Signs the economy is bad: July 16, 2021 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.

It is not often I do this feature two weeks in a row, but we have plenty of stories to tell us the economy is bad. So let's get on with it.
 

 Rural News

•  Via The Rural Blog, a report that the U.S. birth rate is declining due to young women doing things like going to school and getting their educations and/or focusing on jobs and careers. However, there is an exception to that trend: rural areas. I may say that I can't imagine why, but the article provides a hint: "Fertility tends to be higher in economically stagnant areas, and childbearing often has more cultural importance for women." I do not think I need to say anything more. 

Government News

• Not all areas of the economy are bad. Gun sales are going up and up as more people are buying guns. As a result, many of them are doing so without a background check because the FBI's background check system has been overwhelmed. Why is that possible? The Rolling Stone article explains that: "If an FBI background check is delayed by more than three business days, gun dealers can legally sell a firearm without a completed background check." 
• Suddenly I am reminded of that scene in the film Casino where Ace Rothstein (Robert De Niro's character) is worried about his application to work in casinos, and he is told not to worry because there was a serious backlog, and the background checkers were overwhelmed (link to YouTube for the scene's clip). That's about how it works for buying a gun but with the difference that if they do not get to you in a "timely" fashion you can go right ahead and buy that gun without a check. 
• Speaking of guns, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has a new report out "Firearm Injuries: Health Care Service Needs and Costs."  While they admit that "there is no complete information on the health care costs of gun injuries," they still managed to find out enough to make a pretty good picture of the costs of gun shot injuries in the United States. For example, they found out "using hospital data from 2016 and 2017—the most recent that were available—GAO estimated that the initial hospital costs of firearm injuries were just over $1 billion annually." You can read summary as well as the full report. 

 

The Bad Economy  Around the World

•  Via Al Jazeera, a report that the Australian music scene has gotten massive economic losses due to COVID-19. According to the article, "economic modelling by consultancy firm PwC Australia indicates that the Australian music industry was worth 1.82 billion Australian dollars ($1.36m) in 2019 – a figure expected to plunge as much as 90 percent in 2020." I am sure this is not just Australia and music scenes around the world have suffered as well.
  

In Other News of the Bad Economy

•  In news about Amazon: 
• Back in June, the Big A had their "Prime Day." If you went shopping, I hope you got what you wanted because if you returned it, odds are it is getting destroyed. Story via VICE. According to the article: "As millions of shoppers flock to Amazon's website for Prime Day deals, an ITV investigation has revealed that a single Amazon fulfillment center in the UK is destroying millions of products a year instead of reselling or donating them." And that is just one fulfillment center. Amazon has such centers all over the world. We can only imagine how much is destroyed rather than reselling it or just donating. 
• Amazon as it turns out gets some help in their business from The New York Times of all places. Story via FAIR. According to the investigation, in essence, the NYT presents "articles" that are really just promotions to shop at Amazon. It is worth a read. 
• In addition, as if Amazon having excessive control of how you shop online, it also has excessive control of what you stream online to watch as well as other web services. In essence, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the back end provider for pretty much every major streaming service such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, etc. The significance? "
  If you are watching a filmed piece of entertainment on any screen—at a theater, at home or on your phone through a digital direct-to-customer stream, on a television network, or on a streaming service, the odds are extremely likely that you’re making use of AWS. It has become the backbone of Hollywood." When it comes to online streaming, you really can't get away from Amazon. It's a damn monopoly. 
• News about McDonald's. 
• Via UPI, the company reports that for the first time ever they are launching a loyalty program. Turns out they do this in other parts of the world, and they are finally implementing it in the U.S.
• The company is also work to replace drive-thru workers with AI (artificial intelligence). Story via Big Think. Because there is nothing worse than the drive-thru attendant messing up your order. Oh yes, there is, the robot that will mess up your order. 
• On a side note, this is part of the growing trend of companies to try to automate every process possible so they do not have to pay employees to do those jobs. The result of this is often less efficiency to be perfectly honest because when you DO need to find a human being to solve your problem, and sooner or later you will, there is not a human being to be found. This is how you get shit like endless phone trees when you are trying to contact a company due to an issue. 
• The company that does card grading (as in assessing value and quality of trading cards and other collectibles) for Pokemon was recently acquired by a private equity firm. Story via VICE. Right now, due to the pandemic, collectible trading card markets, including for Pokemon cards, is pretty hot at the moment. By the way, this equity firm also sells and rents houses and properties around the world. Thing is it is an equity firm, which often means the kiss of death for whatever it was they acquired once they finish loading it up with debt, cannibalizing it, and dumping it. So we'll have to see where this goes. Story caught my eye because I have family members who work in trading card stores who report that Pokemon cards are quite a hot commodity at the moment, and grading them has become a big deal. 
• A bit of trivia and explanations: 
• No, you cannot recycle bowling balls. Via Curbed. It turns out that "breaking bowling balls apart and selling the individual components for scrap isn’t logistically or economically feasible.' 
• The Hustle explains the economics of dollar stores. 
• NPR explains what you really need to know about those hiring bonuses you keep hearing about. They do not come as easy as people may think. As the old saying goes, there is always a catch.
•  Did you know $40 billion in wages are lost every year due to "brain waste" of immigrants? Story via Public News Service. What does "brain waste" mean? Basically it is highly educated people such as lawyers, doctors, etc. who are unemployed or underemployed in basic jobs such as taxi drivers, baristas, etc. There is nothing wrong with those more basic jobs, but there is a loss when a medical doctor ends up making your coffee because he is an immigrant having a hard time finding a professional job in the U.S., not to mention the U.S. is losing on that much needed talent. 
  
• For family caregivers, out of pockets costs are getting worse overall. Story via Public News Service. This is based on a new AARP study. The pandemic is not helping. For instance, according the AARP article, "not surprisingly, the coronavirus made life more difficult for caregivers and care recipients. More than 4 in 10 caregivers report spending more time per week and more money on caregiving because of the pandemic."
• In bad news for renters: 
• NPR points out once more the obvious: that rents are out of reach for most folks earning minimum wage. 
• And if by some miracle you do find an apartment to rent, it may turn out the landlord refuses you? Why? Because they now use "screening companies" that rank you based on an AI score that may or not be accurate. Even if you have a good credit rating, the AI may rate you lower for other reasons that may or not be relevant, and may also be racist. As of this post, Pro Publica is doing an investigation on this, so if you have been turned down for an apartment that you thought you should have gotten, consider sharing your story with them. 
• In jobs that suck: 
• Via the Dallas Observer, waiters and baristas tell why they are leaving the food service business. It is not that the job sucks per se. It is the lousy work conditions and poor pay from owners and managers that basically exploit them, plus then there are the self entitled ill behaved customers. I've worked food service in the past, including being a waiter, so yes, I can certainly relate as it is not a job I would take now if I could avoid it. One reason for those folks leaving: "The younger workforce on which this industry has historically relied now appears to have more options and less patience for toxicity." Same here. I do not have patience for workplace toxicity. In fact, I've left workplaces precisely to get away from toxic environments. I do not think anyone should have to put up with that, so either employers get their act together and fix that, or they can go out of business if need be due to lack of workers. I have zero sympathy for toxic employers. As for you asshole customers, either behave and tip well, or stay home and cook your own damn food. 
• On the other hand, gig work does suck, and in this VICE article Uber and Lyft drivers explain why. This is another case of lousy poor pay and badly toxic work conditions that the companies often enable or conveniently ignore. Things are so bad for the companies that even with cash bonuses, they are having a hard time finding workers. As for passengers, a lot of whom are inconsiderate assholes adding to the work toxicity, they are finding prices for rides have gotten higher. I'd add since these gig companies often have driven cab companies out of business, well, less competition, but that is another issue. Overall, driving for Uber and Lyft and similar companies is not worth it. 
• A lot more public libraries are serving as food distribution hubs. Story via The Conversation. Food insecurity is always a sign of the bad economy. Our public library here often does free lunch for children during the summer along with the local school district (even though it is something the local Party of Stupid city mofos have wanted to cut back because heaven forbid you feed children in need). 

 

Hold My Beer 

(Serious fuckery in the bad economy)

• Well, Patreon is doing pretty well in the bad economy as they provide a platform for climate change deniers and other hucksters to monetize their conspiracies and misinformation. Story from VICE. From the article: "'The spread of climate misinformation is prolific on social media, as well as on sites like Patreon, where users are actually financially compensated through the platform for spreading falsehoods,' Daniel Jones, president of Advance Democracy, told VICE News." So yea, it does pay to spread falsehoods and conspiracies as Patreon shows. 
• Some small unknown online advertising and data companies are getting a broad range of data and information from Americans and then selling it to bidders all over the world, and odds are you have no idea. Story via VICE.
  

Uber Rich

• Mother Jones explains that yes, there IS an aristocracy in the United States, and it is thriving. 
• And how does that aristocracy stay in power for what appears to be an eternity? Well, they employ a whole industry of bankers, accountants, and other assorted financial wolves that spend millions in order to preserve and grow the trillions. Read about it in this story from Rolling Stone.