Signs the economy is bad: May 27, 2022 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.

Welcome to a Memorial Day weekend holiday edition of "Signs the economy is bad." I took a look at the bad economy last week, but it turns out I found more than enough stories to have a look this week, so here we go again.

Big News This Week

For many, the big news this week is the school shooting at Uvalde (link to CNN, mainly for reference). That is not however bad economy news, so we are moving on. If you want to learn more about it or add to  your outrage, feel free to seek out those news. This week, there is a follow up to the big news from last week which was about the baby formula shortage. 

• The 19th has a story on how parents are forming and using social media groups to find baby formula in the midst of the continuing shortage.
  

 

Education News

We have quite a few news from education, especially from higher education. 

• It is a known fact by now that the academic job market is dismal. If you are hoping to find a tenure line job as a professor in some American university or college, your prospects are pretty dim. The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the bad situation and suggests that hiring should be based on a lottery system. Before you say "what the fuck?" like I did before I read the article go ahead and read it. There are some interesting details here such as the fact a lottery as suggested has existed before. The article also looks at certain details of social capital, privilege, and I guess we could call it a sort of soft nepotism in faculty hiring. 
• A recent big story in the bad economy is the high price of gasoline. This can have repercussions on things like travel (hey, this is the Memorial Day weekend, but more on that below, so keep reading). It can also be an issue in commuting to work. Southwest Tennessee Community College is trying to help out their employees a bit by having "virtual Fridays."  Story via Inside Higher Ed. This means they are moving classes to online on Fridays and student services will be also online during the summer session. Would it not be nice if they did this during the regular school year as well? I keep saying if people can and are willing to work remotely, and the work is done productively, then let them and stop the anal retentive managing impulse of needing to have people in their offices. Personally, I am fine working on site and prefer that, but for those who can handle remote just let them already.
• In token gestures, The Chronicle reports that Cornell University is making efforts to help employees protect personal time. I find this laughable because to be honest a lot of this should be both common sense and basic courtesy. Not sending e-mails out of work hours? That should be a fucking mandate, and if you are one of those administrator workaholics (or more likely an asshole who schedules e-mails for the off hours after you left for your weekend), you deserve a smack over the head at least. Friday afternoons off? That would be nice. Again, no one is more detested than a supervisor who schedules a meeting on a Friday afternoon. Don't be that asshole.  Cornell is doing this as an experiment for six weeks in June and July. Why? As they put it, "...to thank the university’s work force for its efforts during 'a time of continued stress and strain...”. How about instead of this token temporary bullshit you pay your employees decent wages and you keep the measures in place? Measures that by the way should be a given anyhow in treating your workers like human beings instead of the exploited laborers you see them as. To be honest, this token attempt is a bit insulting. 
•  Inside Higher Ed reports that young Americans and those folks with student debt are less likely to find value in higher education. Gee, I can't imagine why, but they try to figure it out anyhow. 
• Meanwhile, student affairs staff are quitting their jobs in higher education due to low pay and burnout. Via Inside Higher Ed. Again, I cannot imagine why, even more so in these Hard Times with a pandemic going on and colleges often exploiting their employees' goodwill and using the "do it for the students" to keep them working until they burnout. Kind of like certain college I know that uses the "it is the [college's] way, and if you do not work yourself to the ground, you are not good enough to be here" line. Maybe they can go work at Cornell where at least they might get their Fridays off for a couple of months if lucky. 
• So, you are a fairly prominent university and you recently acquired a relatively well regarded journal of arts and culture. The bad economy hits you, we are in Hard Times, what do you do? Well, if you are the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), and you own The Believer, you sell it to a website that peddles "no strings attached" sex hook ups and sex toys. That is exactly what they did. See story from The Chronicle. You may wonder why would they do that. Simple answer from the article" money." The company basically waved a $225,000 check at them, and UNLV was happy to take it and cash it. It is the bad economy after all.
  

 

Health and Medical News

• Are you one of those cool and hip people who enjoy vaping? Well, I hope you also enjoy higher medical costs overall. UPI reports on a new study that reveal that annual healthcare costs for those who use vaping products were a bit over $2,000 than for folks who do not use tobacco products. Enjoy your oh so sophisticated vape.
  

The Bad Economy  Around the World

• The United Nations warns that with food prices rising we can expect "crippling food shortages." Story via NPR.  We are not quite at the killing each other for food hellscape scenario, but to be honest, could be a matter of time. 
• Meanwhile, in Great Britain  the BBC reports that chicken is getting more expensive and they explain why. I am sure if it has not happened in the U.S. it is just a matter of time before your bucket of KFC gets more expensive.
  

 

In Other News of the Bad Economy

I got a few miscellaneous stories this week, so let's have a look at these signs the economy is bad.

• Did you know there is a monopoly in ice cream cones? Story via The Hustle. Turns out one baking company has been gradually setting itself up as the only major ice cream cone maker. They've gradually bought out their competitors. Now, this is not a crisis...just yet. But if they decide to jack up prices, ice cream stores may have an issue, which could lead to them rising prices on your ice cream served on a cone. As I said, not a problem. . . yet. 
• Did you also know there is a shortage of carpenters in the U.S.? The Hustle explains why.
  
• Uber and Lyft are raising prices, in part because they pretty much have nothing else in terms of ideas or solutions. Story via VICE. Part of the problem is the companies' exploitative model. But another part of the problem is "that most people are not willing to pay the fares it would cost to run a profitable taxi service with the overhead Uber and Lyft require, to say nothing of paying drivers a decent wage." People who use these services, especially in big cities, are people with money, but heaven forbid they help to pay decent wages to the workers serving them (despite whatever bullshit lip service they give). 
• More people are questioning the expense of weddings, specifically those who get invited to be part of the "wedding party," like groomsmen and bridesmaids. The Hustle has a story on how wedding expenses are just getting out of hand. We all know about asshole bridezillas and their outrageous behaviors and extreme demands; hell, there is even a TV show about them. So I am glad more people are finally saying fuck it, we are not spending thousands of dollars on an overpriced wedding affair. I certainly would turn down any invitation to be in a wedding party, or any wedding for that matter. One, I am not attending a potential COVID spreader event. Two, I am not willing nor able to go spending money I do not have for someone else's wedding. So good on these folks to make their stand. 
• The Wendy's burger chain may be putting itself up for sale as reported via UPI. I used to like Wendy's somewhat back in the day when they had their salad bar. That is about how long it has been since I have been in a Wendy's.
• More and folks are unionizing or working to unionize in these Hard Times and bad economy. The latest I have heard about are the employees of video game company Activision Blizzard. They are joining the Communication Workers of America. Story via NPR.
• We mentioned earlier the high gas prices in the bad economy. Well, despite the high prices many Americans are saying fuck it, and they are driving anyhow for the Memorial Day weekend. Story via Al Jazeera. If the prices keep rising, it may put a damper on demand and travel, but for now, it seems Americans are just either sucking it up, or doing what they always do in the bad economy when money gets tight: putting it on their credit cards.
  

Hold My Beer 

(Serious fuckery in the bad economy)

It is not very often I find stories of serious fuckery in the bad economy, but this one definitely qualifies: 

• Via Salon, a woman was charged $40 for crying in a doctor's office. Read the story for details. That is some serious fuckery right there.
  

 

Uber Rich

Finally for this week, I found a few stories to reassure us that the uber rich are doing just fine in the bad economy.

• Want to take your honey on a date and make sure it is NOT a cheap date? If you got some money to burn you can take your honey to this seafood boil restaurant where their most popular item is $200 and you could easily spend over $500 on a meal with your honey. Story via The Atlanta Black Star. Way I see it once the meal costs as much as a good car payment, that is definitely not the place for me. 
• Naturally the weapons traders and makers are making money supplying weapons to Ukraine in their war, and of course to conflicts around the world. Story via Scheerpost. This is more of an ongoing story. 
• Finally, of course, the pharma and food companies and investors are raking in the money during the pandemic. Story via UPI. Because investing in human misery and tragedy always yields dividends in capitalism. This is based on a new report from Oxfam (link to the PDF report). These Hard Times where so many of us are suffering has "been one of the best times in recorded history for the billionaire class."