"In today's vlog we are at Kroger, and are noticing price increases on groceries, and a lot of empty shelves! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and the empty shelves situation! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
"At a time when supercenters continue to seize a larger share of the market, and online platforms offer shoppers everything they want without leaving their homes, running a grocery store is definately not an easy thing to do. The business of food retailing is build upon extremely thin profit margins, and issues like shoplifting, supply chain disruptions, mergers and aquisitions, or anti-trust complaints can drive an entire chain that operated for decades or even hundreds of years out of business in a snap of fingers. It's very likely that at least one supermarket chain you used to shop at has disappeared from the U.S. retail landscape since the turn of the century.
For example, A&P, also known as The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., this company started as a tea seller in 1859. As time went by, it branched out its business to sell other products, and its wide product range and good pricing allowed it to become a very popular store all over America. At its peak, A&P had over 15,000 stores, according to Reuters. But as other competitors emerged, and its new store format fell flat, A&P faced a series of waves of sell-offs and store closures, which resulted in two rounds of bankruptcies. In 2015, the cumulative losses become too great for the chain to bear, and A&P went out of business completely.
Similarly, Fresh & Easy was the U.S. version of the U.K. grocery giant Tesco. In 2006, the supermarket chain opened branches in California, Arizona, and Nevada. In addition to selling groceries, the company also established a cold-chain delivery for prepackaged meals, which Tesco had successfully implemented in the U.K. But American customers didn’t really buy the idea, and they didn’t think the quality was that good. CPS magazine notes that the size of the U.S. made the delivery system untenable and that the brand failed to distinguish itself from other brands, filing for bankruptcy for the first time in 2013. A year after, Fresh & Easy was bought by Yucaipa Companies, but that wasn't enough to save the grocery chain; Fresh & Easy filed for bankruptcy again in 2015, closing all of its stores in the same year.
The same happened to Grand Union stores, which were once plentiful in the U.S. Northeast. But tough competition led the grocer to file for bankruptcy in 2001, being bought by C&S Wholesale Grocers a year later. The new parent company quickly realized that it wouldn’t be able to save the brand, so it decided to sell off stores to Tops Friendly Markets in 2012. But a couple of months later, proven to be unprofitable, the new owner discontinued the Grand Union chain altogether.
Competition is getting harder and harder as big conglomerates dominate the scene and crush small, local, and mom-and-pop brands with their large-scale operations and reduced labor costs. Only companies that stand out will be able to survive in this environment, which means we are likely to see many more grocery store shutdowns in the years ahead. With so many big names closing stores lately, it makes us wonder which chain will disappear next. Today, we listed 25 once loved grocery store chains that don't exist anymore.
“I think humans might be like butterflies; people die every day without many other people knowing about them, seeing their colors, hearing their stories… and when humans are broken, they’re like broken butterfly wings; suddenly there are so many beauties that are seen in different ways, so many thoughts and visions and possibilities that form, which couldn’t form when the person wasn’t broken! So it is not a very sad thing to be broken, after all! It’s during the times of being broken, that you have all the opportunities to become things unforgettable! Just like the broken butterfly wing that I found, which has given me so many thoughts, in so many ways, has shown me so many words, and imaginations! But butterflies need to know that it doesn’t matter at all if the whole world saw their colors or not! What matters is that they flew, they glided, they hovered, they saw, they felt, and they knew! And they loved the ones whom they flew with! And that is an existence worthwhile!”
"In the closing days of 50 BC, the Roman Senate declared that Julius Caesar’s term as a provincial governor was finished. Roman law afforded its magistrates immunity to prosecution, but this immunity would end with Caesar’s term. As the leader of the populares faction, Caesar had many enemies among the elite optimates, and as soon as he left office, these enemies planned to bury him in litigation. Caesar knew he would lose everything: property, liberty, even his life.
Caesar decided it was better to fight for victory than accept certain defeat. In January 49 BC, he crossed the Rubicon River with his army, in violation of sacred Roman law, and began a civil war. “Alea iacta est,” said Caesar: The die is cast."
"We are fast moving into something, we are fast flung into something like asteroids cast into space by the death of a planet, we the people of earth are cast into space like burning asteroids and if we wish not to disintegrate into nothingness we must begin to now hold onto only the things that matter while letting go of all that doesn't. For when all of our dust and ice deteriorates into the cosmos we will be left only with ourselves and nothing else. So if you want to be there in the end, today is the day to start holding onto your children, holding onto your loved ones; onto those who share your soul. Harbor and anchor into your heart justice, truth, courage, bravery, belief, a firm vision, a steadfast and sound mind. Be the person of meaningful and valuable thoughts. Don't look to the left, don't look to the right; we simply don't have the time. Never be afraid of fear."
“These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the large nebula left of center, and colorful M20 on the right. The third, NGC 6559, is above M8, separated from the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant.
The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae, with contrasting blue hues, most striking in the Trifid, due to dust reflected starlight. The colorful skyscape recorded with telescope and digital camera also includes one of Messier's open star clusters, M21, just above the Trifid.”
- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html • "When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars."
"It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone - that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous. The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge."
"There are so many tax increases that are coming in 2023 that people just don’t know about. In addition to that we are seeing that inflation is continuing to rise. Get Ready to Pay More."
"Take a tour of VDNKh in Moscow, Russia during the 2022 New Year Celebrations. Walking through the park we will look at Europe's largest ice rink is in Moscow, Russia. Christmas decorations, Ice slides and food markets."
"In today's vlog we are at Sam's Club, and are noticing price increases on groceries, and a lot of empty shelves! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and the empty shelves situation! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Excerpt: “The powerful are panicking, and so they should. Their secrets are leaking.” - Miranda Devine
“It’s all just snake oil. We want to save the planet, and the life upon it, but we’re not willing to pay the price and bear the consequences. So we make up a narrative that feels good and run with it.” - Raul Ilargi Meier
“2023 could be a pivotal year for USA if the pervasive lies can be exposed, digested, and believed. All that exposure has to happen amidst continuing boondoggles toward the Great Reset agenda.” - Truman Verdun
“More borrowing only ever makes sense if you are expecting a larger economy in the future. All economic expansion is based on energy. Countries with energy can expand, those without cannot.” - Chris Martenson
“To be an enemy to America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.” - Henry Kissinger
“The incorrect narrative provided by mainstream media (MSM) is that climate change is our worst problem. To lessen this problem, citizens need to move quickly away from fossil fuels and transition to renewables. The real narrative is that we are running short of fossil fuels that can be profitably extracted, and renewables are not adequate substitutes. However, this narrative is too worrisome for most people to handle.” - Ugh Bardi
"It’s hard to contemplate 2023 without spiraling into nausea, tachycardia, and cold sweat. But it is an inescapable duty here to lay out the probabilities ahead. I’ve been doing this forecast thing for some years now, and, of course, I am often wrong, so take some solace in that and relax. Maybe the new year will be all unicorns, rainbows, talking gerbils, and candied violets.
2022 sure was a cold shower. The long emergency I talk so much about finally got up to cruising speed, with the ectoplasmic “Joe Biden” revving our country into economic, political, and cultural collapse - a hat-trick of calamity - and he did it more swiftly and directly than any emperor managed in late-day Rome, with policies and actions 180-degrees contra to America’s public interest - cheered on by a thinking class that had obviously lost it consensual mind.
Was it simply to do the opposite of what the loathed and detested Mr. Trump would do? Could it be that simple or that automatic? The thinking class’s eyes have a zombified glaze these days. It’s obvious, you might agree, that “Joe Biden” is not in charge of anything, really. He’s an animatronic figure programmed to read a teleprompter and not much else. Half the time, he can’t even find his way off-stage after doing that one trick. The claque pulling his strings just may be the crew you see around him (you know, WYSIWYG): Susan Rice, Ron Klain, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, and company. Ms. Rice has kept herself completely hidden backstage at the White House for two years. Nobody ever hears about her or sees her. Weird, a little bit, for the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Or else, are there puppeteers deeper in the shadows, say, “JB’s” former boss Barack Obama, Der Schwabenklaus and his WEF retinue, Bill Gates and other tech billionaires, the “systemically important” bankers, George Soros…? Or some coven of super-elite warlocks we’d never heard of? The US leadership dynamic is truly mystifying and has been for two whole years. Will mysteries be revealed in 2023? Personally, I think so. Things are lining up in that direction, though who knows whether the damage can even be reversed at this point. And now onto the shape of things to come…"
the lie became the truth.” – George Orwell, "1984"
“Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical
point of view, is silence about truth.”
- Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World"
Excerpt: "I wish I could go through a day without having to reference Orwell and Huxley when observing how the ruling class is able to manipulate, subjugate, and propagandize the willfully ignorant masses through lies, deceptions, disinformation, and fear. But here we are, living through a dystopian nightmare blending the worst aspects of Orwell’s "1984" and Huxley’s "Brave New World."
It’s as if O’Brien and Mustapha Mond are running the show, using behavioral conditioning, restricting freedom of speech, adhering to a strict caste system, surveilling everything we say or do, using our fears to control us, utilizing propaganda to produce false narratives, and ultimately threatening to stomp a boot on our faces forever if we do not obey and conform. Virtually everything we are told by politicians, government bureaucrats, military brass, “esteemed” journalists, medical “experts”, bankers, and corporate executives is lies. They do not believe their lies, but they know it benefits themselves financially to lie, and as long as they work together, they know the ignorant masses will believe them.
George tells Jerry “It’s not a lie if you believe it” as he is going to take a lie detector test. I wonder how Fauci, Biden, Hillary, Obama, Comey, Wray, Pelosi, and the slew of other Deep State coup conspirators would fare on a lie detector test about Russiagate, Covidgate, J6 Insurrectiongate, and Vaccinegate. Based on the titanic volume of lies they have spewed over the last several years, I’m sure the machine would overheat and explode if hooked up to any of this traitorous vile scum.
The humorous phrase uttered by George Costanza on a sitcom twenty-seven years ago captures a significant kernel of truth about the mindset of the vast majority of non-critical thinking drones roaming the aisles of WalMarts and waiting in the drive-thru at McDonalds across our dystopian states of America. The lies run so deep you need hip-boots to wade through them on a daily basis. The reason our leaders lie is because we let them lie. The majority prefer comforting lies to unpleasant truths, because accepting unpleasant truths would require them to act and they prefer being distracted by trivialities like sports, reality TV, social media likes and otherwise being addicted to their technological gadgets."
Excerpt: "Since the mid of the year it has become clear that the war in Ukraine is one that is mainly fought by artillery. Ukraine was clearly the underdog in that fight as the Russian forces fired eight times the amount of artillery munitions the Ukraine could make available. The U.S. and some European dependents stepped in. Some 120 M-777 guns and a myriad of modern track mounted artillery systems were given to the Ukrainian army. Hundred of tons of ammunition were moved in. The U.S. and some allies delivered HIMARS systems that could reach beyond the limits of gun artillery.
The Russian military reacted to it. It dispersed its depots and command centers thereby limiting the number of targets for HIMARS systems. It also intensified its use of electronic warfare which took down the drones the Ukrainian artillery used to find its targets: The electronic suppression of Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicles blunted one of Kyiv’s biggest advantages in the early months of the war. The Ukrainians counted on superior intelligence - largely provided by UAVs - to make their smaller artillery arsenal more precise than Russia’s own, larger arsenal of big guns and rocket-launchers.
But the Russians’ electronic warfare prevented those drones from navigating and communicating - and deprived the Ukrainians of the precision they were counting on. “The defeat of precision was critical to unit survival” for the Russians, analysts Mykhaylo Zabrodskyi, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds explained in a study for the Royal United Services Institute in London.
“The average life-expectancy of a quadcopter remained around three flights,” Zabrodskyi, Watling, Danylyuk and Reynolds wrote. “The average life-expectancy of a fixed-wing UAV was around six flights” and, “in aggregate, only around a third of UAV missions can be said to have been successful.”
Lacking real fighting capabilities the Ukrainian artillery switched towards easier fixed targets. In late November it again started to intensely bombard Donetsk city with artillery and missiles. As there are few military installations or even barracks within the city this clearly was a war against its civilian population. Russian language papers wrote about the civilian casualties caused by the carnage. The political leadership of the Donetsk Republic requested an urgent operation against the threat.
As the heavily fortified frontline makes it impossible to quickly break through and hunt the artillery behind that line, the Russian military moved to other measures. A special cell was created to wage the fight against Ukrainian artillery around Donetsk. More counter artillery radars were moved in. More satellite picture interpreters began to look for firing positions. Longer range counter battery guns also appeared."
“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.”
– George R.R. Martin, "Game of Thrones"
“The very survival of the nation will feel at stake. Sometime before the year 2025, America will pass through a great gate in history, commensurate with the American Revolution, Civil War, and twin emergencies of the Great Depression and World War II.”– Strauss & Howe, “The Fourth Turning”
“Reflect on what happens when a terrible winter blizzard strikes. You hear the weather warning but probably fail to act on it. The sky darkens. Then the storm hits with full fury, and the air is a howling whiteness. One by one, your links to the machine age break down. Electricity flickers out, cutting off the TV. Batteries fade, cutting off the radio. Phones go dead. Roads become impassible, and cars get stuck. Food supplies dwindle. Day to day vestiges of modern civilization – bank machines, mutual funds, mass retailers, computers, satellites, airplanes, governments – all recede into irrelevance.
Picture yourself and your loved ones in the midst of a howling blizzard that lasts several years. Think about what you would need, who could help you, and why your fate might matter to anybody other than yourself. That is how to plan for a saecular winter. Don’t think you can escape the Fourth Turning. History warns that a Crisis will reshape the basic social and economic environment that you now take for granted.”– Strauss & Howe, "The Fourth Turning"
“In Part One of this article I laid out the reasons for Gray Champions arising to meet challenges during crisis periods in history. In Part Two of this article I assessed the configuration of Gray Champions throughout the world and the potential impact on the course of this Fourth Turning.
The swirling fog of confusion enveloping the globe as the high lords of the universe play their game of thrones has even the most critical thinking individuals baffled by the course of events. The desperation and blatant lawlessness of the Deep State players in their endeavor to preserve their hegemony over the course of global affairs is palpable with every attack, false flag, accusation, and ratcheting up of their propaganda media machine.
Like “Game of Thrones,” the behind the scenes machinations, subterfuge, and deceptions taking place outside the purview of the common folk are designed to only benefit the rich and powerful players undertaking these traitorous actions. Open warfare will not happen until it is thought to be in the best interests of those manipulating the levers of society and the narrative produced by their perpetual propaganda media machine. But, in the end, it will be the innocent common people who will suffer the consequences, while the lords reap the riches, glory and power.
“Why is it always the innocents who suffer most,
when you high lords play your game of thrones?”
– “Lord Varys”,
- George R.R. Martin, “Game of Thrones”
The common people have always been blind to the next turning until after it fully arrives. Even now, the average person has no idea we are in the midst of a crisis period which will change the course of history. The overwhelming majority of the 335 million Americans, and billions around the globe, try to go about their daily lives oblivious to the intrigues, conspiracies, and treachery playing out at the highest levels of government and in smoky backrooms, where deals are made, wars plotted, and billions dispersed to the oligarchical lords running our world.
The common people get up, go to work, try to earn enough to survive or get ahead in life, raise their children, and endeavor to attain the lifestyle sold to them by their overlords based on delusion and debt. They are easily distracted by technological baubles, watching sporting events, enslaved by government handouts, and told what to believe by their keepers. They don’t want to experience the challenges of winter, but a never ending summer. They don’t want to think and be responsible for their lives. They want to be left in peace on Twitter and Facebook, but that isn’t how it works during a Fourth Turning winter.
“The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends,” Ser Jorah told her. “It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.” He gave a shrug. “They never are.”
– George R.R. Martin, “A Game of Thrones”
There is no telling how the next ten or so years will play out; which alliances prove to be successful or disastrous, and the outcomes of the fast approaching civil and global wars, which are inevitable given the current state of affairs in the world. The Fourth Turning isn’t a prediction. It’s a period of crisis driven by the generational alignment which happens like clockwork every 80 to 100 years. It predicts nothing. The course of events is up to the individuals driving those events.
Those who attempt to dismiss this generational theory by calling it doom porn or saying it is impossible to predict the future are revealing their fears rather than arguing based on facts or substance. A man who fears the coming trials and tribulations has already lost. Fear works far better than swords in keeping the masses controlled. Take the Russian bogeyman scenario utilized to keep the ignorant masses distracted and bemused. Praying for a lone wolf to save the day and restore the world to its summer like condition is irrational and again based upon fear. Winter winds are already blowing at gale force.
“When the snows fall and the white winds blow,
the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”
– “Ned Stark”,
– George R.R. Martin, “Game of Thrones”
It’s fear that appears to be pushing people over the edge. The common people are being manipulated by the “powers that be” though propaganda, mistruths, distractions, iGadgets, hero worship, irrelevant social justice warrior issues, the illusion of political choices, and being lured into debt servitude by the banking cabal and their mega-corporation co-conspirators. They have successfully divided us into angry subsets of lone wolves unwilling or unable to unite and fight the true enemies.
The common people will again do the dying and get the short end of the stick, just as they did during the Civil War, Great Depression and World War II. In order to change the dynamics of this Fourth Turning from one where the lords determine our fate, it would require the majority to open their eyes to see the truth and be led by truly just men to overcome the forces of darkness currently in control. Based on history, this is an unlikely scenario, but still possible.
“Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and
the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true.”
– “Syrio Forel”,
– George R.R. Martin, “Game of Thrones”
While Biden, Putin, and Xi play their game of thrones for world dominance, we the people still have to do our part at this crucial time in history. While the vast majority of Americans may not be intellectually capable of independent thought or critical thinking due to decades of dumbing down through the government education gulags and a steady diet of government propaganda, there are a minority of patriotic people who respect the Constitution and will need to man the wall.
We know the existing social order will be demolished by the end of this Fourth Turning and courageous acts will matter, sacrifice required, and defeating enemies from within and without will be compulsory. There will be no glory for common men who make the ultimate sacrifice and die for a better tomorrow for their children and grandchildren. Everyone has the potential to make a difference. Danger is omnipresent.
“I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.”
– The Oath of the Brothers of the Night’s Watch
– “Game of Thrones”
You don’t have to be a fan of the ‘Game of Thrones’ or a believer in the Fourth Turning to realize the world is in the midst of a crisis. Denial and willful ignorance will not turn back time to better days. Whether it be a fictional battle for control of the seven kingdoms or a real battle for control of petro-currencies, gas pipelines, natural resources, and military dominance, the humans locked in these battles never change.
Human nature has remained the same throughout history. The shortcomings of men across centuries have remained consistent: greed, power seeking, arrogance, cruelty, immorality, and hubris.Even Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a man of true courage, knew “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being”. The coming storms will bring out the best and the worst in humanity. The nation could be snuffed out or be elevated to new glorious heights. If good wins out over evil the heroic deeds of the winners will become the stuff of myths and legends. If evil wins out over good the final shocking scene in “The Planet of the Apes” may be our future. The choices we make will matter.
Full screen recommended.
The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war…
History’s howling storms can bring out the worst and best in people. The next Fourth Turning can literally destroy us as a nation and people, leaving us cursed in the histories of those who endure and remember. Alternatively, it can ennoble our lives, elevate us as a community, and inspire acts of consummate heroism – deeds that will grow into myth-like legends recited by our heirs far into the future.”
"President Donald Trump doubled down on his pro vax stance in a new interview this week. It looks like Trump has waded into the vax quicksand, and it’s going to take him under if he doesn’t pull out soon. Even though host Wayne Root is firmly anti-CV19 vax, Trump told him the CV19 bioweapon/vax is a “miracle of modern science” and “saved millions of lives.” Donald Trump cannot back up the claim this bioweapon saved “millions of lives” because bioweapons are designed to maim and kill. That is exactly what this CV19 injection has done and is still doing. Sticking to his guns on the bioweapon passed off as a vaccine is so far afoul of the injury and death data is disturbing for a man who wants to be President again. Before it’s over, I predict President Trump will have to do an about face on the vax. I hope he does not wait too long. With the overwhelming negative scientific evidence on the CV19 bioweapon, I am surprised Trump has not already done so. What good are Trump’s policies if nobody is left alive to enjoy them in 2025? Repent Donald Trump.
Elon Musk has taken a wrecking ball to Twitter censorship when he took over as CEO. Now, Musk is tweeting out “Gain-of-Function” with the word “bioweapon.” Musk is saying the CV19 infection was a bioweapon in clear terms. Do you think Musk has been watching Karen Kingston on USAWatchdog? Kingston is calling out everything CV19 from “infection to injection” and saying, “It’s all a lie.” Data and documents show CV19 is, in fact, a man-made military bioweapon. There is no virus, according to biotech analyst Kingston. It’s just lipid nanoparticles or a “biohybrid microrobot.” This is what the Big Pharma patents say, and everybody at the top knows CV19 from “infection to injection” is a bioweapon.
We have so many “wars and rumors of wars” going on today around the world that the prediction from Jesus, more than 2,000 years ago, is looking more and more like a prophesy coming true. The Pentagon is threatening to kill Putin, according to the Russians. Ukraine is a war with no end in sight, Iran is threatening to nuke Israel, and China is threatening Taiwan on a regular basis. These are just to name a few of the “wars and rumors of wars” happening now. There is much more in the 47 min. newscast."
"A large number of retailers are in serious trouble and they are at risk of falling apart early in 2023 due to the weakest holiday sales seen since the financial crisis, as well as soaring levels of debt, bloated inventories, and changing consumer patterns amid the ongoing recession. Many factors are forcing even popular brands, including CVS, Rite Aid, Family Dollar, Best Buy, and more, to start shutting down stores to manage their operational costs as economic conditions continue to worsen. According to a new survey, almost three-quarters of U.S. retailers are planning to hike prices due to the effect of supply chain problems and inflationary pressures on their balance sheets. Industry analysts say that a new wave of mass store closings and bankruptcies is already on the horizon, and 2023 will likely be a decisive year for the entire sector as the brick-and-mortar landscape gets increasingly emptier.
Never before in history, so many stores have disappeared in such a short period of time. From January 2020 to December 2022, over 10,220 retail stores have been permanently shut down as the sector faced the toughest conditions since 2008. Even before the pandemic, the retail industry was facing incredible volatility due to billions of dollars in real estate debt and the emergence of giant e-commerce platforms that offered everything consumers need through the convenience of a simple click.
In 2022, the cost of living crisis that financially strained millions of Americans led to slower sales and the resurrection of value as part of the purpose of consumption. Even wealthy households started flocking to Walmart and Aldi in order to make ends meet. To regain profitability, several popular brands started cutting jobs and other costs as well as closing several locations where foot traffic was declining precipitously.
According to an analysis released by Yahoo, many big names in the industry may not make it to 2023. At the same time, an overwhelming number of retail chains revealed plans to increase their prices next year due to higher operational costs spurred by supply chain issues and inflation. A survey conducted by GetResponse found that 72% of U.S. retailers will hike prices and pass on increased costs to their customers in 2023.
Roughly 89% of retailers have been facing ever-rising supply chain costs. “Hence, they might not have any choice but to increase prices because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping them continue to turn a profit,” the researchers noted. Even more alarmingly, 52% of retailers reported that sales have drastically dropped in the second half of 2022.
A significant rise in the number of distressed retailers beginning in early 2023 is expected, the expert adds, considering that ballooning prices are likely to dent demand for certain goods, and stores contend with bloated inventory levels as a recession continues to unfold. “We have potentially a perfect storm brewing,” said Sally Henry, a professor of law at Texas Tech Law School and former partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see a massive uptick in retail bankruptcies.”
It’s safe to say that only a minority of retail companies will report satisfactory results this season. Even Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is warning businesses that sales growth will not come organically when consumer spending goes down, especially during a recession, so the outlook isn’t very promising. The retail apocalypse enters yet another year, and its effects threaten to be incredibly devastating for us all."
"Ed Dowd, author of "Cause Unknown" (available at BrighteonBooks.com and other book resellers) joined me for an interview last night to share updated - and slightly horrifying - numbers about post-vaccine excess fatalities and excess disability claims.
The short version of that conversation is that each day in America, there are about 2,500 excess deaths and 5,000 excess disability victims due to covid-19 vaccines. This means, on average, about 7,500 Americans are removed from the potential labor pool each day.
One of the more startling realizations in all this is that the United States of America is suffering the early stages of a "decivilization" event, not merely a temporary bump in the road. That term refers to the dismantling of the critical, complex pillars of a modern advanced civilization, rendering it unable to function.
Ed Dowd calls this the "glacial Mad Max" scenario: It's going to get very bad but not all at once. The slow, steady erosion of the pillars of civilization will become increasingly apparent over time as another 2.7 million people are killed or disabled by the vaccines each year." Get the full story and podcast here:
