(The Economic Collapse Blog)—It is incredibly sad to watch the U.S. economy slowly but surely come apart at the seams all around us. For most of our history, the rest of the world marveled at our economic performance, and that is because we embraced economic values that led to great blessing. In recent decades, we have abandoned those values, but we were able to maintain a very high standard of living by going into unprecedented amounts of debt. Our leaders were able to keep the game going for longer than a lot of people thought, but now we have entered the final depressing chapters for the late, great U.S. economy, and we can see evidence of this all around us. If you doubt this, just look at all of the businesses that are going bankrupt.
Last week, I discussed the fact that for the year ending June 30th, the number of business bankruptcy filings was up more than 40 percent compared to the previous 12 months. There is no way that the Biden administration can manipulate this number. Either a business filed for bankruptcy or it didn’t, and right now we are seeing a spike of historic significance.
On Sunday, CNBC published an article that listed ten prominent restaurant chains that have filed for bankruptcy this year…
- Roti
- Buca di Beppo
- World of Beer
- Rubio’s
- Melt Bar & Grilled
- Kuma’s Corner
- Red Lobster
- Tijuana Flats
- Sticky’s Finger Joint
- Boxer Ramen
We really are in the midst of a “restaurant apocalypse”, and more of our favorite eateries are getting into trouble with each passing day.
For example, a large number of KFC locations just suddenly shut down in the Midwest…
Dozens of KFC locations owned by one franchisee have abruptly closed across the Midwest.
Up to 25 restaurants owned by major fast food franchisee EYM Chicken have shut in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, according to reports.
The closure of several locations in Wisconsin will lead to nearly 100 employees being laid off, according to local media WKOW 27 News.
At one time, KFC was such a wonderful American success story. But now KFC restaurants are becoming an endangered species.
There used to be one about an hour from where I live, but that one has been shut down too.
If you still have a KFC in your community, you should visit it while you still can.
Meanwhile, we just learned that a chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the Midwest has also abruptly shut down…
The gas station and convenience store sector has faced distress in recent years marked by bankruptcy filings and store closings.
The Store convenience stores and gas stations, owned by Team Schierl Cos., in July 2024 was forced to shut down all operations of its 25 locations in Michigan and Wisconsin after its landlord Mountain Express Oil Co. filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in August 2023, Convenience Store News reported.
Whatever is happening to the economy right now, it seems to be hitting the Midwest particularly hard.
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At the rate that things are going, I think that it won’t be too long before even more communities in the Midwest resemble the nightmare that Gary, Indiana has become…
Gary, Indiana – best known as the birthplace of Michael Jackson – is home to the highest abandoned home rate in the nation at 31.41 percent, according to analysis from 247WallSt.
The data found that the population has staggeringly dropped by 18.2 percent from 2010 to 2020, with a population around 67,000.
We also continue to see more signs of trouble in the banking industry.
According to the Daily Mail, the U.S. lost 41 more bank branches in just one recent two week period…
Major banks have closed 41 branches in just two weeks as the shift toward online banking continues. Major banks such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo were among those shuttering locations.
When the economy is booming, banks tend to open up lots of new branches.
What we are witnessing now is the opposite of that.
Of course lots of retail stores are being permanently shut down as well.
Thousands of store closings have already been announced in 2024, and now Big Lots has raised the number of stores that it is likely to close “to a maximum of 315”…
In the first quarter, the discount retailer said its net sales for the three-month period declined 10.2% year-over-year to $1 billion. For all of 2023, net sales were $4.72 billion, a 13.6% decrease compared with the prior year.
More recently, in an Aug. 2 filing, the company told investors that it had upped the number of permitted store closings to a maximum of 315 as part of late July amendments to a credit agreement and term loan facility. That marked a 165-store increase from the 150 previously permitted.
There were nearly 1,400 Big Lots stores in the U.S. as of the first quarter. The discount retailer’s locations sell home goods, furniture, seasonal decorations and other products.
Sadly, this really is the beginning of the end for Big Lots, because it won’t be able to survive much longer.
Rite Aid is another major chain that is in serious peril.
They have already closed hundreds of stores, but that hasn’t helped much…
Another retail casualty this year has been the sudden bankruptcy of Rite Aid, leaving hundreds of stores empty in states such as Michigan and Ohio after closing up to 500 stores nationally. In its filing, the company said it expected its losses would increase significantly in the past quarter, following a loss of $750 million between March 2022 and March 2023 and another $307 million in the second quarter this year. The last quarterly report filed by Rite Aid was in June, when they had only $135.5 million of cash to work with, combined with $3.3 billion in long-term debt.
Needless to say, Rite Aid is far from alone.
All over the nation, once thriving businesses are being boarded up.
U.S. consumers simply do not have the same level of discretionary income that they once did.
The cost of living crisis has hit most Americans really hard, and at this point the vast majority of the population can no longer afford to purchase an average home.
These days most Americans are desperately trying to find a way to scrape by from month to month, and so there just isn’t a lot of room for discretionary spending.
Economic conditions are not good right now, but what is this country going to look like once they take a dramatic turn for the worse?
You might want to think about that, because what we are experiencing at this moment is going to look like rip-roaring prosperity compared to what is eventually coming.
Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
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Kamala Harris Says the American Dream Is “Gone”
by Modernity News
During a pre recorded interview, Kamala Harris once again failed to deliver any substantive outline of her policies, primarily attacking Donald Trump’s outlook and his first term in office. At one point when speaking about the economy, Harris appeared to suggest, in stark contrast to Trump, that the American Dream…
Gold Price Forecasts Skyrocket Following Moves by China and the Fed
by Sponsored Post
With the Federal Reserve beginning what most expect to be a sustained easing cycle, momentum continues to rise for gold and silver. Values have been steadily rising and the newest forecasts point to even more gains down the road. At the end of September, BMO Capital Markets published updated commodity…
Taxes and Tariffs and Trade: Oh My! Trump’s Plan to Bolster the Economy
by Just The News
In a bid to build a broader coalition, former President Donald Trump has outlined a vision of tax cuts, import tariffs, and “reciprocal trade” to preserve and restore American industries. Since coming down the escalator of Trump Tower in 2015, the Republican standard bearer has espoused unconventional trade policies and…
Expert Testimony: Mass Immigration Under Biden-Harris Is Driving Up Rents for Americans
by Breitbart
The arrival of millions of foreign nationals, many of whom are illegal aliens, under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is helping to drive up rents for working- and middle-class Americans, an expert witness told Congress Wednesday. Center for Immigration Studies Director of Research Steven Camarota told the…
This Year Marks First Since 1958 That Us Held No Oil and Gas Lease Sales
by Just The News
This year will be the first year since 1958 that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held no offshore oil and gas lease sales. Energy expert Alex Epstein, author of “Fossil Future,” argued at a recent House Budget Committee hearing the United States’ record-high oil production is in spite of…
Kamala’s Devastating Middle Class Taxes
by Independent Sentinel
With the election coming up, the IRS plans to reduce our taxes for 2025. it’s a common tactic to make it seem like they won’t tax us into oblivion once they return to office. CBS News: Some Americans could see lower federal income taxes in 2025 due to an annual…
Congress Passes Stop-Gap Spending Bill After Failed Mike Johnson Gambit
by Breitbart
Congress on Wednesday passed legislation that would fund the government through nearly the end of December. The House and the Senate passed a stop-gap spending bill that would push the government spending deadline to December 20. The measure, otherwise known as a continuing resolution (CR), keeps federal spending the same….
A ‘Bipartisan’ Bar Tried to Open in DC, Then Libs Cried That an Elephant Image Was ‘Hurtful.’
by The National Pulse
A new bar in Washington, D.C., whose political theme focused on bipartisan agreement and debate, succumbed to partisan pressure before the establishment could even serve its first drink. Originally billed as Political Pattie’s, the bar was flooded with complaints by liberals who said the establishment’s logo—specifically the Republican Elephant—was offensive…
Newsom Signs Bill Requiring Janitors to Take $200 Sexual Harassment Training
by Just The News
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring companies that hire janitors to make sure janitors take sexual assault training every other year, and pay $200 per participant for sessions with under 10 janitors present, and $8 for sessions with 10 or more janitors. The bill also requires the government…
Biden-Harris Regime Prepares Another $8 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine During Zelensky’s Washington Visit
by The Gateway Pundit
The Biden-Harris regime is once again prioritizing foreign interests over the well-being of American citizens, with plans to announce an eye-watering $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington. This massive giveaway comes as Americans continue to face economic hardships, skyrocketing inflation, and…
‘Economic Dystopia:’ Silicon Valley Tycoon Predicts AI Will Take Over 80% of All Work
by Breitbart
Vinod Khosla, legendary Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur, has predicted that AI will replace the majority of work in most jobs, necessitating the implementation of universal basic income (UBI) to prevent economic instability and inequity. Fortune reports that in a recent blog post, Vinod Khosla, the billionaire co-founder of Sun…
Yup, PERFECT WAY to usher in CBDC for the final enslavement — still plenty around in 2024 who fail to grasp THE GRIFT!
THE GRIFT: In the Fractional Reserve Banking System, for every $1 on account, $8 may be created, lent out to clients, in interest loans. Introduce classes of credit derivatives, and TPTB extend their money–creation entitlement exponentially, so that $8 becomes $8,000 and $800,000 and $8 million and $8 billion with each additional category of credit derivatives — — so for each $1 a preposterous amount is or can be generated, then the musical chairs stop, the little people get screwed, and central banks re–liquify all the banks, hedge funds and major investment firms!
Only two presidents — ONLY TWO PRESIDENTS — John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump ever pushed back against mass jobs offshoring, which destroys the tax base and dismantles the economy, which this article detailed – and look at the UNIPARTY revisionist nonsense spewed against those two, although too many quasi—Trump supporters, and quasi–conservatives, routinely revile JFK, too easily succumbing to propaganda and bipolar indoctrination over the years!
Study REAL modern history and all is revealed!
Pay attention to Deep State scholar, Mike Benz, IGNORE clown acts like Peter Navarro, up until too recently a diehard CLINTONISTA — any clown, like Navarro, who still supported the Clintons up until around 2015 is a farce!