Ripped From The Headlines, December 23, 2022
Winter Storm Knocks Out Power in 23 States, Hunger In Phoenix a Harbinger?, The $94.5 Billion Dollar Problem. Read, Share, & Subscribe - SherlocExposes.com
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“An enormous winter storm is battering a vast swath of the US, knocking out power in more than 20 states, grounding 6,000 flights, closing schools, coating roads with ice and dashing hopes for the delivery of last-minute holiday gifts.
More than 200 million people — around 60% of the country — were under some form of winter weather warning or advisory Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 900,000 customers are without power in 23 states, including Texas, New York, Georgia and hardest-hit Connecticut, where more than 100,000 homes and businesses are in the dark, according to PowerOutage.us. As of 7:30 a.m. 6,000 flights into, out of and around the US have been canceled, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking service, and Amtrak canceled some trains in the Midwest and northern New England.”
“The lines at St Mary's Food Bank tell the story of Christmas in Phoenix, the nation's inflation capital.
Each week day 1000 cars line up in three lanes around the warehouse in Phoenix, crawling towards a team of volunteers that load their trunks with boxes of groceries.
'Every time we thought that we hit a peak, it continued to grow and here we are, in December,' said Ken Pertis, president of what was the world's first food bank. 'Across our whole network, we've seen a 26% increase in number of people coming to us right, year over year.'
Everyone is feeling the pain of two years of inflation. But nowhere has it been more crippling than Phoenix.
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics show prices rose 12.1 percent from November last year to this year. That is almost five points higher than the national city average. And it means that residents of Phoenix are paying a whopping 21.1 percent more for goods than they did at the end of 2020 — which works out as an extra $912 per month more than if inflation had stayed at pre-pandemic levels.”
“Brick-and-mortar retail’s indisputable edge over e-commerce is that consumers can get what they want immediately, and can touch and feel the product before buying it. Rising theft—and stores’ measures to prevent it—could dull that edge.
The National Retail Federation estimates that shrink—an industry term for loss in inventory—amounted to roughly 1.4% of retail revenue in 2021, or roughly $94.5 billion. Most of that shrink is caused by theft. In a CNBC interview earlier this month, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said that if the retail theft issue is not addressed over time, ‘prices will be higher and/or stores will have to close.’
Although shrink is a perennial problem in retail, it really took off when the pandemic hit. In the five years leading up to 2019, retail shrink grew at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 7%, according to data from the NRF. In 2020, it jumped 47%, and rose another 4% on top of that huge jump in 2021. Some retailers, including Ulta Beauty and Target, have said that shrink has gotten worse again this year. 'When times get tough, shrink goes up,' Ulta Beauty Chief Financial Officer Scott Settersten said on the company’s earnings call on Dec. 1. We’ve seen that in retail over a long period of time.”
A “Not So Merry Christmas,” Ripped From The Headlines. Things To Ponder:
“Oh, About Your Power…”
Yeah, that part.
As a regular reader of Sherloc Exposes, you know that we’re advocates for being prepared, as well as making the Parallel Economy a regular part of your life.
If it just takes one “out of the ordinary” storm to:
-Put people into a panic
-Shut down transportation
-Stress and damage parts of the power grid at the worst time
What happens if things like the heating oil shortage, the US Dollar no longer being the world’s reserve currency, and the US Government making stuff up all intensify at exactly the same time?
Bad things happen.
“You’ll Just Have To Get Used To It…”
Paying more, for everything…
This news station basically said so.
But looking at the situation in Phoenix, things are more out of control than people think…
Even though, according to the WHITE HOUSE, we aren’t anywhere near a recession.
But it’s not just Phoenix:
How long before where you live is on the list?
“If It’s Under $950, Go Ahead!”
That’s the rule in California - if you steal under that amount, pretty much no jail for you!
That little - err, big issue has ballooned into a larger one…
One that makes the already bad experience of shopping at big box stores even worse…
The experience sucks, AND you can’t find what you want.
That’s the black magic of shrink.
Pretty telling quote from the CEO of Walmart:
“In a CNBC interview earlier this month, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said that if the retail theft issue is not addressed over time, ‘prices will be higher and/or stores will have to close.’”
And that store closing part is actively happening.
Higher prices, Less options, always but greater than ever before!
What Does This Mean?
The Government has no back up plan… for you.
If you don’t take the time to prepare, the help you’re expecting likely won’t be there, or will be offered in a manner you don’t agree with.
Outside of those you know who prepared, and prepared for charity (that would be you in this case), it’s going to be slim pickings.
Factoring in a lack of power, which would likely mean a lack of water and sewage services, and things could get pretty bad. Getting the picture…?
Why Should I Care?
Today, we’ll point you to two books from SurvivalBlog.com Publisher, James Wesley, Rawles so that you can see why:
How To Survive The End of The World As We Know It, which you can read for free by clicking here.
Once done, order The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide, by clicking here.
Once you read the first one, you should be in a rush to get the second one.
They will MAKE YOU CARE.
What Should I Do?
Take a moment… right now if you can… to take inventory of what you’re seeing in this newsletter each day.
Have you ever seen a time quite like this? No, you say?
Ok good, you’re paying attention.
That’s the point.
If you’re not paying attention, and trapped in the hustle and bustle of a busy world (with a ton of useless stuff, by the way), this stuff will come up on you like a thief in the night.
Take stock of one thing, right now, that you need to shore up… is it food? Medical supplies? Water?
Focus on taking care of that as best you can by the end of this week.
Then, take care of the next thing.
GET MOVING ASAP.
Also, please share what you get from this newsletter.
It’s OK if you don’t understand it all.
Tell them to ask us.
Your future, and theirs, depend on it.
James Wesley, Rawles, publisher of SurvivalBlog.com has put together a “bookshelf” list of key things you should have. CLICK HERE to access the list.
Plus a recap of the 50 things you should have handy to barter.
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Ripped From The Headlines is your daily digest of what’s happening in the world. We help you to understand what it means, why you should care, and what you should do.
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