Once more, welcome to another week of "Signs the economy is bad" here at The Itinerant Librarian. Things are gradually starting to open, and many people are starting to conveniently forget the COVID-19 is still out there in force. The virus has wreaked havoc on the economy, and some sectors of the economy may never recover. Some were already in trouble before the virus hit, so COVID-19 just delivered the last nail on the coffin. This week we have a lot of miscellaneous signs the economy is bad, and we do get some fuckery this week (have not had that in a while), so let's get rolling.
Education News
- In Portland, OR, a preschool teacher ponders if she should return back to teaching in a classroom. Story via NPR. Keep in mind that her pay is so bad she makes more from unemployment. Now before any right wing, "fiscally responsible," financially secure, "hate moochers" elitist assholes whine, let's get one thing straight. The fact she would make more for unemployment does not mean she is a moocher or the system is bad. What it means is that it is an argument for her getting paid better at her job, a very risky job by the way being in a classroom full of snotty kids who probably may or not wear masks and have no concept of basic sanitation. In fact, odds are good teachers like her take care of your little hellions during the day so you can work your job that then allows you to be a privileged elitist asshole who whines online about "moochers" on unemployment. On a serious note, this is an issue. As people return to work, those with children may or will need preschool, day care, so on, and if those teachers that were sent home decide and/or cannot afford to go back to work (or heaven forbid, took another less risky job), well, let's just say the economy will remain bad.
- In college news:
- Are you wondering why some colleges are rushing to open back in the fall? Some of them are even opening at full capacity despite possible risks? Here is a possible answer: they are up to their eyeballs in debts from things like building fancy dorms, amenities for students, etc., and they need the tuition revenue like yesterday. Story via Inside Higher Ed. I mean, it's not the only motivation, but they need money. Still, as the article asks, how much are human lives worth?
- Another major concern for many colleges and universities is the loss of value and money in their endowments. According to this piece at Inside Higher Ed, "A new survey shows that many colleges and universities experienced a loss in endowment values during the pandemic, with respondents averaging a -13.4 percent return during the first quarter of 2020, after paying fees." As a disclosure note, the college where I work it is often said we live and die by our endowment. People, including some of our students, often think that when things get bad, you just tap the endowment. As I had to explain to some of our students, it is not that simple. The idea of an endowment is you have it in investments, and you "live off" the returns and interest. If you have to touch the endowment principal balance, that is usually a sign things are going into shit's creek. Plus, and this is the part of the story, if your endowment loses value, that means less dividends/interest/return on that money, which means you have to lower your spending and also start cutting back on things. I will note the article includes a link to the full survey for those who are interested.
- Cerritos College in California builds a student housing complex for homeless students. Story via Inside Higher Ed.
Rural News
- It is fairly well documented by now that meat packing plants are basically breeding grounds for COVID-19 (and just about every other germ and virus). As if things were not bad enough, in their quest to keep their profits up, meat packers fought health agencies as much as possible not to follow regulations and precautions. How do we know this? Pro Publica did an investigation which included finding e-mail correspondence from meat packers documenting just that. One health official quoted in the article said: “They will keep going until all of their employees have this virus. They would rather risk their employees’ health and keep their production going.” But hey, as long as the rest of you can get your burgers at McDonald's, right?
Government News
- In government corruption, or if we want be more genteel "conflict of interest," there is this: "Companies with family ties to at least four Congress members have received small business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, and critics suspect there’s more — but the Trump administration’s resisting making the list public." Via VICE. It's the old you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours. And by the way, the Congress critters in this instance are both Party of Stupid and Republican Lite affiliated. Let's be honest, when it comes to corruption and helping their buddies, this kind of thing is a bipartisan thing.
- Remember the good old days when the government and other activists encouraged things like carpooling and using mass transit? Well, not anymore. The CDC, due to the pandemic, is recommending for people to drive alone. Via NPR. This naturally begs the question about those who cannot afford to have their own car, but oh well, this is America.
The Bad Economy Around the World
- Meanwhile, did you know that according to a recent survey, 1 in 7 people around the world cannot afford food or shelter? Story via UPI.
In Other News of the Bad Economy
- Thanks to data analytics and the vultures who make a living scraping that data, including data you either leave behind or that you provide to (mostly irresponsible) companies (with seriously lax security), if you got into debt due to the COVID-19, even if you pay that debt off, it will keep haunting you online. Story via The Conversation. What happens: "These companies scrape data from your public records, social media interactions, purchase history and smartphone location tracking. Using powerful technologies, they fuse your data into digital profiles that landlords, employers, lenders and other gatekeepers to life’s necessities use to sort and screen people." Why it can be a problem: ". . .the pandemic’s economic fallout will be permanently embedded in these profiles, making it harder for people to regain their economic footing." One common thing at this time that would fuck you up? If you delayed paying rent during the pandemic, even if the landlord said it was OK with it, he can report you to the credit agencies, and there goes your credit score. Keep in mind so-called eviction moratoriums vary in what they can and not accomplish.
- So how bad can the housing displacement and need for shelter be? Out in parts of Los Angeles, CA homeless people are literally taking over unoccupied houses. Via VICE.
- And you better not get addicted either. Addiction treatment is expensive as hell as it is, and insurance may or not cover it. So, as if that was not bad enough, getting into treatment may be getting a lot more harder as many treatment centers are in financial trouble and may end up closing down completely. Story via NPR.
- So in light of the bad situation, maybe you want to have a drink or two. The thing is many bars are still closed. On the positive, unless you live in some retrograde dry town (like Bumfuck, USA where I live at), you can still go to your local liquor store and stock up to drink at home (I just drive one town over for my liquor needs). However, overall, the pandemic has also had an effect on the liquor industry as, among other things, a good number of people are drinking less, so they buy less liquor. Story via Beverage Daily.
- However, in a pinch, if you have a Cracker Barrel nearby, you might be able to drink alcohol there in the near future. Story via 12 Tomatoes. No, I am not joking. In a move that reeks of desperation, apparently the company has sustained financial losses recently, they are gradually going to add beer, wine, and cider to their menu.
- Naturally, or I hope, if you are drinking, you should or would desire to have some food. On a positive, the pandemic has caused some changes in food habits, including getting people to cook more at home. Story via Food Politics blog.
- More people eating at home may be good news for people's wallets as well as for health overall, but it is definitely not good news for restaurants and eateries. How bad is it?
- The Atlantic is pretty much projecting an extinction level event for restaurants due to the pandemic.
- VICE is not that optimistic either. A lot of the future may be more carry out and delivery. I will be honest. This week we ordered some nice restaurant fare for carry out, and it worked out pretty good. To be honest, it was quite nice, and we could stay safely isolated. I am not even sure I want to go back into a restaurant, certainly not as long as the virus is still out there.
- On a positive note for bookstores, in light of George Floyd's death and the sudden "awakening" of people to issues affecting Blacks in the US, like cops basically killing them left and right, book lists to educate yourself are a hot item. As a result:
- Bookstore owners are struggling to keep up with the sudden demand of anti-racist books. Story via Gothamist.
- Meanwhile, in Florida, a bookstore owner is selling out of books for the first time in decades. Story via Black Enterprise.
- On a side note, last week in my "Reading about the reading life" post, I linked to this piece asking "What is an anti-racist reading list for?" Well, for one, it does help spur new sales of books at bookstores of books that may have ended up just sitting there otherwise. Crises can be good for business.
Hold My Beer
(Serious fuckery in the bad economy)
- U.S. health insurance companies may decide not to pay for things like COVID-19 testing, or at least they may just refuse, resist, and make things difficult to pressure the government or someone else to pay. Story via Reuters. It is one of those possibilities that become very real when you leave something that should be a human right, and therefore not for profit, in the hands of vulture capitalists who could not care less about public health but only about the almighty dollar.
- And then, 90% in the U.S. fear that Big Pharma will exploit the COVID-19 crisis. Story via UPI. According to the article, "Almost 90 percent of Americans say they're concerned the drug industry will exploit the coronavirus pandemic in some way for profit that will drive up costs, according to a survey." I do not need my divination cards to tell me that this is an extremely likely scenario. Anyone out there want to place bets otherwise?
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