Retails stores close, homelessness soars.

[Turbineguy]

http://www.theetfbully.com/2017/11/one-mans-opinion-economy-okay-u-s-retail-store-closings-hit-new-record-high-west-coast-homelessness-soars/

With each passing day, more Americans fall out of the middle class, and the homeless populations in major cities all over the nation continue to grow.

We truly are in the midst of a long-term economic collapse, and if we don’t find a way to fix things our problems will just continue to accelerate.

So don’t be fooled by the mainstream media. They may be trying to convince you that everything is just wonderful, but that is not the reality that most people are facing at all.

[tblue37]

1. K&R. nt

[Blue_Adept]

2. There are a lot of reasons for why retail stores are closing

One that doesn't get as much attention, but has been getting more recently, is that you've got a growing segment like myself that are taking a more minimalist approach to things and being less consumer driven. Being from the 80's generation as a teen we grew up on being consumers and a growing number of us are shaking that off - though for others it's now been hardwired in.

During the internet shopping boom I was buying a lot but have broken that off in the last ten years really well. When you had a little extra money in your pocket you'd pop out somewhere and look for something to get. Now that does pop in my mind but it's a struggle to think of what I need because I've retrained myself to not need much beyond the basics to enjoy life.

There are a lot of factors but you've got this generation that's going through all the crap of their parents as they pass away and realizing they don't want to do the same to their own kids down the line as well.

[RKP5637]

4. Also, people are buying online. It's often cheaper for me to buy online and have it shipped

than buying locally. It's not that I don't like local buying, but by the time I drive to the store, several stores, etc. it takes a lot of time, gas is also expensive. Often I buy online for 50% less than locally for some things.

For most people IMO everything is getting economically worse.

[Blue_Adept]

7. There's that as well, but that's also very commonly talked about

which is why I only went with talking about the growing minimalist movement. I do buy a good bit online for what I need for some items while preferring to go to stores, but like you said, pricing is nuts, having to deal with people can sometimes be a drain, and in New England I go out even less during the colder months.

[Kaleva]

20. I live in the boonies so we are using on-line shopping more and more

We've just started buying our non-perishable groceries on-line from Target. It's over 80 miles one way to the nearest big box stores.

[SoCalDem]

33. I buy that stuff from Amazon

toilet paper/paper towels/cat food/cat litter/laundry soap..all the bulky/heavy stuff that my limitations make it hard for me to handle (I grew up to be a weakling in my old age ..)

I order, and a day later it shows up on my front porch..

[Grammy23]

21. Dont forget thrift stores.

If you ever shop in one, you will note a wide variety of people shopping there. Contrary to a popular notion, not all who shop in thrift stores are hard up for money. Many have plenty of money in their pocketbook or checking account. They like “the hunt” for a bargain or something that can be fixed up or refurbished. They like having decent clothing but don’t want to pay a huge price. Thrift stores occasionally have brand new clothes with the tags still attached but at a greatly reduced price. Or they have gently worn clothing that is a bargain compared to what they’d be at the department store.

Another favorite for bargain shoppers is books. If you like books, but not the heavy price tag, thrift stores are your friends. My husband and I have found Old best sellers, recent releases and everything in between. Classics, cookbooks, novels, how to books, you name it. And rarely more than two bucks for a hardback book with a dust jacket.

Where I live, we have a large number of thrift stores. Most have a revolving amount of stock. New stuff is out on the shelves or racks daily. Some are junky, but most are well sorted and organized. It really is a treasure hunt. (My husband once found a Coleman one burner stove for $5.00. Still in the box and looked like it had never been used. He checked on line when we got home and it retailed for $26.00!) And I do believe that they cut into sales at brick and mortar big box stores to some degree.

[RKP5637]

22. Yep, thrift stores are great!!! I love looking/buying in them! n/t

[Freethinker65]

6. Yep, I agree

I am in my early 50’s and find that while I currently am fortunate enough to have some disposable income, there is very little I need or want to spend it on. Minimalism, intentional living/shopping, collecting experiences and not things, the Konmari tidying up phenomenon, Swedish Death Cleaning, etc. is definitely becoming more common. I also see my college age son content to live with fewer things, but of better quality, which is quite different from my younger shopping years.

[Blue_Adept]

10. It's the same with my kids

My eldest has a bit of my collector mentality because she's really into certain things but she does her best to keep it contained. My younger daughter at 15 has just had a birthday and with christmas coming up all she wants is a few band posters, nothing else. It's weird and feels wrong in a way but at the same time she's more about the experiences than the things. I've instilled that "live lean, enjoy life itself with friends instead of things" from an early age and seeing how it's taking root is interesting.

[csziggy]

24. I try to buy locally but often cannot find what I need

Usually I do online pre-shopping - checking prices and product features for comparison. Sometimes I can check to see if the local stores have items in stock - but increasingly that is getting harder. Some companies, like Target, might claim a product is in stock at my local store, but one I drive to the store and search the section I have found too many times that there is not even a place on the shelf for the item.

Some specialty items are not available locally and have to be ordered, whether through the local stores or from online sources. For instance, I need museum putty to prevent some of my collectibles from falling over. Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware all list versions of the product online. Not one sells it in their stores and online they have a limited choice. I can order from each online and pay shipping, or order online and pick up in the store. Or I can order from Amazon from a larger selection, get free shipping, and have it delivered to my door.

I simply do not have the stamina to search multiple brick & mortar locations for products so any more I buy from online sources for non-food products and things I want to see in person or do not want to have shipped.

[Iliyah]

3. From were I live I've seen increase of

food prices let alone gas prices plus 12% increase for gas in California (to pay for infrastructure). Rent is sky high and many cannot afford to buy a house, et al. Many have to work more than one job, et al. So I can image the rest of the country.

I do not believe anything that the effed up t-rump/GOP administration reports. Just can't.

And from KNX radio, California leads in most people hired per month.

[RKP5637]

5. The cost of food is getting outrageous. Each week I go the prices have increased

yet again.

[smirkymonkey]

18. It's insane. I am amazed at how much I spend and how little I get.

Fortunately, I am a pretty good cook and I can make some pretty good rice and bean/pasta and bean w/ vegetable dishes to stretch my food dollar, but meat is just getting ridiculously expensive.

[Chipper Chat]

28. 3.95 for a lb box or Premium crackers.

They were 1.25 5 yrs ago

[RKP5637]

29. I really don't see how anyone raises a family anymore. n/t

[democratisphere]

8. Food availability is how they control the masses.

Beware.

[RKP5637]

9. Excellent point! Food, and also fuel!

[democratisphere]

12. Food stamps subsidies are cut while food prices are ever increasing.

Good point on fuel.

[roamer65]

11. I hear a new affordable foodstock is coming soon.

https://m.

[RKP5637]

13. The GOP plan, recycling! n/t

[oswaldactedalone]

14. But will there be enough

plankton left in the sea to make these new products? Healthy sea life is disappearing at an accelerated rate. What alternatives can they come up with?

[roamer65]

15. People!

[workinclasszero]

16. A guaranteed living wage is going to be the only answer

to the destruction of jobs from automation and obsoleting of jobs by the internet, long term.

[RKP5637]

30. That is quite true, but I wonder, is the US too stupid to do this. I can't see the deplorables

going for it, the GOP will tell them it's welfare and the corporations need the money more. (So they can create fake jobs for them.)

[workinclasszero]

35. Oh it will be just as you describe no doubt

Right wing republican big business convinced most american workers that right to work laws are good for them and unions are evil.

Also that a born rich con man that screwed workers his whole life was on their side so...yeah.

[FarCenter]

17. The US built way too much retail real estate.

America’s vast swaths of retail space have become a burden in the age of e-commerce

For all the talk of the “retail apocalypse” taking place in the US, the reality is that retail overall isn’t dying. E-commerce and Amazon, after all, are part of retail, too, and they’re doing alright.

The suffering is mostly concentrated in brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly malls and department stores. One of the underlying causes is the amount of physical retail space in the US, which grew excessively even as more shopping began taking place online. American retail is in serious need of a diet, and 2017 is forcing it on one.

The size of the issue becomes clear when comparing the square footage of retail space available for lease, both used and unused, per person in the US to other countries. In 2015—the most recent year with comparable data available—the US had about 23.6 sq ft of retail space per person available, according to estimates from PwC. As the Financial Times reported (paywall), that’s more than twice the amount in Australia, and roughly five times that of the UK and other European countries.

https://qz.com/1032723/theres-much-more-empty-retail-space-in-the-us-than-in-other-countries-on-a-per-capita-level/

[RKP5637]

31. Much as the large shopping mall up the street from me sits empty with only about

three stores occupied. Likely they are using it for a huge tax write off.

[The Genealogist]

19. I'm honsetly confused by my own town

It seems more and more retail space goes up, while other formerly vibrant shopping centers go vacant, even in parts of town that are still going strong. Considering the fact that more and more sales are happening over the internet, I don't quite understand why so much more is being built.

[csziggy]

27. It may be the tax laws - more write offs for new investments than for old

I have not looked at the rules for real estate for decades but I know when I was setting up my farm, it was advantageous to buy new breeding stock rather than keep stock I had bred to use to replace the aged breeders. It kind of pissed me off - in Europe breeding farms are noted for the number of generations bred on the same farm and that leads to long term improvement in the stock produced on well run farms - they select over generations for the traits they want rather than turning over their breeding stock every generation.

Once I stopped breeding as my primary business and only bred selected animals from ones I had produced, the quality of my horses improved. I now have the seventh generation as the last horse I have bred and he is beautiful - everything I had worked toward producing for over thirty years. But I could not have done that if I had kept breeding as a primary business, relying on US tax law to helop me write off the investment in new mares and stallions.

[The Genealogist]

34. I know there are local tax incentives to keep older commercial buildings going

Mostly these incentives are tied to the downtown area. The result is that our center city has transform from to a nearly empty, destitute area into a booze paradise of bars and housing for 20-30 year olds. The commercial desolation is just spreading to areas of between the center city and more peripheral areas.

[sl8]

23. The author is an interesting fellow.

Blogs Run by Michael Snyder

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His twitter: http://twitter.com/Revelation1217

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I checked the first couple of sites on the list:

http://theeconomiccollapseblog dot com
This seems to be the source of the article in the OP.

Apparently, the author is running for Congress:
"I need your help if I am going to overcome the vicious attacks that are coming from the left and win on May 15th."

--------------------------

http://whatdoesthebiblesayabout dot com

From the sites SOA record:
whatdoesthebiblesayabout.com IN SOA
server: ns1.disasterandemergencysurvival.com
email: [e-mail]

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[Turbineguy]

25. Interesting.

Maybe there are some republicans who seem to think that destroying the country is not a sustainable doctrine?

Thanks for looking deeper (than I did).

I have been following this Ullie Niemann guy since 2007 or so for investment advice. Every Sunday he has a "guest" article.

[sl8]

26. De nada. n/t

[RKP5637]

32. The US is generally not a proactive country until the sh** hits the fan. My hunch is the US

will just about have to collapse before anything gets done.

[flamingdem]

36. Answer? Let the homeless live in the abandoned retail

spaces. Am sure someone has thought of this