Tag Archives: romney

Business/Economics, Idaho

The lies of economic decline: Pocatello Staples shutdown blamed on the internet!

22 JUL 2017 / 18:56 UTC-07 Tango 06 (01 Mordad 1396/28 Shawwal 1438/01 Bing Wu 4715)

“As customers shift online, we are taking aggressive action to right-size our retail footprint.”-official Staples statement

There are two main lies being propagated by unAmerican corporate America (and the government that supports those corporations): Not enough ‘qualified’ U.S. citizens to fill vacant positions, and internet competition.

Staples on Hurley Drive in Pocatello, Idaho, shutting down in August.

Staples on Hurley Drive in Pocatello, Idaho, shutting down in August.

On 20 July 2017, Mitt Romney co-founded wunderkind Staples announced they will shutdown their Pocatello, Idaho, location in August.  They blame “customers” for shopping online.

Remember, Staples sells online as well as in brick-n-mortar stores.

I’ve pointed out before that online sales aren’t that big.  Just this year Karen Edwards, instructor at University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality Retailing and Sport Management, stated to local news media that internet sales make up only 10%-15% of all U.S. retail sales!  This is really part of a conspiracy by the retail industry to shift to internet only operations, mainly because the cost of operating a brick-n-mortar store (especially rent and utilities) now outweighs sales at those stores.

Don’t blame the Internet: Idaho internet sales tax collections flat-line!

U.S. RETAIL DEATH SPIRAL: 218% SPIKE IN SHUTDOWNS SINCE LAST YEAR!

U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, MAY 2017: “TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT”

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: VANITY DIES IN IDAHO

IDAHO’S ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION 2016: “WE PLAN TO SELL IT DOWN TO THE BONES.” “…IT’S CRAPPY…!” 

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: ONE FINAL LOOK AT THE IDAHO POSTAL PROCESSING CENTER MOST EAST IDAHOANS DIDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT!

SEARS & KMART CLOSING UPDATE 29 SEPTEMBER 2014: CANADIANS CLAIM STORE SHUTDOWNS PART OF CONSPIRACY!

2012, WHAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY? ALL PART OF REIT PLAN TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU SHOP, AND THEY BLAME YOU THE SHOPPER!

Fukushima

McDonald’s so desperate for employees they turn to Anime!

20 March 2016 (04:04 UTC-07 Tango 01) 01 Farvardin 1395/10 Jumada t-Tania 1437/12 Xin Mao 4714

Five years after the 11 March 2011 disasters began in Japan McDonald’s has been struggling, first with lack of food due to supply cutoff caused by the quake-tsunami-nuke meltdowns, then with fleeing customers caused by contaminated meat from U.S. suppliers using Chinese slaughter houses, now they can’t find anybody to work for them!

https://youtu.be/5e-zAljAgqs

McDonald’s Japan has turned to Anime (cartoons) and the J-Pop group AKB48 Team 8 to recruit high schoolers.  Miyazawa Yasunari, in charge of hiring for McDonald’s, admitted that every year fewer and fewer people apply for a job with the so-called burger joint.  Their new employee recruitment campaign is called Join The Crew.

It’s not just McDonald’s, apparently all U.S. style fast food restaurants in Japan are having trouble finding employees.  Mos Burger has established a call center specifically to recruit potential employees, and

Skylark (sold to evil Mitt Romney co-created vulture capitalist Bain Capital in 2011) is now targeting people over 50 years of age for employment!

Oh, by the way, in January McDonald’s Japan introduced a new version of French Fries covered with chocolate, called McChoco.  Hope you don’t choke on it like the people who ate burgers with human teeth in them!

Currency Wars force foreign investors to flee Japan!

Japan intentionally suiciding teenagers? Or just more gross incompetence by officials!

No more McDonald’s, Japan style? 131 restaurants shutting down due to lack of food? 

Sabotage as McDonald’s investigates food contaminated with metal & even human teeth? 

Report shows that Japanese contracted nuclear plant workers are paid the same wage as McDonald’s! 

McDonald’s, Subway & Starbucks struggle in Japan

Business/Economics

“over-supply in a flat market” Crashing farm industry kills Monsanto? Medicare B rates skyrocketing! 1,400 people get no final paychecks? : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 07 October 2015

 

Arkansas: Marketing company Acxiom laid off 30 people.  25 people were laid off in February. Administrators say they lost $11.4-million USD for their fiscal 2015 year!

Colorado: Book seller Barnes&Noble shutting down their Denver store on New Year’s Eve.

Connecticut: What I call Disappearing Students Syndrome is forcing Korn Elementary School to shutdown half way through the current school year! School administrators revealed that enrollment has been declining for the past five years, despite local real estate weenie heads claiming that home sales are bringing in families with children.

Florida: Employees revealed that the Lake Park Kmart will shutdown by Thanksgiving.

Georgia: 14 years old Psycho Sisters consignment store in Sandy Springs shutting down after Xmas. It’s blamed on competition from national chain stores.  Formerly owned by Warren Buffet, World Marketing now bankrupt and eliminated 4-hundred jobs in Smyrna and Atlanta!  Attorneys say final paychecks will not be forthcoming, former employees will have to take legal action!    It’s been revealed that yesterday’s sudden shutdown of almost a dozen restaurants in Atlanta resulted in 1-thousand people suddenly becoming jobless!  And as I reported yesterday, administrators admitted that because the company is broke many former employees will not get a final paycheck!  So between the marketing company and the restaurant company 1,400 people in Georgia basically worked for free in the past couple of weeks!   (been there, experienced that here in Idaho, it’s amazing how many people think it’s illegal not to get a final paycheck)

 

Idaho:  Money crimes are big in Idaho.  A Boise County clerk has been charged with stealing $46,922 in tax & fee revenues (Boise County is not where Boise City is located, that’s Ada County).  Auditors also discovered that the lack of public transparency as to how local governments handle revenues contributed to the theft.  A former CFO for Bonner General Health has turned herself in after being accused of embezzling $225-thousand USD!  She left Bonner General hospital for Montrose Memorial Hospital in Colorado, but is no longer employed.  Investigators allege that she stole the money from her employer by using company credit cards and taking small amounts of cash.   KIFI TV reporting that a committee formed to assist Right to Work (you over) conservative Republican ‘lawmakers’ to create new taxes (under the guise of tax reforms of course) has meet publicly, for the first time! The Gem State is known as a place where politicians can rest assured they can meet in secret 100% of the time, and never reveal their machinations to the public, despite ‘open meeting’ laws.

Illinois: It’s been revealed that US Steel is considering eliminating 2-thousand jobs at its Granite City Works foundry! Last month the Pennsylvania based company announced it would be conducting massive layoffs, but gave no details.  US Steel has been eliminating jobs since last year, blaming China for dumping steel on the market and blaming the oil industry (their biggest customer) for cutting orders.

Kansas: In Wichita, after about 90 years Richmond Electric shutdown: “We’ve kind of struggled over the last … five years. People just use their tools, and then they throw them away. … It’s a very disposable society.”-Trish VanOsdel, owner

Louisiana: Baker School System eliminated 40 more jobs, on top of the 20 already eliminated since May.

Maine: In Bangor, Hammond Street Senior Center shutting down due to skyrocketing costs and declining revenue, affecting 5-hundred members!

Massachusetts: Boston Weak based, Mormon Mitt Romney co-founded Bain Capital liquidating its Absolute Return Capital hedge fund due to long term losses caused by a “challenging” environment.  

Michigan: Too Big to Jail Monroe Bank & Trust shutting down six offices in the name of “efficiency”.  After 60 years flower farm Hamilton Dahlia Farm shutdown.  The business peaked in 2006, now the owner says it’s time for her to retire.

Missouri: Evil Saint Louis based chemical warfare and GMO maker  Monsanto eliminating 2-thousand 6-hundred jobs blaming the crashing and burning global farm industry!  Gee, decades ago Monsanto swore their chemicals and Genetically Modified Organisms were going to save the global farm industry!!!

Nevada: Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority warning of layoffs because they’re short $1.8-million USD!

New Jersey: Argix Logistics suddenly laid off 164 people, one month after announcing a major tech deal with Descartes Systems Group!

New York: In Southampton, Side By Side Child Care Center shutdown due to crashing enrollment after two of its employees were arrested.  NYC based internet shopping website you never heard of Gilt Groupe laid off 45 people.  Is Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) behind Health Republic Insurance of New York issuing of a shutdown WARN?  147 jobs lost right after Xmas!

North Carolina: What was that about ObamaCare expanding access to healthcare? Franklin Medical Center shutting down next week, leaving the entire Franklin County without a hospital!  No thanks to the Affordable Care Act “Despite an outstanding staff, investments in the facility, and a reconfiguration of hospital services last fall, we were unable to create a sustainable model.”

Pennsylvania: Massachusetts based Osram Sylvania shutting down their Wellsboro glass/metal factory by September 2016, 114 jobs lost!  Due to the ‘recovered’ economy the factory is operating at only 50% capacity! 

South Dakota: After 51 years the 151 room Ramada Aberdeen Hotel and Conference Center shutting down due to “over-supply in a flat market”, 60 jobs lost.

Texas: Dallas based upscale retailer Neiman Marcus revealed it laid off 5-hundred people last week!  It’s the result of taking over competitors and trying to come up with money to pay for building new stores.  Kansas based resin company Invista laying off 75 Texans in Orange, administrators WARNed there could be more layoffs saying “The Orange unit is no longer competitive.” 

Washington: The Black Bear Diner in Olympia shutting down right before Thanksgiving.  45 jobs lost because the Gott-Damned landlord jacked up the rent by 60% and refused to make necessary building improvements!

Washington DC: For about 7-million U.S. citizens on Medicare part B their costs are expected to go up by 52% in 2016, for some their monthly payments will hit $509!  So much for taxpayer funded healthcare!  Apparently the old fogies on Medicare part B are now considered too wealthy.

06 October 2015: Burger King dethroned

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.” 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate Evil: USPS & Staples continue ‘trial’ deal to run Post Offices!

14 March 2015 (16:28 UTC-07 Tango 01)/23 Jumada I-Ula 1436/23 Esfand 1393/24 Ji Mao 4713

“The United States Postal Service is a wonderful national treasure, enshrined in the Constitution and supported by the American people. Without any taxpayer funding, the USPS serves 150 million households and businesses each day, providing affordable, universal mail service to all – including rich and poor, rural and urban, without regard to age, nationality, race or gender. One is the philosophy of the Board of Governors, former Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, and some on Wall Street who want to get their hands on the Postal Service’s $68 billion in revenue per year.”-Mark Dimondstein, president American Postal Workers Union

Nobody seems to be paying attention to the fact that Staples and the United States Postal Service (USPS) are continuing a trial deal that has Staples handling your mail.  The move violates the Constitution and federal law!

Reports out of Antioch, California, say a Staples store has been handling U.S. mail by untrained and unsworn (Postal Employees must swear an oath of loyalty and to uphold the Constitution) Staples employees, as well as leaving U.S. mail unattended overnight (a violation of federal law).

The deal with Staples and the U.S. Congress controlled USPS is fully alive despite news reports (during July 2014) which said the deal was dead.  This trial deal involves 80 Staples stores across the U.S. and   according to the Antioch Herald the local Staples store has been operating as a Post Office since November 2013, and apparently still is.

Even the American Postal Workers Union says the deal that was reported dead by main stream news media is alive and well, and the new January 2015 takeover of Office Depot by Staples is part of a larger conspiracy: “In the past year, over the objections of the APWU, consumer organizations, civil rights advocates and teacher groups, Staples has begun offering mail services at its retail stores. In doing so, Staples has replaced highly-trained USPS workers with its own unskilled, low-wage employees. Concurrently, the USPS has reduced hours in some post offices and encouraged customers to use Staples stores instead.

In documents obtained by the union, the Postal Service outlined plans to transfer USPS work to Staples in order to reduce employment and hours of service to the public in neighborhood post offices.”-04 February 2015

Staples takes over Office Depot, 1-thousand closings to follow!

Business/Economics

Staples takes over U.S. Postal Service? Staples takes over Office Depot, 1-thousand closings to follow!

05 February 2015 (11:15 UTC-07 Tango 01)/15 Rabi ‘ath-Thani 1436/16 Bahman 1393/17 Bing Yin (12th month) 4712

After shutting down dozens of stores OfficeMax has sold off Office Depot, and not even for cash!  Mitt Romney wunderkind Staples is the new owner of Office Depot after trading $6.3-billion USD worth of stocks for it!  Reports say 1-thousand stores will be shutdown!

The American Postal Workers Union is challenging the sale, calling it “monopolistic and unlawful”.  The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recently signed a deal with Staples to contract out your local Post Office jobs to Staples!  The administrators of the USPS admitted the contracting out of postal jobs is to greatly reduce pay and eliminate benefits.

Office Depot joins shutdown gang

Staples ups the ante

24/7 Wall St reporting that eight retailers will close more stores in 2013: Best Buy, Sears Holding (Kmart and Sears stores), JCPenney, Office Depot, Barnes & Noble, Gamestop, Office Max and RadioShack. 

Business/Economics

Sears & Kmart update, 21 January 2015: Sex Trafficking & Property Deals! Sears Holdings is not your daddy’s Sears!

The slow death of Sears and Kmart is a sign of a fundamental, and possibly irreversible change in the once ‘great’ society of the United States of America.

A man who works for evil finance institutions Morgan Stanley, Crédit Suisse and Goldman Sachs (Simeon Gutman) has already announced who will benefit from the death of Sears and Kmart.   Apparently electronics store Best Buy would benefit most, followed by home improvement stores Home Depot and Lowe’s.

It should be noted that Crédit Suisse has been the most vocal in claiming Sears Holdings is already dead.   But it turns out the main motivation of these financial investment institutions is real estate.  In my tracking of the housing market debacle it’s become clear to me that the main reason for the artificially created property market crash is so property speculators, mainly REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) can get their hands on a lot of properties real cheap and even get taxpayers to fund the rebuilding projects, in other words it’s the classic Snidely scheme.  (read: “Everybody wants a better outcome, everybody but the landlords.” and The biggest Scam in U.S. History and Snidely the illegal forecloser returns)

One of the driving motivations for Eddie Lampert and the vulture capitalists who created Sears Holdings is to shutdown stores only to carve up them up into smaller commercial spaces, or to lease them out to competitors (they can actually make more money that way).  For the properties they don’t own Sears Holdings has actually been making millions by getting the property owners to end lease agreements early!

This brings me to my next point that Sears and Kmart are not your parent’s Sears and Kmart.  I’ve read commentaries which boast that Sears has come back from disaster before.  That was not the same Sears.  I’ve recently read articles about Sears out of Washington state in which the author still refers to Sears as “Sears Roebuck”.  Sears Roebuck died in 2005!   Today’s Sears-Kmart is controlled by a company created by Mitt Romney-Bain Capital  style vulture capitalist known as Eddie Lampert.

Sears Holdings was created in 2005, after Kmart emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 (newly named Kmart Holdings) and suddenly took over Sears.   This was accomplished easily because the controlling stockholders of both retailers were actually on the same team!

Eddie Lampert, the man driving Sears Holdings now was also the man driving the newly created Kmart Holdings in 2003 (via his ESL Investments fund)!  In other words Sears Holdings was known for a short two years as Kmart Holdings.

Many analysts have stated that the way Lampert has been running Sears Holdings will destroy the company, it now looks intentional: “The way it’s being managed, it doesn’t work. They’re going to continue to deteriorate.”-Mary Ross Gilbert, Imperial Capital

Are Lampert and his cronies capable of bullshit?  Eddie Lampert worked for evil Goldman Sachs (that should be proof enough).  In 2003 Lampert was kidnapped, and claimed that his kidnappers said they were hired by AutoZone executives to kill him!  Lampert was also the largest stockholder in AutoZone, and an executive director at the time!  The FBI concluded that Lampert’s story about AutoZone executives trying to kill him was bullshit: “The AutoZone story was just a hoax.”-unnamed investgator

But there was a result; the president of AutoZone resigned and guess who took over?  Eddie Lampert!  AutoZone has been documented to use prison labor. 

In other signs of Failed State decadence, increasingly many Kmarts have been the sites of crimes including murder.  Another despicable crime involves the sex trafficking of teenagers in Tennessee.  A man described as an up and coming rapper has just been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of selling a 14 years old girl that he met at a Raleigh Kmart in 2013.

Today’s Sear-Kmart is not your daddy’s Sears and Kmart!

20 JANUARY 2015: ANOTHER KMART GOING DOWN!

Selling fake jewelry?

admits stock market shenanigans!

Executive officer involved with killing off other retailers?

screws over Goodyear for at least $20-million?

Catholics, Mormons & Jews conspiring

Sears stores leased to Ireland!

Store leases worth more than the stores themselves! 

 

 

 

Business/Economics

JCPenney closing more stores in 2014 than first announced! Mitt Romney style venture capitalists in charge!

10 November 2014 (01:53 UTC-07 Tango)/17 Muharram 1436/19 Aban 1393/18 Yi-Hai 4712

In January 2014, JCPenney administrators announced they would shutdown 33 department stores across the United States, killing at least 2-thousand jobs.  And that was on top of the 14-hundred JC 5 Star Outlet (formerly known as JCPenney Outlet) jobs killed at the end of 2013!  

In August there were rumors promulgated by retail analysts that Texas based JCPenney would shutdown 200 or more stores!   Then in October JCPenney administrators confirmed they will shutdown even more stores.  For proof that investors don’t give-a-crap about jobs, they immediately drove up the price of JCPenney stocks when they heard the news that store shutdowns would continue past the original 33 for 2014.

The new plan calls for reducing the number of JCPenney stores to less than 1-thousand over a five years period.   The same plan that Sear Holdings is using is in place; no renewal of leases, and in some cases where lease agreements are what JCPenney considers to be “low rent” they will shutdown the stores and continue paying the remaining lease.

This new shutdown plan comes as an affiliate of Mitt Romney’s vulture capitalist Bain Capital took control of JCPenney; Vornado Realty Trust.

In the following list, those stores in bold letters were not on the list of 33 store closures issued in January.

Alabama: Selma Mall JCPenney.

California: Rancho Cucamonga Arrow Plaza JCPenney.  Cupertino Vallco Shopping Mall JCPenney, the mall was sold to a property developer and JCPenney administrators said it’s not worth it to keep the store open, 170 jobs lost!

Colorado: Colorado Springs Chapel Hills Mall JCPenney.

Connecticut:  Meriden Square (Westfield Meriden Mall) JCPenney.

Florida: Leesburg Lake Square Mall JCPenney.  Port Richey Port View Square JCPenney.

Georgia: Morrow JCPenney will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.  Duluth JCPenney Home Store will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.

Iowa: Muscantine Mall JCPenney.  Des Moines JCPenney will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.

Illinois: Bloomingdale Stratford Square Mall JCPenney.  Forsyth Hickory Point Mall.  West Dundee JCPenney will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.

Indiana: Marion Five Points Mall JCPenney.  Warsaw Marketplace shopping Center JCPenney.

Maryland: The Centre at Salisbury JCPenney.

Michigan: Marquette Westwood Mall JCPenney.

Minnesota: Worthington Northland Mall JCPenney.

Mississippi: Gautier Singing River Mall JCPenney.  Natchez Mall JCPenney.

Montana: Butte Plaza Shopping Center JCPenney.  Cut Bank JCPenney.

North Carolina: Kinston Vernon Park Mall JCPenney.  High Point JCPenney will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.

New Jersey: Burlington Center JCPenney.  Phillipsburg Mall JCPenney.

Ohio: Wooster Wayne Towne Plaza JCPenney.

Pennsylvania:  Exton Square mall JCPenney.  Hazel Township Laurel Mall JCPenney.  Washington Mall JCPenney.

Tennessee: Chattanooga Northgate Mall JCPenney.

Virginia: Bristol Mall JCPenney.  Norfolk Military Circle Mall JCPenney.  Culpepper JCPenney will be shutdown between now and 1st quarter 2015.

Wisconsin: Fond du Lac Forest Mall JCPenney.  Janesville Mall JCPenney.  Rhinelander Lincoln Plaza Center JCPenney.  Rice Lake Cedar Mall JCPenney.  Wausau Mall JCPenney.  Racine Regency Mall JCPenney, the store was sold for $2.2-million USD (that’s less than what JCPenney had been asking for), to a property developer-speculator, and will shutdown during the 1st quarter of 2015, at least 80 jobs lost.

Washington: The Bellevue Square JCPenney shutdown their 55 years old store, 141 jobs lost!  This, despite the fact that the owners of the mall are spending $1.2-billion to bring in more shoppers!

Business/Economics, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings 04 – 05 June 2014: “I don’t know if we can overcome this” Mormon security company in big trouble! Is Vivint connected to the NSA? More proof working hard gets you laid off! Yes Virginia, more healthcare cuts!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Radio Shack CEO Joseph Magnacca stated to shareholders “I don’t know if we can overcome this impasse…”, implying that the economy is so bad they might need to shutdown even more stores.  He also ignored questions about bankruptcy.

California: What housing market recovery and who said internet businesses are killing brick-n-mortar operations?  In San Francisco, internet based real estate search site Trulia laid off 85 employees.  Apparently four executives got demoted as well.  Company officials said they are trying to eliminate redundant jobs.  What automotive industry recovery?   Car dealer California Superstores announced they’re shutting down three locations across the Golden State, 203 jobs lost by August!  In San Diego, Midway Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram announced they’re shutting down in August, 96 jobs lost.   In Thousand Oaks, legal drugs pusher Amgen announced more job losses, this time 59 in August.   In Sunnyvale, semiconductor maker Supertex announced plans to layoff 19 people in August.  In Davis, the Davis Healthcare Center shutdown after a fire caused massive damage, 142 jobs lost!  In Long Beach, Bags Inc laying off 60 employees in August.  In Concord, Too Big to Jail Bank of America continues to kill jobs, this time seven people will become unemployed in August.  In Bonsall, San Luis Rey Downs Golf Course shutting down by August, 47 jobs lost.  In Santa Anna, newspaper publisher Freedom Communications announced the bad economy is forcing them to consolidate several newspapers, which will mean 100 people being laid off!  The city of La Puente laid off the city clerk and the entire code enforcement division!  Code enforcement will be contracted with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Florida: In Fort Myers, after only six years the trendy Elephant Bar Restaurant shutdown.  Company officials blamed lack of customers on the bad economy.

Hawaii: The Hilo Medical Center warned of Obama Care layoffs.  The state run hospital says increased cost of operations plus decreased funding due to Obama Care is pushing them into the red by $48-million USD!  In Maui, after 47 years Buzz’s Wharf restaurant shutdown.  The owner blamed the bad economy.

Idaho:  In Twin Falls, after only two years of production at the World’s largest yogurt factory Chobani laid off an undisclosed number of employees.  Officials say the layoffs are because production quotas were reached (in other words the former employees did their jobs well)!  But wait, more layoffs could be in the planning!  Chobani officials told local news media that the factory was still using hundreds more employees than they really need.  The new factory was designed for 400 employees, but state employment officials estimate there are between 500 and 1-thousand people working the successful operation.

Illinois:  In Springfield, AT&T shutting down a call center, 200 jobs lost!

Kansas: In Pittsburg, book, music and video store Hastings announced they’re shutting down in July, 35 jobs lost.

Kentucky: In Lexington, taxsucker Lockheed Martin revealed they’ve laid off 110 people back in May!   But wait, doesn’t that violate the tax deal they made with the state?  In 2013 Lockheed Martin got $10.8-million in tax incentives in exchange for employing 391 people at least until 2015!   In Princeton, Pennyroyal Center laid off 15 employees and could be closing its mental health clinic.

Massachusetts: In Wellesley, after ten years women’s boutique Essentia shutdown.

Michigan: In Saginaw, after 34 years Mr. Van’s Shoe Repair shutdown.  The Flint Community Schools announced 250 job cuts for the upcoming school year!

Missouri: In Saint Louis, food processor ConAgra killing 130 jobs!  It’s blamed on its takeover of Ralcorp.

Nebraska: In Omaha, food processor ConAgra killing 100 jobs! It’s blamed on its takeover of Ralcorp.  Company officials claim that in the long run they’ll create more jobs.

New Jersey: GE Healthcare Life Sciences warned of hundreds of layoffs by 2015: “GE Healthcare can confirm that in the Spring of 2015, the GE Healthcare Life Sciences business will begin to consolidate some of its northeastern operations into a greater Boston-area site. As a result of this consolidation, GE Healthcare Life Sciences will begin to transition away from Princeton and Piscataway, New Jersey, and some roles may be affected, although it is too early in the process to say how many.”-Benjamin Fox, GE spokesman

New York: Pet Supplies Plus announced their statewide operations will shut down by the end of the month, 86 jobs lost.  The pet supply franchise has been sold off.   In Flushing, Professional Billing Associates announced they will shut down in September, 38 jobs lost.

North Dakota: What oil boom?  In Fargo, after 34 years Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream shutdown.  The owner blamed health problems and the bad economy saying his business was no longer “cutting it”.

Ohio: In Youngstown, Mitt Romney connected Toys R Us shutting down their 23 years old distribution center.  At least 70 jobs lost.  In Toledo, Community Development Institute-Head Start killing 280 jobs in July! The 2014-15 Head Start contract went to another contractor.

Pennsylvania:  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette laid off 136 people!  After 59 years car/home custom audio/video company HiFi House shutdown without notice.

Tennessee: In Nashville, Brazil based aircraft maker/servicer Embraer laid off 83 employees.  They blamed declining business on the bad economy.

Texas: In Houston, one of three upscale Brio Tuscan Grille restaurants shutdown without notice.  The Saint Genevieve bar was shutdown without notice.  They’re reports that many eateries are being shutdown for property re-development.

Virginia: In Stauton, after 77 years Jimmy Anderson’s Food Mart shutdown.  In South Boston, Comcast cable shutting down their service center by the end of the month.

Washington: In Seattle, Eagle Marine Services announced they will layoff 94 employees in July.  No reason was given.  Student travel company Ambassadors Group laying off at least 40 employees.  It’s blamed on crashing revenues from its People to People Student Ambassadors Program.  The company is also selling off its HQ building in Spokane.  Utah based and privately held Mormon home security company, Vivint, shutting down their Liberty Lake call center by the end of the month.  It’s estimated that hundreds of people will lose their jobs, but local news reports said Vivint officials refused to say why they’re shutting down, or exactly how many people will become unemployed.  It should be noted that Vivint is facing sanctions by 11 states, as well as a class action lawsuit, for fraudulent and deceptive practices!  Apparently the company’s current president used to work for Mitt Romney.  It should also be noted that Utah is the base camp for the federal government’s domestic data spying operations!  Is there a connection between the ‘home security’  company and the NSA?

Wisconsin: In Little Chute, wireless company Airadigm Communications laid off 55 employees.  In La Crosse, the Mayo Clinic  announced it will kill 51 medical transcription jobs in September.  In Milwaukee, train maker Talgo shutdown and moved its last two passenger trains out of state.  Company officials blame state officials.  The Milwaukee YMCA now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.

01 – 03 June 2014:  1-thousand people secretly laid off in Ohio

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security…..That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional.”-Barack Obama, 10 September 2013

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate Evil: More evidence the demise of Sears & Kmart is all part of Romney/Bain style vulture capitalist scheme to intentionaly run the business into the ground!

“You make Sears sound like a liquidation play, not a retail recovery.”-from Fortune magazine

“The retail recovery is a potential upside. Regardless, you’ll see gigantic cash flows from the closing of locations, the pulling-out of the cash from inventory, work in process, and distribution centers. They’re not idiots when it comes to real estate. They understand that today’s standalone store can be tomorrow’s multi-use hotel/residential-retail center. I think Eddie Lampert [chairman of Sears Holdings] will end up being one of a few unbelievable case studies on what it means to be a long-term investor.”-answer from Bruce Berkowitz, a major stockholder in Sears Holdings

Fortune published a recent interview with Bruce Berkowitz, in which he basically said Sears and Kmart could make more profits for investors by being closed down and selling off their inventories and real estate.  I warned of this last year.

An InvestorPlace contributor, Will Ashworth, explained how the Romneyesque scheme is actually working.

For real estate, Ashworth says Berkowitz values the land property owned or leased by Sears Holdings to be about $17 billion USD.  Then there’s inventory.  Berkowitz estimates that a net profit of $2.5 billion could be made by selling off inventory. Ashworth himself is more conservative, thinking it be about a $1 billion net gain for investors.

Of course you can only sell off land and inventory by closing down the stores: “Many see Lampert using Sears as the next Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B), taking the proceeds of assets sales and reinvesting them elsewhere until Sears, the retailer, ceases to exist. It might take awhile, but Berkowitz is willing to patiently wait because deep down he knows Sears is worth far more dead than alive.“-Will Ashworth, InvestorPlace

 

Business/Economics, International, Opinion, U.S.

Class Warfare! Average Californian justified in voting for higher taxes for wealthy. Golden State has highest number of poor AND highest number of rich! Just ask the Chinese

“They will keep struggling until the economy levels off. This is just a reflection of the bad economic situation we’re living in with high unemployment and lower income.”-Maria Pia Chaparro, UCLA researcher

20 November 2012, according to reports from Rhodium Group, and Asia Society, California is now the top U.S. state for investments from Chinese investors, accounting for at least 25% of all Chinese investments (more than New York, Texas, Illinois and North Carolina combined).

In the past 12 years China has invested $1.2 billion USD into California.  According to Rhodium Group, that’s expected to rise as high as $60 billion in the next eight years! Yet, for all the money China is throwing at the Golden State, the U.S. Census Bureau (The Research SUPPLEMENTAL POVERTY MEASURE: 2011) says California now has the highest rate of poverty in the United States; 23.5%, or one in four Californians in poverty!  (Florida is second worst with 19.5%)

“We’re seeing a very slow recovery, with increases in poverty among workers due to more new jobs which are low wage…..California is struggling more because it’s relatively harder there to qualify for food stamps and other benefits.”-Timothy Smeeding, University of Wisconsin-Madison economist

The Census Bureau is using new poverty measures which finally take into account the cost of living (even including the taxes you pay), and California’s outrageous cost of living/taxation is the prime reason for the huge jump in official federal government poverty ratings.  (I used to live there, and between the cost of living/taxation and overwhelming number of ludicrous laws I am amazed the people haven’t held a full blown revolution. No problem going on the rampage after the Rodney King verdict, but when it comes to the economy and their livelihoods I guess they like being raped by the Man)

But other reports say that while more and more working class Californians are hitting the skids, the rich elites are not only still making money, they’re making more and more money!  Evidence of that is how much money rich Californians gave to political campaigns: “It’s very hard to pass an initiative, but it’s not that hard to defeat an initiative if you have money on your side.”-Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation

According to MapLight rich Californians gave an estimated $350 million to support, or fight, the 11 propositions Californians just voted on.  And that’s got to be lowballed, because, according to the Associated Press, just two rich Californians spent nearly $100 million trying to influence the voters on such things as higher taxes on out of state companies and making it easier for insurance companies to change their rates.

But while rich Californians are willing to spend money on elections, they don’t seem willing to spend money on bettering the economy. Back to the Chinese investors.

According to Chinese media reports, continued Chinese investing hinges on the U.S. Congress’s recent extension of the EB-5 visa program: “Under EB-5, an applicant is given permanent U.S. residency if his investment of at least $1 million leads to 10 full-time jobs within two years. The threshold is just $500,000 if the jobs created are in a rural or high unemployment area of the U.S.”-China Daily

This means that Chinese investing also involves people from China being able to move to the United States, as one California mayor admitted: “This can guarantee a steady rate of return for stimulating purchases of bonds (for publicly funded development projects), and people are able to immigrate because of EB-5, so you’ll see more of this in California.”-Jean Quan, mayor of Oakland

The Oakland mayor said that Chinese middle and upper income earners want to take advantage of the EB-5 program, as did Oakland businessman, Tom Henderson, who said his Chinese clients want to move to California through the EB-5 program which will help create new jobs:  “We are bringing in $100 million to Oakland alone. Over the next 18 months, we’ll create 2,000 jobs in Oakland through the EB-5 program.”

The fact that California’s officials are putting so much of their hopes on China to save them economically, and that the U.S. rich have money but are spending it on things that do not stimulate the economy (California is considered the billionaire capitol of the world!), is proof that the elitist rich in the United States are unAmerican and a threat to U.S. National Security.