Ripped From The Headlines, May 8, 2023
Stanford Professor: "Half of US Banks Insolvent," Tipping For Self-Service, Record Food Bank Lines - Read, Share, & Subscribe - SherlocExposes.com
We Are The Watchmen On The Wall
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“The U.S. Federal Reserve has revealed that 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of their capital at the end of the third quarter of 2022. ‘Rising interest rates are creating significant unrealized losses in investment securities and in some cases depressing tangible equity,’ according to the Fed’s Division of Supervision and Regulation.
‘As interest rates increase, banks with large market value losses could experience increased financial and risk management challenges.’
The Fed presentation further details:
"‘At [the] third-quarter end, 722 banks reported unrealized losses exceeding 50% of capital. 31 of these banks report negative tangible equity levels, which means they are currently not able to borrow new money from Federal Home Loan Banks and may lose the ability to sell loans to Government Sponsored Enterprises,’ the Fed presentation adds.
Despite multiple bank failures, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has insisted that the U.S. banking system is ‘sound and resilient.’ Regarding the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, the Fed chairman claimed: ‘Those have all been resolved, and all the depositors have been protected.’”
“Zero interaction with employees during a transaction no longer guarantees freedom from the moral quandary of how much to tip.
Prompts to leave 20% at self-checkout machines at airports, stadiums, cookie shops and cafes across the country are rankling consumers already inundated by the proliferation of tip screens. Business owners say the automated cues can significantly increase gratuities and boost staff pay. But the unmanned prompts are leading more customers to question what, exactly, the tips are for.
‘They’re cutting labor costs by doing self-checkout. So what’s the point of asking for a tip? And where is it going?’ says Ishita Jamar, a senior at American University in Washington, D.C., who has noticed more self-serve tip cues at restaurants she frequents.
Tipping researchers and labor advocates say so-called tip creep is a way for employers to put the onus for employee pay onto consumers, rather than raising wages themselves. Companies say tips are an optional thanks for a job well done.
Garrett Bemiller enjoyed not removing his AirPods or making eye contact with anyone when buying an early-morning bottle of water at an OTG gift shop at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport a few weeks ago. Seeing the option on the self-checkout screen to add 10% to 20% to his $6 bottle of water caught him off-guard.
‘Just the prompt in general is a bit of emotional blackmail,’ says the 26-year-old, who works in public relations in New York City. He skipped the tip.
“The line outside Boston’s American Red Cross Food Pantry on a recent Saturday morning stretched the length of two football fields.
The number of people filing into the red-brick industrial-zone warehouse on some days now exceeds the worst periods of the pandemic economic crisis and in April it had the second-highest monthly traffic since it opened in 1982, according to David Andre, the director.
His organization, like food banks across the country, has been flooded with requests for help since food-stamp recipients were hit with a double blow: the expiration of a temporary boost in benefits put in place during the pandemic and onerous grocery prices, which are running 24% above pre-COVID levels.
‘It’s a hunger cliff — inflation and ending these emergency allotments,’ Andre said. ‘People are really crashing.’
Nathan Springer, a retired army colonel who is president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs-based Care and Share Food Bank, said his organization is seeing more requests for groceries from military families, teachers, nurses and even dual-income couples following the cut in assistance.
‘We’ve seen young full-time employees who are for the first time facing hard decisions: Are we going to buy food or pay our utility bills?’ Springer said.”
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“Monday Mischief,” Ripped From The Headlines. Things To Ponder:
“It’s Fine, We Just Have LOTS Of Unrealized Losses… Nothing To See Here!”
So says the banks, the banking system, and the Federal Reserve, all of which are in the middle of a shell game to keep you from running on the banks…
Why? If people run on the banks en masse, they would be squeezed screwed…
This means you would be screwed too…
And now we know that at least 722 more banks have issues…
For our regular readers, the realization that most of the banks not just in the US, but around the world, have trillions in unrealized losses (investments that have lost value) is not new news.
Just like the logic that the banking system itself is technically insolvent…
That was confirmed when the government had to step in back in March and basically nationalize the banking system by guaranteeing all of the deposits…
And, there’s more…
Research by Professor Amit Seru from Stanford Graduate School of Business and Hoover Institution shows that half of U.S. banks are already insolvent and that the real danger is still looming.
As we shared back in March. Click Here to read Ripped From The Headline coverage, and Click Here to see Professor Seru on Bloomberg.
Brace For Impact.
“Tip Us… For Allowing You To Serve Yourself… SLAVE!”
A few months back, we made the observation that everything related to service, quality, and cleanliness in public places and places of business just seemed to be headed for, or already in, the gutter…
Been by a Walgreens or CVS lately? They look like they have one foot in the grave, dirty and unkept…
Portions are smaller, more expensive, and, if you can get it, the service is nearly non-existent…
Like the magic of “shrinkflation:”
So what’s the answer?
Let’s get people to tip for self-service!
And this quote really sums it all up:
“Tipping researchers and labor advocates say so-called tip creep is a way for employers to put the onus for employee pay onto consumers, rather than raising wages themselves. Companies say tips are an optional thanks for a job well done.
‘They’re cutting labor costs by doing self-checkout. So what’s the point of asking for a tip? And where is it going?’ says Ishita Jamar, a senior at American University in Washington, D.C.”
Great question, Ishita.
“This Economic Growth Is Through The Roof!”
So says the talking head that thinks you’re dumb enough to believe that, which they “revise” unemployment numbers from months back that reveal things ain’t good…
See, unless you're a Ripped From The Headlines reader, you’re about 6 months behind in knowing that you’re going to get hit by an 18-wheeler.
If you watch what’s actually happening versus what they tell you to watch, you can see it for yourself…
Like the issue of long lines at food banks.
It’s not just people who were struggling before and are being squeezed harder because pandemic benefits are ending…
‘We’ve seen young full-time employees who are for the first time facing hard decisions: Are we going to buy food or pay our utility bills?’
Full-time employees deciding whether to buy food or pay for utilities…
In this “roaring economy…”
What should really concern you is the thin veil of civility between humans that is just about gone…
Soon, it’s going to go from “I need some help” to “I need what you have, give it to me…”
With a weapon pointed at you.
Know your foe friends… it’s the people trying to convince you everything is fine when you can see that it isn’t.
What Does This Mean?
Traditional things like retirements and “safe investments” take on a whole new meaning when you get a chance to look under the hood.
We’re really just scratching the surface of understanding the depth of the banking issues and the looming economic mess.
As it all comes out, brace for impact.
Why Should I Care?
There’s so much to unpack…
Your wealth…
Your legacy…
Anything you plan to leave for future generations…
Getting the basics to live…
All of these things are teetering on the edge.
You should REALLY 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?
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.
You need to take the time to prepare as best you can for a time when good supplies, strong communities, and strong connections are the difference between surviving and thriving or being in bad shape.
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, depends 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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