we pay for medicine and higher education. Middle class wages have not kept pace with the rate of increase in the cost of living over the past 30 years. There is ample evidence that good paying jobs are difficult to find for most Americans. This is one major part of the reason people are beginning to shy away from expensive mall retailers in favor of discounters, the prices are simply too high for most consumers.

If we look at average rental costs in a mid-sized town such as Fredericksburg, Virginia, we can see how even successful mom and pop businesses are closing due to exorbitant rents. The owner of the former Blackstone Coffee shop in Eagle's Village confided to friends that the rent on his small location had risen to over $10,000 a month, at which point he closed that location. The business had been successful, it was very popular with consumers, and was always busy. However, we must consider how much the business would have to charge per cup of coffee just to keep up with the rising costs associated with running the business.

If one little coffee shop was facing rent of over $10,000 per month, it is difficult to imagine how much a giant sized mall anchor store such as Macy's is paying per month. Add in other rising prices, such as: insurance, utilities, labor costs, etc. and it becomes impossible for mall retailers to lower their prices in order to remain competitive with online retailers that are not burdened by the same costs.

WHY DOES THE WORLD CONTINUE TO HONOR THE MANIAC SID VICIOUS?

A PICTURE OF SHAME

Why does anybody in their right mind continue to honor this drugged up maniac, that killed his girlfriend? He did nothing in his life but cause trouble for everybody around him.

What did he do in his life? Shot up a lot of dope, sang a few songs, killed his girlfriend, and died of an overdose at age 21.

What did he contribute to society? Zero.

How much did he cost society? Plenty. He was a burden to society. The police had to constantly chase him around: the murder charge, and charges of assault and other violent acts.

With hindsight being 20/20, he should be remembered with infamy, as being nothing more than a piece of filth.

INFLATION

There is an economic phenomenon called "inflation". 
This picture is the perfect representation of what happens when inflation is allowed to grow out of control over a period of several decades. The cost of living rises so high that people are unable to afford life's necessities.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

MORE PROOF OF THE US GOVERNMENT'S ECONOMIC INCOMPETENCE

Doug Casey hits the nail on the head with this one. 
We have received ample warning about the difficult times ahead, it should come as a surprise to no one when the US dollar goes over the cliff. The only thing we can do is to prepare for what lies ahead. Get out of the Stock Market, and get away from Wall Street. Mutual funds, annuities, IRAs, 401ks, and other paper assets will quickly become worthless, or will be seized by government order. Turn any financial assets into physical assets by purchasing gold, real estate, businesses, guns, or anything else you can physically touch. When the crises comes, the US government will be desperate for cash, bank accounts and other sorts of financial savings will be targeted for confiscation. Money will not be safe.

Trump can not doing anything, nor could Hillary or anyone else have done something if they'd won the election. This problem began decades ago, and no short term solution can stop the US dollar from getting abandoned by an international marketplace that's grown tired of Washington's incompetence. 


https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/11/doug-casey/doug-casey-on-the-destruction-of-the-dollar/

TRUMP AND THE NFL

 

 

I rarely ever agree with Rush Limbaugh, I think he is a overly pretentious clown and a hypocrite. However, he is correct in this particular case.

The NFL is a business, the team owners are the business owners, and the players are employees.  There are laws that govern workplace behavior, for example: an employer may not discriminate against employees on the basis of race, gender, religion, etc: an employer must provide reasonably safe working conditions by observing certain safety rules; and employers must pay employees a certain minimum wage. The government is justified in creating these sorts of regulations, in order to ensure employees are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous or unethical employers.   

 

President Trump made the statement that NFL players that kneel during the National Anthem should be fired by their team owners. It is an extremely dangerous precedent that Trump is setting by publicly involving himself with the personnel decisions of the NFL owners. The "government", including the president, Congress, or any other public official, has no business telling businesses how to manage or discipline their employees; beyond the established general regulations.  This may seem like nothing more than Trump expressing his opinion on the matter; but as the President, Trump is not like other citizens. His words can have real consequences. As a matter of fact, most presidential speeches are carefully screened so a president does not cause an inadvertent public panic or some other sort of calamity. What did Trump accomplish? His words caused the NFL teams to circle their wagons and present a united front against him. The NFL is a wealthy organization, with billions of dollars available to wage a public relations war. What could have happened if the target of Trump's ire had been a small business that lacked the financial muscle to stand up against public outrage and the constant media bombardment? 

Was Trump justified in attacking the NFL? Perhaps if he was a private citizen, but not as the president. The NFL players have Freedom of Speech, and they can protest, kneel, sit, or lie down as it pleases them. However, there is a time and place for everything, and the football field is not the right place for players to be protesting. The public is expressing it's outrage against the NFL by not watching the games on television or attending the games in person. Ultimately, the NFL is most concerned with the opinion of the public. If the public gets outraged enough the NFL could face a real problem.

 

 

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/10/11/rush-limbaugh-criticizes-trump-nfl-stance/756018001/

 

 http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/22/politics/donald-trump-alabama-nfl/index.html

A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY

Yesterday's mass shooting in Los Vegas was terrible tragedy, and an act of pure evil. I will not try to second guess the investigators as they examine the situation, and it will take some time for investigators to conclude their work.

However, what is certain is that there is something very wrong with the whole scenario. Of course, the crime itself is bad enough, but I am referring to the shooter a Mr. Stephen Paddock. He was an older man in his sixties, he made his career as an accountant, and was seemingly wealthy. He had good relations with his family, and had never been in any sort of trouble. There is no logical reason for such an individual to suddenly flip and go on a rampage. Well, this was not really a rampage, this was carefully planned and carried out.

At the risk of making an educated guess, I think Mr. Paddock may have come under the influence of either an extremist group of some sort or anti-depressants. An extremist group such as ISIS is very good at brainwashing people and turning them into fanatics. This could explain his sudden change in character. Anti-depressants have been involved with almost every non-terrorist mass shooting in the US over the past 25 years. People are fine while they are taking the damned things, but as soon as they stop using the medicine, they start going crazy.

Regardless of the cause of this tragedy, or circumstances which lead Mr. Paddock to act is this evil manner, we must keep the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers. May our loving God have mercy upon us all, and keep us safe from every evil.