Signs the economy is bad: June 8, 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.

A lot of stuff happened between last week and this week. So let's get on with it, and see how many signs we can identify this week.

• Let's start off with some news from the U.S. colonies: 
• From one of the other U.S. colonies, did you know that Hurricane Maria drove more than 1,000 medical refugees from the U.S. Virgin Islands? Story via Grist. Many of their hospital facilities have not recuperated, and did we mention the 2018 hurricane season just started?
• In fact, the U.S. Virgin Islands are still struggling to recuperate from the 2017 hurricane season just as we start the 2018 season. Story via NPR.
• Meanwhile, other Hurricane Maria survivors, mainly from Puerto Rico, are still struggling with issues like lack of resources and homesickness in Miami. Story via Grist.
• In Puerto Rico, the hurricane has  reignited a movement for food independence. Story via NPR. Historically, the island was fairly self-sufficient in terms of food and agriculture until the Americans arrived and basically decimated the native agricultural industry, to the point that ". . .before the hurricane struck in September 2017, Puerto Rico imported about 85 percent of its food." The island went from an island that could easily feed itself to dependent on the colonial imperialist power. 
• Overall, the conclusion is out: the way the U.S. has dealt with its colony, Puerto Rico, is a contemptible failure. Story via The Week.
• At least the rich people might make something out of  it in an insidious way. A colleague of mine, shortly after Hurricane Maria hit, predicted that Puerto Rico would be gentrified, forcing the natives to leave so white rich "investors" (a.k.a.vultures) could move in and take over. Well, lo and behold, his prediction is proving right. Story via Democracy Now!
• And now, some news from the front in the "War on Coal":
• The coal industry may be dying, but they are determined to take anyone with  them as well. Their lobbyists are hard at work to make sure that victims of black lung (you know, from coal mining) get less or no payments to treat the disease. Story via The Rural Blog.
• For conservatives, the  "free market" is the cure-all for any problem, until the free market works and drives an industry down. The free market is one of the big reasons the coal industry, along with nuclear energy, is dying as other forms of energy are just doing better such as natural gas. So, naturally, the Pendejo In Chief and the  Party of Stupid, shameless champions of the free market are doing their best to use government power and regulation to keep dying coal and nuclear plants open. Because the free market is all fine and dandy until it works too well and they don't like it. Story via The Rural Blog.
• In other rural news: 
• Americans love to bitch and moan about immigrants, especially immigrants from "south of the border."  But did you know that for many small towns, the only thing keeping them alive are Mexican immigrants? Well, that trend may be decreasing as Mexicans leave, whether by deportation or choice, sending small towns that were reviving into death spirals. Story via The New York Times.
• Many rural hospitals are closing down, and of the few that remain open, they often get bought out by some big out of town corporation or some billionaire hoping to squeeze gain out of the rural hospital by imposing some very shady practices of questionable value and ethics. Story via The Atlantic.
• In news of corporate fuckery: 
• The CEO of Delta Airlines recently told people that if they are bargain flyers, they can go fuck themselves. OK, he did not quite use the F-word, but he may as well have since he basically told them he could not care less about them as his customers. I hope more people simply tell Delta that it is not their kind of airline. Story via Inc.
• And speaking of flying, news continue of people just fed up with  flying. Sure, plenty of people still choose (or are forced) to fly in the sky cattle cars, but more and more people choose to drive or other ways of transport to avoid flying. Story via USA Today. Personally, you cannot pay me enough money to get in a flying cattle car. Fuck, I'd rather be transported  in an actual cattle car than get in an airline aircraft.
• Because people overall are stupid, big companies like Microsoft and GM are able to raise prices and get people to actually thank them for it. How do they do it? Well, turning a purchase into a "subscription" and thus making you pay more is one  example. Read the rest of the article from Inc. to see what other tricks they  use on  the gullible.
• Recently, Starbucks announced that anyone should be able to use their restrooms, regardless of where they are customers or not. As I mentioned last week, this had some people clutching pearls, such as Megyn Kelly. However, the reality is that good public restrooms are practically non-existent in the U.S., so basically, if you are not a paying customer then you need to go shit elsewhere. Story via TruthDig.
• You probably do not  need to wonder why people do not answer phones anymore. I certainly do not answer the phone if I do not know who the caller is. I check Caller ID, I look up numbers, and if they are spammers, scammers, or other nuisance assholes, they get blocked on my cell phone. Same goes at home where we screen calls too. Let us be honest, the phone  has become nothing more than a tool of corporate and shady spammers and scammers to annoy people. It is also a bane at work where annoying library vendors love to cold call me to try to sell me stuff  I either do not want or just cannot afford (because apparently they did not get the memo that library budgets are shrinking, or in some cases, non-existent for things like buying fancy databases and electronic resources). Annoying cold calls just go to voice mail and get deleted. Personally, if I know you, you can text or email me. Only people I call are close family. Period. In the end, the  overall result is phone culture may be dying, and I am perfectly fine with  that. Read about it in this article from The Atlantic.
• By the way, something to think about while you sip your fancy coffee-flavored milkshake from Starbucks or other coffeehouse. Learn about the history of oppression and exploitation. Learn more in this article from Yes! Magazine.
• In Pendejo In Chief and Party of Stupid news, because when it comes to the Bad Economy, they are the gift that keeps on giving: 
• U.S. Presidents do not always manage to fill all the jobs in government they are supposed to in a timely fashion. However, the Pendejo In Chief is notoriously bad about it, to the point it is doing serious damage. Story via VICE. 
• He is also fucking up treaties with  U.S. allies, such as NAFTA. The Pendejo In Chief is announcing  the U.S. will impose tariffs on things like steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico. Those two countries, being smart, not only are announcing retaliatory tariffs, but they are doing targeted retaliatory tariffs. What are they targeting? Products from Party of Stupid strongholds such as bourbon whiskey the majority of which comes from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell's state. I am sure he will love to explain to bourbon makers, who were just having a big renaissance, why suddenly their product is becoming prohibitively expensive abroad and thus eventually undesirable over there. And  I am sure farmers in places like  Iowa want to hear similar explanations given tariffs for U.S. pork are also announced. Story via Food Politics blog, which  even offers links to the lists of products Canada and Mexico intend to put tariffs on. 
• And because the Pendejo In Chief always needs yet one more country to piss  off, he is aiming at German automakers, which I find ironic because many millionaires and billionaires, you know, the base of the Party of Stupid and the Pendejo In Chief, drive and enjoy vehicles such as BMW and Mercedes Benz. This is not just about tariffs. He right out wants to ban German automobiles out of the U.S. Story via Business Insider, Fortune. 
• In other news from around the U.S. 
• "Are you not entertained?" Because boxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) are not entertaining nor barbaric enough, it's time to bring back bare knuckle boxing. In fact, Wyoming is leading the way. Story via USA Today.  
• A new United Nations report reveals that the poor in the United States are becoming even more destitute under the Pendejo In Chief. Story via Reuters. Given that Americans in general do not give a fuck about the poor (no matter how Christian said Americans claim to be), and they give even less of a fuck about anything the UN may or not say, it's pretty much  up shit's creek for the poor in the U.S. 
• If you are a minority lawyer (read person of color), odds are good you have a very heavy debt load from your education. Because idealism and activism do not really pay the bills, especially  in these Hard  Times. Story via AlterNet.
• If you are caregiver to someone elderly and/or infirm, having to work extra jobs is becoming the norm. However, the real issue is  often asshole employers who do not give a shit about your caregiver situation and make things like taking some leave time next to impossible. Then again, just like the U.S. in  general does not give a shit about the poor, they do not give a shit about things like family neither. Story via Lexington Herald Leader.
• In Florida, they are spending $1 billion to poorly educate and misinform their children as well as using crappy textbooks to promote crackpot ideas like creationism. If you wonder how the U.S. will get to Idiocracy, it starts here. Story via Pharyngula.
• Psst. Do you need a skull for your next satanic or dark ritual? If you are in Miami, and you know the right grave robber, skulls are going for $1,000, but I am sure there may be room to haggle. Story via The Lexington Herald Leader.
• And speaking of funerals and funerary practices, things are so bad in the economy that people often have to turn to crowdfunding to pay for a funeral. Story via The New York  Times.
• In a couple of news items from the world of adult entertainment, erotica, and porn: 
• The parent company of XVideos.com has won the bid for the assets of Penthouse. According to the story via XBiz News, "XVideos.com’s bid for all of Penthouse’s assets — intellectual property, videos, publications, broadcasting and digital rights — amounted to $11.2 million and is subject to a bankruptcy trustee’s approval, as well as the court’s consent." 
• The passage of FOSTA/SESTA legislation is  making life hard for sex workers and other workers in the adult industry. One way they are adapting is by rebranding, and people like Lydia Dupra are doing just that: helping women who work in the adult industry rebrand. Because in the  bad economy, being adaptable is crucial. Story via VICE.
• And let's take a look to see how the uber rich are doing this week: 
• Scott Pruitt, the Pendejo In Chief's choice for leading the EPA, likes to live large and lavishly. Let's see what  he has been up to: 
• He recently spent $1560 on 12 pens. Story via The Week. Because apparently he likes seriously elegant and opulent writing instruments. Now as a writer myself, I appreciate a good writing instrument as much as the next writer. Having said that, if you are going to spend that much money of pens, even if  it is shamelessly just using tax payer money to do it (because, fuck the taxpayers), you should at least spend the money on pens that are actually good. This "helpful" article from VICE suggests the nice pens, still expensive mind you, that are actually good writing instruments that Pruitt could have spent money on instead. 
• For Scott Pruitt, a simple hand lotion will not do. While most of us may settle for Jergens, or whatever generic brand you can find, he only wants the finest lotion, and he happens to like the lotion from the Ritz-Carlton hotels. So much so he sent his security detail to go find him some. Story via VICE. 
• He also wants to buy mattresses on the cheap, so he sent an aide to buy a used mattress from a Trump hotel. Eww, not new mind you. A used mattress. Story via NPR. So, expensive pens (that are not that good) but cheap mattresses. Hmm. 
• And he also tried to get an aide to help him get his wife a Chick-Fil-A franchise. So, bad enough he uses his aides to do dubious things on his behalf, but really, Chick-Fil-A. Not even like a seriously good chicken franchise. Talk about #fail. Story via The Washington Post.
• Lately news are full of those magnificent billionaires wanting to spend money to go to space and do who knows what. However, do not be fooled by their false nobility. Story via Literary Hub. 
• Nobility aside, maybe one of these billionaires wants to buy the International Space Station. NASA is willing to sell it. Story via NPR.
• Meanwhile, in Texas, where everything is bigger including the stupidity and arrogance, the University of Texas System is making it easier for their university heads to fly fancy. Because nothing but the best for them. Economy class is for the cattle. Story via The Texas Tribune.
• In news of horror, the British Empire may be coming to doom as The Guardian dares to suggest that tea is a disgrace.