The Itinerant Librarian: Signs the economy is bad: May 11, 2018 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Signs the Economy is Bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is the semi-regular (as in when I have time and/or feel like doing it) feature where I scour the Internet in search of the oh so subtle hints that the economy is bad. Sure, pundits may say things are getting better, but what do they know? And to show not all is bad, once in a while we look at how good the uber rich have it.

I have been hoarding news stories in the feed reader for a while now, so this is going to be a big post. A lot has been going on since the previous edition. Let's get on with it.

Let's start with some higher education news. You will notice a lot of this comes out of Texas, where higher education is not always a priority, unless it involves college football:

In a case of higher education fuckery, the University of Texas at Tyler promised in writing 50-plus full ride scholarship to a group of potential students. The students were ready to go there, when the university decided to revoke the offers because it had "over budgeted" (a.k.a. they can't do basic math apparently). The fact that most of those students were international students just adds to the injury. They made a promise, then they went back on it. The nice thing, on par for East Texas, are the whiny victim-mentality local yokels actually defending this fuckery. Story via Inside Higher Ed.
Meanwhile, in other Texan priorities of higher education, the cost of recruiting athletes for their colleges, especially for things like football (which is basically a religion in Texas right after Jesus), is going up. Who gets stuck with the bill? More often than not the rest of the students, many of which likely could not care less about athletics. And we are talking costs like "private jets, chartered cars, visits to fancy restaurants" Because priorities, man. Story via The Texas Tribune.
Meanwhile, in Texas community colleges, women struggle to find accessible and desirable birth control. Story via The Texas Tribune.
And because women cannot catch a break when it comes to educational opportunities in Texas, Texans also discriminate against women in prison by denying them the same educational and job training opportunities that men in prison get. Story via The Texas Observer.

In grade school news:

Whether unionized or not, teachers have a hard time making ends meet. Story via NPR. Although I would bet unionized ones are slightly better off. Overall, this is probably why they are walking out of classrooms and protesting.
By the way, school support staff are often forgotten and also underpaid. Story via The Washington Post.
In a trend that refuses to go away, this time up in Wisconsin, a school district is yet again shaming students who may be short on funds to pay for their school lunch, including taking food away and tossing it rather than letting the student eat. Story via AlterNet.

In Millennials' news:

Apparently Millennials are "killing cable," and Comcast, a.k.a. the most hated company in the United States is not happy with that. So now they are proposing not selling you Internet access unless you also buy their shitty cable service. Given that more often than not Comcast has a monopoly in its areas, this is just flat out fuckery. Story via Boing Boing.
In addition, some seem to think that Millennials do not need living rooms. Living in the equivalent of a rabbit hutch should be good enough for them. Story via The New Statesman.
However, Millennials and Generation X do agree on one thing: Baby Boomers are basically selfish assholes who, after they got all the breaks and perks they could possibly get, basically pulled the ladder up after them and screwed every generation after. Boomers are, among other fuckery, the architects of "trickle down economics." Story via AlterNet.

How about ways to screw over the poor and less fortunate?

Thanks to Ben Carson, the Party of Stupid HUD Secretary the Pendejo In Chief put in place, a good number of families that rely on government assistance to pay for housing will find their rent tripling. Story via The Week.
And in Louisiana, Medicaid cuts mean that a lot of nursing home residents are going to get kicked out of said nursing homes. Story via AlterNet.

And in rural news:

For all the bragging Texans love to do about being independent and self sufficient, a lot of them depend on public assistance, including many in rural areas. Because they are fine bragging, but they love to put their hand out when they need assistance. Not that I begrudge them said assistance, but you know, the bragging gets old. Despite that, they persist in voting of the Party of Stupid, which is now gearing up to make changes to the SNAP program. Result? A lot of rural Texans could end up going hungry. Oh well. Story via The Texas Observer.
In fact, SNAP cuts could hurt rural communities around the nation overall. Story via The Daily Yonder.
Furthermore, due to the bad economy, farmers are at greater risk for suicide. Story via The Daily Yonder.
And speaking of farmers, pecan farmers are having to rebrand pecans to sell in the U.S. You see, those farmers sold a lot of their product to places like China. Thanks to the Pendejo In Chief's tariff war, those farmers, a good number of which voted for the Pendejo In Chief because he'll stand up to China, now have to scramble to sell more pecans domestically to make up the losses new tariffs would cause. Pecan pie, anyone? Story via The Christian Science Monitor.
Rural mail carriers are having issues too. Story via The Rural Blog. A disadvantage of living in the middle of nowhere is a serious lack of shopping options. Naturally, many folks in those areas shop online, and that merchandise has to be delivered. Catch often is that the major commercial carriers, like UPS and FedEx, do not go into rural areas. Nope. They just drop off your package at their local USPS to deliver to your house in the sticks. Because unlike the USPS, which has a mandate to go everywhere they are needed, private companies can be choosy and do often refuse to deliver in places they perceive to not bring profit, like your residence in the middle of Bumfuck, USA. Since the Party of Stupid is hell bent on destroying the USPS (and just about any public service), the rural postal carriers are suffering from less funding and less staff. So maybe try to be a bit more considerate of your local rural carriers if you want to keep getting your packages (and stop voting for those who want to cut public services).

In commercial flight and other travel news:

It seems Americans, a good amount of them, are getting sick and tired of the cattle car commercial flight bullshit, and as a result they are flying less. Story via USA Today. Works for me. I am certainly someone who actively avoids flying. In fact, I have not gotten on a plane in years, and I am happy with that. Between deregulation and the 9/11 Kabuki circus, commercial flight is just unbearable.
And if flying as it is now is not bad enough, airlines are now eyeing "standing seats" in order to cut costs even more and squeeze in even more ~~people~~ cattle. Story via Boing Boing.
Meanwhile, United continues their nickel and diming by taking away things and services from their better customers. Story via Inc.
And as if things were not bad enough, it turns out mere peons are now finding a way into those cozy airport lounges. The horror. Story via VICE.
So you decide you will drive to avoid flying. Well, you may have to put some extra money aside since gasoline is getting more expensive these days. Story via The Week.

Finally for this week, in miscellaneous signs the economy is bad:

Will robots take over restaurant jobs? Some experts say robot cooks can be the future of fast food restaurants, but they might there just yet. Story via The Christian Science Monitor.
Sales of frozen food are going down. The reason? According to the story from NPR a lot of it is due to more people preferring fresh food.
Ford finally decided to just admit they are nothing more than a big truck maker. They have decided to stop making sedans and other "traditional" cars. Story via NPR.
In fact, the big truck and SUV trend is so pervasive that even Rolls Royce, yes THAT Rolls Royce, will be making their first ever SUV. However, do not get too excited. It is after all a Rolls Royce, including the very hefty price tag. Small story via USA Today.
And what has Amazon been up to? Recently they wanted access to your house to deliver packages inside your home when you are not there. Now, they want to access the trunk of your car. Story via The Week.
You ever wonder why you might not see a doctor when you try to go see one? You get stuck instead with a practical nurse or a physician's assistant? Turns out there is a big shortage of MD doctors. Story via The Washington Post. To give you an example, I recently got a cold. Apparently I caught the viral stuff a lot of the students were getting at the end of the semester, and in my case, it combined with some "good old Kentucky pollen" (i.e. allergies). Since it took a bit longer to heal up, I went to my doctor's office, without appointment, and I was told that while my own doc was booked all day, the practical nurse would be available. I said what the heck, sure. To be honest, the nurse was a lot nicer than the physician, got me what I needed in terms of a script and some treatment, and sent me on my way. Sure, very serious stuff, you likely still need a full doctor, but for simpler ailments, the nurse or assistant will do just fine.
In a bit of humor, it seems you may be able to get cocaine delivered quicker than a pizza. Story via Global Drug Survey. I wanted to laugh more at this story, but after a recent bad experience with a certain pizza chain that fucked up a simple delivery and then were rude about it, I am starting to think ordering some cocaine may be a better idea. At least the coke dealer will likely be reliable in the delivery.
Because I try to be helpful too, here is some friendly advice. Let me save you a click on this story about how to stop overspending with friends. My advice is much simpler than the one offered by Becoming Minimalist, and it is this: get a new set of friends if the ones you have are making spend too much. Simple. Seriously, don't go broke trying to keep up. Fuck those guys and gals. Dump them and get some new friends with some common sense and consideration.
Finally for this week, it turns the best place to find some good country music is not in the United States. Where is the new mecca of country? Would you believe me if I told you it was in Sweden? Read the story here to learn more via Saving County Music.