Money

Announced Job Cuts Hit 1.17 Million In 2025 – 54 Percent Higher Than Last Year

December 4, 2025 by Michael

It is getting very hard to deny that the U.S. economy is moving in the wrong direction. Yesterday, ADP reported that the U.S. economy shed tens of thousands of jobs last month. Today, Challenger, Gray & Christmas is reporting that U.S. employers announced a grand total of 1.17 million job cuts through the first 11 months of 2025. That represents a 54 percent increase from the first 11 months of last year…

U.S.-based employers have cut more than 1.17 million jobs so far in 2025, the highest level since the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

From January to November of this year, employers cut 1,170,821 jobs, a 54 percent increase from the 761,358 jobs cut during the first 11 months of 2024.

In 2020, large numbers of Americans were being temporarily laid off due to the lockdowns.

But we don’t have any lockdowns in 2025.

What we have instead is a rapidly deteriorating economy.

Traditionally, employers have been hesitant to lay off workers just before the holiday season because it can mean bad publicity.

But this November employers were not as hesitant to swing the axe as usual, and the telecom industry led the way…

Telecom alone slashed 15,139 jobs, its worst month since April 2020, when the pandemic forced widespread shutdowns.

For the year, telecom layoffs are up a staggering 268 percent.

Other industries aren’t doing much better: tech job losses are up 17 percent in 2025, food distributors (especially those that produce beef) are up 26 percent, and service-sector layoffs have climbed 64 percent.

The primary reason why the total for the telecom industry was so high last month is because Verizon suddenly decided to fire more than 13,000 employees…

Verizon is set to lay off over 13,000 workers in the coming weeks as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring initiative.

“Today, we will begin reducing our workforce by more than 13,000 employees across the organization, and significantly reduce our outsourced and other outside labor expenses,” newly appointed CEO Dan Schulman writes in a memo to employees that it also published online. “Every part of the company will experience some level of change.”

Verizon had just over 100,000 employees as of Sept. 30, meaning the layoff will reduce the headcount by 13%.

Perhaps Verizon’s new management can turn the company around.

But considering the trajectory that Verizon is currently on, it will take a miracle.

If you are searching for a job in this very tough economic environment, I feel very badly for you.

We are being told that 30 percent of all job postings are fake, and competition for any decent jobs that are available has become extremely fierce.

In the old days, having a college degree would give you an edge, but now that is a lot less true than it once was…

College graduates may be losing their edge in the labor market, as the unemployment gap between them and workers with only high school degrees has narrowed and reached its lowest level in decades, according to a new report.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland analyzed unemployment trends for high school and college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27, as high school graduates have typically experienced relatively higher levels of unemployment.

The Cleveland Fed economists found that the unemployment gap has continually declined since the 2008 financial crisis and recently reached its lowest level since the late 1970s.

In September, 25 percent of all unemployed Americans actually had a college degree.

Things are particularly tough for new graduates.

As I discussed the other day, Nikki Haley’s son says that not a single one of his friends that recently graduated from college has been able to land a job yet.

How can anyone spin that to make it sound good?

It can’t be done.

We have a giant mess on our hands, and more businesses are going belly up with each passing day.

In fact, a restaurant chain that had been in business for 88 years just closed their final 8 locations…

Another family restaurant chain has abruptly closed all of its locations for good.

K&W Cafeteria — an 88-year-old institution across North Carolina and Virginia — closed its final eight restaurants on December 1, marking the end of a dining tradition generations grew up with.

‘It is with a heavy heart that we share this news,’ the owners posted on Facebook.

When I first started writing about America’s “restaurant apocalypse”, some of the skeptics thought that I was exaggerating.

Of course nobody thinks that I am exaggerating now because thousands of locations have been getting permanently shuttered.

U.S. manufacturing has fallen on hard times too.

In fact, the Institute for Supply Management is telling us that U.S. manufacturing activity has now fallen for nine months in a row…

American manufacturing contracted for the ninth straight month, a survey showed, as uncertainty tied to ever-changing tariffs and a historic government shutdown weighed on business.

A closely followed manufacturing index fell to a four-month low of 48.2% in November from 48.7% in the prior month, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday. Any number below 50% signals contraction.

As I have been detailing for weeks, just about every single economic number indicates that a major economic downturn is upon us.

Some pundits are using the term “recession” to describe what is ahead, but the truth is that this crisis isn’t just going to be another bump in the road.

As I stated yesterday, we are more than 104 trillion dollars in debt.

I hope that the “prosperity” that we enjoyed during the past several decades was worth it, because now we are going to pay a very great price.

Of course it isn’t just us.

As Glenn Beck has aptly pointed out, this is the first time in world history when every major civilization is simultaneously facing a historic debt crisis…

“For the FIRST time in recorded history, EVERY major civilization—America, China, Europe, Japan—is hitting the absolute peak of the debt super-cycle AT THE EXACT SAME MOMENT. There is no rising power waiting in the wings like there always has been. When this resets, it won’t be regional. It will be global, systemic, and sudden.”

I have never had anyone explain to me in rational terms how this is going to end well.

We all know that the system is going to collapse.

It is just a matter of when it will happen.

Considering how rapidly things are starting to unravel in 2025, it may happen a lot sooner than many people think.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Do You Agree That It Takes A Minimum Of $136,500 A Year For A Family Of Four To Afford The Basics In America Today?

December 3, 2025December 3, 2025 by Michael

If your household is struggling to pay the bills right now, you are far from alone. The cost of just about everything that Americans regularly spend money on has been soaring, and as a result our standard of living has been steadily declining. Over the past couple of decades, our politicians borrowed and spent trillions of dollars that we did not have, the Federal Reserve shoveled giant mountains of money that were created out of thin air into the financial system, and our leaders treated the reserve currency of the world like toilet paper. So now the value of the U.S. dollar has gone way down, our paychecks don’t stretch as far as they once did, and most of the country is barely scraping by from month to month.

This week, an excellent article that was authored by Michael Green is getting a ton of attention. In that article, he calculates that a “basic needs budget” for a typical family of four in the United States would come to a grand total of $136,500 a year…

I wanted to see what would happen if I ignored the official stats and simply calculated the cost of existing. I built a Basic Needs budget for a family of four (two earners, two kids). No vacations, no Netflix, no luxury. Just the “Participation Tickets” required to hold a job and raise kids in 2024.

Using conservative, national-average data:

Childcare: $32,773

Housing: $23,267

Food: $14,717

Transportation: $14,828

Healthcare: $10,567

Other essentials: $21,857

Required net income: $118,009

Add federal, state, and FICA taxes of roughly $18,500, and you arrive at a required gross income of $136,500.

Do you agree with these figures?

I very much appreciate the effort that he put into his analysis, but I certainly do not agree with some of these numbers.

The national average for child care for a single child is about $975 per month. So for two children for an entire year the total should be less than $24,000.

So we can eliminate more than $8,000 from his budget right there.

And if your kids are old enough, you may not need to spend anything on child care at all.

On the other hand, I think that his figure for housing is too low.

The average home price in the U.S. now exceeds $500,000.

Taking out a $500,000 mortgage at 6.2 percent would result in a mortgage payment of $3,047.41 a month.

So Green’s budget completely rules out owning a typical home in many areas of the country.

Instead, it would allow for renting a two bedroom apartment which averages about $1,800 a month right now.

And I think that Green’s figure for health care is also too low.

The average monthly health insurance premium for a family of four in the U.S. now exceeds $2,000.

Yes, a hypothetical family of four could save money by going without health insurance or by living in a van, but that is not the point.

It is time for everyone to admit that a middle class lifestyle has become out of reach for a majority of American households.

Green’s analysis may not be entirely accurate, but others have come up with similar results.

For example, the Economic Policy Institute has determined that it takes approximately $123,000 a year for a family of four to live a middle class lifestyle in Essex County, New Jersey…

The Economic Policy Institute offers a Family Budget Calculator. It says a family of four would need about $123,000 a year to attain “a modest yet adequate standard of living” in Essex County, New Jersey.

And Investopedia has determined that it now takes approximately 5 million dollars to live the American Dream over the course of a lifetime…

Investopedia, the financial journalism site, uses similar calculations to estimate how much emergency savings a family should hold (about $35,000, on average) and the lifetime costs of fulfilling the American dream (roughly $5 million).

Needless to say, most Americans don’t have a prayer of making 5 million dollars during their lifetimes.

And the cost of just about everything is only going to go even higher.

Right now, our rapidly rising power bills are making a lot of headlines…

The numbers are as stark as a slate-grey November sky. Household spending on electricity for heating is expected to rise 10% this winter to more than $1,200. Utilities requested a $29 billion rate increase in the first half of 2025, double last year’s rate rise. Residential electricity rates rose 6.6% year-on-year as of June 2025, according to Utility Dive, after already rising nearly 30% between 2021 and 2024.

Meanwhile, the job market just continues to get even tighter.

On Wednesday, ADP reported that the U.S. economy lost 32,000 jobs last month…

The U.S. labor market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.
Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers. However, establishments with fewer than 50 saw a decline of 120,000.
The ADP report is the last monthly jobs picture the Federal Reserve gets before it meets Dec. 9-10.

Most experts were expecting that the ADP report would show that the U.S. economy actually added jobs last month.

So this is really bad news.

The three month average has now plunged into negative territory.

This is the very first time that has happened since August 2020.

Back then, we had a pandemic to blame for our problems.

What is our excuse this time around?

It is easy to say that unemployed people should just go out and “get a job”, but the truth is that even the mainstream media is admitting that “job hunting feels impossible right now”…

You’re not imagining it. Job hunting feels impossible right now because it actually is. You’ve polished your resume, customized cover letters and applied for hundreds of roles only to hear nothing back.

I know that many of you can identify with that.

Month after month, a lot of unemployed workers have been unable to find anything no matter how hard they have tried.

It can be absolutely soul crushing what you are in that position.

There is speculation that the latest ADP report may make it more likely that the Fed will give us another interest rate cut…

But Kenwell said the latest report should help push America’s central bank to cut interest rates for the third time in 2025.

The Fed, currently led by chair Jerome Powell, has a dual mandate to lower inflation and increase job growth through the government’s borrowing rates.

Rates are used as a blunt tool, swinging higher when prices climb, and plunging when unemployment accelerates.

Hopefully the Fed will do the right thing.

But a quarter point rate cut is not going to significantly alter our current economic trajectory.

We aren’t just heading into another recession.

We are heading into a full-blown meltdown.

When you total up all forms of debt in this country, we are more than 104 trillion dollars in the red.

It is the greatest mountain of debt in the history of the world, and now a time of reckoning is here.

So please try to enjoy these “bad times” while we still have them, because it won’t be too long before things get a whole lot worse.

U.S. Businesses Are Going Bankrupt At An Absolutely Blistering Pace

December 2, 2025December 2, 2025 by Michael

Why is the number of business bankruptcies in the United States rising so rapidly? It isn’t because the economy is doing well. Every day there are more news stories about businesses that have failed, and this is clearly reflected in the numbers that I am about to share with you. We haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Recession, and if our economic troubles continue to accelerate during the months ahead 2026 is going to be a very messy year.

Earlier today I came across an article which explained that the number of small businesses that are filing for Subchapter V bankruptcy has set a brand new record high in 2025…

A six-year-old federal program designed to help the smallest American businesses cut debt and get a fresh start has set a record for the number of cases filed, court data show.

More than 2,200 people and small firms filed bankruptcy this year under the so-called Subchapter V rules, which make it cheaper and faster to win relief from creditors, according to data provider Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics.

“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” said Carol Fox, a court-approved trustee who oversees more than two dozen cases filed in Southern Florida.

This is really bad news.

Small businesses are traditionally the primary engine for job growth in this country.

So the fact that so many of them are going belly up is not a good sign at all.

Meanwhile, large businesses are going bankrupt at a very alarming pace as well.

In fact, through the first seven months of this year the number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States was at the highest level that we have seen since the early days of the pandemic…

The U.S. saw a sharp increase in corporate bankruptcy filings in July, according to a recent report, reaching a post-COVID peak and placing 2025 on track to surpass last year’s total.

S&P Global Market Intelligence, the research and data arm of the credit-rating agency, found that filings by large public and private companies rose to 71 last month from 66 in June, marking the highest monthly tally since July 2020. So far in 2025, meanwhile, the total of 446 bankruptcy filings is the highest for this seven-month stretch since 2010.

When large numbers of businesses fail, hiring slows down and we typically see large scale layoffs all over the nation.

And that is precisely what is happening.

During a recent interview with Fox News, Nikki Haley’s son admitted that not a single one of his friends that recently graduated from college has been able to get a job…

“My friend group all graduated with great degrees in great schools, and not one of them has a job – not one. So it’s frustrating because they did everything that they were supposed to do. They put in the time, the effort, the money to get educated, and they don’t have a job to show for it. They have to compete with foreign workers who are willing to work for half their salary and AI, which is a supercomputer, so how can we compete with that?“

I was stunned when I read that.

I knew that things were bad for our recent college graduates, but I didn’t realize that they were this bad.

The job market is freezing up, and this is especially true for entry-level workers.

At this stage, AI is already doing much of the work that vast numbers of entry-level workers once did.

And a recent MIT study concluded that current AI technology could potentially replace 20 million more American workers…

In the midst of a soggy job market, there’s been a lengthy debate over whether contemporary AI is actually replacing workers — or just providing bosses with an excuse to lay off certain employees and offload their responsibilities onto the ones who remain.

The answer isn’t clear, but a new study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is sure to add fuel to the fire. Analyzing 151 million American workers, the researchers calculated that today’s AI systems are already mature enough to automate the tasks of more than 20 million American workers, or 11.7 percent of the entire labor force, if they were fully deployed across the country.

So what is going to happen when AI and robots can do almost everything more efficiently than human workers can?

What will we be needed for then?

Our society is changing at a pace that is difficult to comprehend.

One tech worker that got laid off by Meta earlier this year still has not been able to find work nine months later…

When I got hired at Meta in 2020, it was life-changing for me as a single mom. It represented safety and stability — a place to work hard at and retire from.

So, when I was let go in February in a round of layoffs aimed at “low-performers,” it felt like a punch in the gut.

Nine months later, my severance and savings have run dry, I’m struggling to find a tech job, and I feel that the low-performer “label” is part of the reason. I’m no longer the same happy-go-lucky person I used to be, applying for jobs with excitement.

A few years ago, it was pretty easy to find a good paying job.

But now things have completely flipped around.

And even many of those that are employed are not making enough to be able to afford a decent lifestyle…

An American retail worker earns 51.6 percent less than the amount required to afford a typical rental apartment, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement released on Nov. 26.

“The typical retail worker in America earns $34,436 per year,” the company said.

“A renter would need to earn $71,172 to afford the typical apartment, which costs $1,779 per month.”

If you don’t make enough money to be able to pay rent on an apartment, what are your options?

I suppose that you could move in with your parents or live in a van down by the river.

By the way, there are millions of young Americans that are living in cars, vans and RVs today. This is something that I have discussed extensively in previous articles.

Our standard of living is being eviscerated.

Meanwhile, those at the very top of the economic pyramid have more money than they know what to do with…

The top 1% have seen their wealth increase by $4 trillion over the past year, an increase of 7%. Their wealth hit a record $52 trillion in the second quarter.

The top 0.1% saw their wealth grow by 10% over the past year. Since the pandemic, the top 0.1%, or those with a net worth of at least $46 million, have seen their total wealth nearly double to over $23 trillion.

I keep trying to warn everyone that this is not going to end well.

There are millions upon millions of Americans that cannot make a decent living no matter how hard they try.

And the same thing is happening in countless other nations all over the globe.

I have never seen so much economic frustration among young adults as I am seeing right now.

Their anger is percolating just under the surface, and it won’t be too long before it explodes.

Extreme Carnage! Crypto Investors Lose $800,000,000,000 In Just 1 Month As Forced Liquidations Reset The Market

December 1, 2025December 1, 2025 by Michael

It’s a bloodbath out there right now. On Monday alone, crypto investors lost about $200,000,000,000 in just 24 hours. Overall, crypto investors have lost about $800,000,000,000 over the last month. In this article, I want to try to explain why this is happening and what is coming next. You see, the truth is that the era of easy money is ending. For a long time, investors could borrow yen at ultra-low interest rates and use that money to purchase cryptocurrency and make amazing returns. But now Japanese bond yields are going nuts and all variations of the “yen carry trade” are starting to unwind…

For years, a lucrative trade for global investors has been to borrow yen to buy high-yielding assets like US stocks, or in this case, cryptocurrencies. Interest rates in Japan had been low or at zero, making borrowing yen relatively cheap and creating a sweet opportunity for traders. It’s known as the “yen carry trade.”

However, the Bank of Japan has signaled it could raise interest rates, in part to address stubborn inflation, continuing a recent shift away from years of ultra-low rates. Yields on benchmark Japanese bonds just hit their highest level since 2008, signaling expectations for higher rates. As rates in Japan rise, it can boost the value of the yen. That makes borrowing yen less affordable, eating into the profitability of the carry trade.

That could pressure traders to sell their bitcoin and stocks now to repay their loans and prevent the risk of further losses. In addition to a sell-off, it could lead to less cash flowing into crypto and stocks.

On Sunday night, Japanese bond yields spiked again, and this caused another round of panic for crypto investors.

And we all saw what happened once the selling started.

For years, crypto investors laughed at the rest of us as they enjoyed the ride up as the bubble inflated.

But now the bubble is bursting, and the ride down is going to be far more messy that the ride up due to the extreme leverage in the cryptocurrency market…

Ben Emons, founder and CIO of Fedwatch Advisors, said that people remain “nervous” following the recent bitcoin sell-off, adding that Monday’s reversal has broadly been attributed to a $400 million exchange liquidation.

Speaking with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday, he highlighted the sizable leverage across bitcoin exchanges, which is up to 200x in some instances. With an estimated $787 billion outstanding leverage in perpetual crypto futures, against some $135 billion outstanding in ETFs, “you can do the math,” Emons said.

“There is still a lot of leverage in bitcoin out there. We can expect to some more of these liquidations if bitcoin prices don’t get off the lows from here,” he added.

As long as crypto prices just kept going up, everything was going to be fine.

But now that crypto prices are going down, we are seeing wave after wave of forced liquidations.

Yet another wave of forced liquidations is what pushed crypto prices down so rapidly on Monday.

At this point, things are so bad that even the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin may soon be forced to start selling…

The biggest corporate holder of bitcoin has announced a U.S. dollar dividend reserve of more than $1 billion, days after its top executive laid out what might force the company to sell some of its $56 billion in bitcoin holdings.

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, announced Monday that it will establish a $1.44 billion reserve “to support the payment of dividends on its preferred stock and interest on its outstanding indebtedness.” The reserve was funded by sales of its Class A common stock, and Strategy plans to keep sufficient reserves to fund its dividends for at least 12 months.

What we are witnessing is not just a temporary correction.

As Shanaka Anslem Perera laid out very clearly in an excellent social media post, the entire system is being forced to reset because Japanese bond yields are soaring. I have reproduced his entire social media post below…

JAPAN JUST KILLED THE GLOBAL MONEY PRINTER AND NOBODY NOTICED

The most dangerous number in finance right now is 1.71%.

That’s Japan’s 10-year bond yield. Highest since 2008. Here’s why your retirement just got obliterated:

For 30 years, Japan printed infinity money at 0% rates and exported it worldwide. $3.4 trillion flowed into US Treasuries, European debt, emerging markets. This invisible bid kept YOUR mortgage cheap, YOUR stocks inflated, YOUR government solvent.

November 10th, 2025: The bid disappeared.

Japan’s yield hit 1.71%. They’re pumping $110 billion stimulus into their economy while debt sits at 263% of GDP. The math just became impossible. At 1.7% rates, Japan pays $27 billion MORE in interest. Every. Single. Year.

Here’s the extinction event nobody sees coming:

Japanese pension funds are pulling $1.1 trillion OUT of US Treasuries right now because keeping money in America LOSES them money after hedging costs. The largest foreign buyer of American debt is becoming a seller.

When Japan stops buying, interest rates don’t stay flat. They explode. US 10-year yields will jump 40 basis points minimum from flow dynamics alone. Your 7% mortgage becomes 8%. Corporate debt refinancing costs spike 60%. Zombie companies holding $3 trillion in junk bonds start defaulting in waves.

The yen carry trade just reversed. $1.2 trillion in borrowed yen funding crypto, stocks, emerging markets must unwind. Every hedge fund, every momentum trade, every leveraged bet built on free Japanese money is getting margin called simultaneously.

This breaks in three places:

Stock valuations were built for 2% bond yields forever. At 3.5% yields, the S&P 500 fair value drops 35%. Emerging market currencies collapse without Japanese capital inflows. Europe’s debt crisis returns because Italy and Spain lose their silent buyer.

December 18th the Bank of Japan meets. 50% chance they hike again. If they do, sell everything not nailed down.

Your 401k doesn’t price this in yet. The Fed can’t stop this. No central bank can.

The world’s biggest piggy bank just cracked open and the money is flowing backwards.

Position accordingly or get destroyed.

When he originally posted that, the yield on 10 year Japanese bonds was 1.71 percent.

Now it has risen to 1.85 percent, which is the highest level since 2008…

Japan just sent a shock through global markets.

The country’s 10-year government bond yield jumped to 1.85%, its highest level since 2008, marking a major break from the ultra-low rate environment Japan has lived in for decades. The move is already being called one of the most important signals for global liquidity heading into 2026.

To say that we are potentially facing a major liquidity crisis would be a massive understatement.

For the moment, it is crypto prices that are plunging, but lots of yen was borrowed to buy stocks too.

So let’s keep a very close eye on U.S. stock prices in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, the price of silver continues to go parabolic.

As I write this article, the price of silver is sitting at $58.40 an ounce.

Will it hit 60 dollars this week?

There are some analysts that are now openly speculating about when silver will hit 80 dollars an ounce.

Earlier today, I heard from a reader that is having a truly exceptional year because he held on to his silver all this time.

As I mentioned yesterday, if you purchased silver in December 2008 it has more than quintupled in value.

But many of those that got in at the peak of the cryptocurrency bubble are being completely and utterly wiped out.

History has shown us that gold and silver will retain their value over time.

History has also shown us that every irrational financial bubble eventually comes to an end.

The Price Of Silver Goes Parabolic As The Cost Of Living Spikes And Mass Layoffs Occur All Over The Nation

November 30, 2025November 30, 2025 by Michael

For a long time we were warned that when the financial system finally started melting down, the price of silver would explode. It appears that those that predicted this were quite prescient. The yen carry trade is unwinding, more than a trillion dollars in cryptocurrency wealth has been wiped out, stocks and bonds have been extremely volatile, and the U.S. dollar has plummeted in value since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the price of silver has nearly doubled since January 1st…

In just 11 months, the price of silver has almost doubled. While gold stole the spotlight in 2025, it is silver that has gained more than the yellow metal. Compared to gold, silver has moved sharply higher over the last 12 months.

Over the last year, gold has increased by 59%, while silver has jumped nearly 87%. Even in 2025, so far gold has gained 60%, while silver is already up 94%.

As I write this article, silver is trading at $57.16 an ounce.

I never imagined that the price of silver would go so high in 2025, but here we are.

When there is a lot of uncertainty in the air, demand for silver tends to go up.

And right now there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the air.

Just about everyone expected that the price of silver would rise, but we have never seen anything quite like this.

It is being reported that the vaults in London are rapidly emptying…

Yet, London’s vaults have been emptying rapidly for the past few years. In June 2022, the London Bullion Market Association held 31,023 metric tons of silver. By March 2025, volumes had fallen by around a third to 22,126 metric tons — its lowest point in years.

“What isn’t necessarily so visible to people is what’s happening in the vaults,” said O’Connell. “And that had reached a point where there was basically there was no available metal left in London.”

On the other side of the planet, China’s physical stockpile of silver has hit a 10 year low.

This is a huge red flag, but most people don’t seem to realize this.

Global supplies of physical silver are becoming extremely tight, and this has been creating quite a bit of chaos…

“Some people were having to transport silver by plane rather than on cargo ships to meet delivery demand,” Paul Syms, head of EMEA ETF Fixed Income and commodity product management at Invesco, told CNBC.

Of course this is just the beginning.

Silver is used in thousands of different products, and this includes electric vehicles.

If current trends continue, demand for physical silver is only going to accelerate…

“At the moment, a standard electric vehicle has about 25 grams of silver, maybe the larger EVs have 50 grams of silver as part of their components,” said Syms.

“If we move into these solid-state silver batteries, each electric vehicle might require a kilo or more of silver,” he added.

And with silver having a high thermal conductivity and a higher electrical conductivity than other metals, as well as increasing demand for EVs, AI and renewables, the metal’s value is likely to keep shining.

There is no telling how high the price of silver could eventually go.

But that is not good news for the economy.

In fact, that is really bad news for the economy.

Investors tend to flock to silver when things are not going well.

And this year the value of the dollar has been tanking, our standard of living has been going down, and the cost of just about everything has been going up.

For example, the data center boom has been one of the primary forces that has driven power bills into unprecedented territory…

The data centers that power the artificial intelligence revolution are driving up electricity prices for households — and price relief may not be coming anytime soon, according to energy experts.

Residential retail electricity prices in September were up 7.4%, to about 18 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration.

It is being projected that thousands more data centers will be constructed in the U.S. by the year 2030.

So what we are experiencing now is just the tip of the iceberg.

Health care costs are also soaring, and this is particularly true for those that are on Obamacare…

Americans are expected to see skyrocketing health care prices as the open enrollment period for insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace begins on Saturday.

About 24 million people buy health insurance through the marketplace, the majority of whom used to receive tax credits to lower the monthly price of insurance.

Without credits, the monthly cost could rise by 114% on average, according to health research nonprofit KFF. This could mean an extra $1,000 a year, and in some cases much more.

One family in Utah could see their monthly premiums go from 495 dollars a month to 2,168 dollars a month…

Stacy Cox and her husband, who are small business owners in Utah, were paying $495 (£376) a month for health insurance.

Ms Cox said that without the tax credits, their monthly premiums are estimated to rise to $2,168, a 338% increase.

“It’s horrific to actually see real numbers,” she said.

Who can afford to pay 2,000 dollars a month for health insurance?

I don’t know anyone that could afford to do that.

Of course vast numbers of U.S. workers will soon be without any health coverage at all because they are losing their jobs.

FedEx was once one of America’s hottest companies, but now hundreds of workers will be getting the axe...

America’s hottest corporate trend is layoffs.

FedEx, America’s second-largest shipping and logistics company, is shutting down a logistics operation in Coppell, Texas, and laying off nearly 900 workers, according to a WARN notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Hewlett-Packard is another household name that is brutally slashing workers…

A household name in tech is the latest to announce a wave of layoffs.

On Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard — the 86-year-old California tech giant better known as HP — said it plans to let go of between 4,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide.

That is roughly 10 percent of its workforce, with notices rolling out through 2028.

Meanwhile, stores continue to close down at a staggering pace all over the country.

American Signature operated over 120 stores and employed approximately 3,000 workers, but now it has gone belly up…

Another furniture chain has declared bankruptcy — as cash-strapped Americans hold off on home improvement projects.

On Sunday, American Signature, a 75-year-old furniture chain that operates Value City Furniture and American Signature Furniture stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The retailer operates more than 120 stores and employs about 3,000 people.

Day after day, we see more stories like this.

And that is because the U.S. economy really is coming apart at the seams.

What we are experiencing reminds me so much of 2008.

But of course so much has changed since that time.

If you purchased silver in December 2008 and held it until today, it has more than quintupled in value.

Amazingly, along the way there were many that accused those of us that spoke highly of silver of being wrong.

But in the end, time has revealed who was right after all.

“How To Survive Thanksgiving”???

November 26, 2025November 26, 2025 by Michael

This year there have been more news articles than ever about “how to survive Thanksgiving”. If you have not noticed this, I will provide some examples for you in this article. Personally, the idea that Thanksgiving is an ordeal that must be endured is deeply offensive to me. If eating a feast while surrounded by people that love you is too much of a burden, please stay home. Thanksgiving is a day when we our not supposed to be focused on ourselves. Instead, it is a day when we are supposed to give thanks. In fact, according to the original Thanksgiving declaration that George Washington issued in 1789, there is someone in particular that we are supposed to give thanks to on this day. But in our “me-centered” society, that has been completely forgotten.

I love Thanksgiving. When I was a child, we would stop for one day to eat some turkey and give thanks for our blessings. But today the Thanksgiving holiday has become an entire season. The weekend before Thanksgiving is a travel weekend, many take the entire week off, and the weekend after Thanksgiving is the time when people travel home.

I kind of like that. The more time that we can take to spend with the people that love us the better.

But many media outlets seem to think that spending time with family and friends is a problem. For example, here is one article about Thanksgiving that discusses “the stresses that a family get-together can create”…

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday. Some celebrate it as an American tradition. Others look at it as simply an excuse to get together with family to watch some football. And still others just enjoy getting an extra day off from work or try to ignore it altogether. But however you regard it, there are often two areas in which many of us can use help: preparing the traditional Thanksgiving meal and dealing with the stresses that a family get-together can create — especially these days, when conversations around the dinner table may be even more fraught than usual.

Yes, human relationships are complicated.

But that doesn’t mean that we should just isolate ourselves.

A big part of life is learning how to love imperfect people.

Because if you can’t love imperfect people, you aren’t going to love anyone, because nobody is perfect.

Many of the articles about “how to survive Thanksgiving” are focused on how to deal with family members. The following comes from an article entitled “How to Survive Thanksgiving with a Crazy Family”…

Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans prepare for what just might be the most family time they’ve had in a while. For some this is great. It is a reunion full of hugs and catching up. For most, it’s a politically charged, possibly drunken, exchange of fighting words, news stories, and my favorite, family drama. While my family is, admittedly, crazy, we normally shy away from such emotionally charged topics. But there is always an instigator in each family who enjoys sparring with family, watching the flames come up from the ground and engulf their family until it’s time to eat so much they enter a comatose state, lie on the couch, and forget the pain they’ve inflicted.

Many of these articles suggest that we should just avoid talking about anything important during Thanksgiving.

Really?

What are we supposed to do?

Talk about the weather for three hours?

Political talk at Thanksgiving is something that mainstream news outlets seem to particularly dislike. I found an ABC News article entitled “How to survive political talk at Thanksgiving dinner” to be particularly amusing…

It’s Thanksgiving, you’re enjoying your favorite foods at the dinner table, when a family member brings up who they voted for in the 2024 presidential election.

Arguments ensue.

The food doesn’t taste as good.

And now everyone’s a politician.

People have political opinions.

And that is okay.

If we can’t learn how to peacefully interact with those that we disagree with, we are going to be in big trouble.

If we had a society that actually valued the marketplace of ideas, we would relish the opportunity to chat with those that hold opposing views.

But instead we are trained to cringe at the thought of having to do that. Here is an excerpt from a Vogue article entitled “How to Survive Politics-Talk at Thanksgiving (Without Losing Your Mind)”…

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and given that we’re fresh off one of the most contentious and politically charged seasons of our time, it’s probably not realistic to expect a holiday to be totally free of drama.

If you’re one of the lucky few whose family is united around political issues, treasure those peaceful conversations at the Thanksgiving table; for the rest of us, it can be challenging to know how best to talk to loved ones (or, to be real, tolerated-out-of-necessity ones) about anything substantive. Besides, for many of us, these issues aren’t “just politics;” they directly affect the way we live our lives and the safety and happiness of our families and friends.

If you disagree with me, that is okay.

And if I disagree with you, that is okay too.

Today, many people are actually completely cutting themselves off from their families due to political differences.

That is so wrong, but it is happening on a widespread basis.

Recently, Oprah Winfrey committed an entire podcast to people that have chosen to go “no contact” with their relatives…

When is it OK to go “no contact” with a family member? And what even is “no contact,” really?

Oprah Winfrey explored these questions on “The Oprah Podcast,” in an episode released Tuesday, Nov. 25, ahead of Thanksgiving. In the episode, audience members opened up about cutting off all contact with close relatives − even their parents.

“I know this is a tender, hot-button topic,” Winfrey said in the episode. “My hope is that we can open up the heart space and really listen. I’m not on anybody’s side. I just want to hear what everyone has to say.”

A USA Today article about that podcast explained precisely what it means to go “no contact” with someone…

“No contact” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: You cut off all communication with someone. This means no meet-ups, no phone calls, no texting and no interaction on social media. If you happen to run into each other, you either avoid them or keep the interactions short and emotionally neutral.

I know so many children that no longer have contact with their parents, and I know so many parents that no longer have contact with their children.

It is a nationwide epidemic, and it is a great tragedy.

But this is what our society has become.

We have been trained to hate anyone that disagrees with us, and that even includes our own family members.

One of these days so many people are going to look back and wish that they could have done things differently.

If you find yourself wishing that you had done things differently, this Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to change direction.

In 1789, President George Washington issued the very first Thanksgiving proclamation.

He designated the 26th day of November to be a day when Americans were to humble themselves and give thanks to God for the blessings that He had bestowed upon our young nation…

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

The vast majority of the population has totally forgotten what Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about.

But it is not too late to reverse course.

I would encourage everyone to humble themselves and give thanks at some point over the next few days.

You will be amazed at how your perspective changes once you have done that.

When Is It Going To Happen? The Truth Is That It Is Happening Now…

November 25, 2025November 25, 2025 by Michael

Most Americans are exceedingly focused on the present and spend very little time thinking about the future. And if you are in the minority of the population that is thriving in this “K-shaped economy”, you may be wondering what all of the fuss is about. After all, during the holiday season of 2025 wealthy Americans are literally spending money as if there is no tomorrow. But meanwhile, just about everyone else is really struggling.

For a long time, we were warned that a cost of living crisis would be coming.

That is happening now.

For a long time, we were warned that delinquency rates would rise because consumers were piling up too much debt.

That is happening now.

For a long time, we were warned that foreclosure filings would surge when the current housing bubble started to burst.

That is happening now.

For a long time, we were warned that cryptocurrency prices would plummet.

Now more than a trillion dollars in cryptocurrency wealth has been wiped out.

Another thing that we have been relentlessly warned about is the weakness of the labor market.

Today, we learned that “the pace of layoffs has picked up over the past four weeks”…

The U.S. labor market is showing further signs of weakening as the pace of layoffs has picked up over the past four weeks, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Tuesday.

Private companies lost an average of 13,500 jobs a week over the past four weeks, ADP said as part of a running update it has been providing. That’s an acceleration from the 2,500 jobs a week lost in the last update a week ago.

With the government shutdown still impacting data releases, alternative information like ADP’s has been filling in the blanks on the economic picture.

This confirms what I have been saying.

All over the nation, large companies have been conducting mass layoffs.

In fact, Challenger, Gray & Christmas is reporting that the number of announced job cuts last month was 175 percent higher than it was in October 2024…

Layoff tracker Challenger, Gray & Christmas recorded 153,074 job cuts in October alone — a staggering 175 percent jump from last year and 183 percent from September.

It was the sharpest October spike since 2003, when companies were reeling from the dot-com collapse.

We aren’t talking about something that might hypothetically happen someday.

This is happening now.

In just the last three months, many of the biggest companies in America have been ruthlessly firing highly paid employees…

Over the past three months, Amazon, Apple, UPS, Intel, Verizon, AT&T, Walmart, Target, Ford, and GM have all made headlines for slashing white-collar staff — a broad corporate reset that shows little sign of slowing.

I keep trying to tell everyone that this is just the beginning.

The McKinsey Global Institute is warning that approximately 40 percent of all U.S. workers could potentially be replaced by AI…

About 40 percent of American jobs could be replaced by artificial intelligence, according to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute.

The American consultancy’s analysis found that robots and AI agents could automate more than half of US work hours, both manual and cognitive, using technology that is available today, if companies redesigned how they did things.

Most of the roles at risk involve the kinds of drafting, processing information and routine reasoning that AI agents can do.

What would you do if you suddenly lost your job?

You might want to start thinking about that.

The American people can see where things are headed, and that is clearly reflected in the latest consumer confidence numbers…

Consumers soured on the current economy and their prospects for the future, with worries growing over the ability to find a job, according to a Conference Board survey released Tuesday.

The board’s Consumer Confidence Index for November slumped to 88.7, a drop of 6.8 points from the prior month for its lowest reading since April. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were looking for a reading of 93.2.

In addition, the expectations index tumbled 8.6 points to 63.2, while the present situation index slipped to 126.9, a decline of 4.3 points.

As economic conditions deteriorate, we are going to see a lot more turmoil in the housing market.

One housing analyst named Melody Wright is even projecting that the price crash that we are going to witness is going to be “worse than 2008”…

The U.S. housing market is going to face a price correction “worse than 2008,” according to housing analyst Melody Wright, who expects home prices to drop in half as soon as next year.

“I think…we’re going to correct all the way to a point where household median income matches the home price, the median home price. And so that is going to be worse than 2008. This could devolve a lot faster than last time,” Wright said during an interview with Adam Taggart, host of Thoughtful Money, published on YouTube.

Our system could not handle a crash of that magnitude.

But what goes up must come down.

It has become very difficult to sell homes at today’s absurdly elevated prices, and as a result large numbers of sellers are simply pulling their listings…

Homesellers in the US are yanking listings off the market, as the nation’s real estate sector stagnates.

Nearly 85,000 sellers removed their properties in September, the highest number for that month in eight years, according to Redfin. The number of stale listings — those sitting on the market for 60 days or more — jumped to the highest level for any September since 2019.

Nobody can argue with any of the facts that I have shared in this article.

When people disagree with me, they tend to call me names instead.

And that is okay.

I fully understand that the reality of what is talking place all around us is not welcome news to a lot of people out there.

But if we are not willing to face reality, we will inevitably make bad decisions.

And making bad decisions is what got us into this giant mess in the first place.

The Elite Are Moving Into High Security ‘Fortress Communities’ Guarded By Teams Of Armed Professionals Because They Realize What Is Coming

November 24, 2025November 24, 2025 by Michael

The elite aren’t stupid. They can see that our society is coming apart at the seams all around us, and so they want to live some place safe. In fact, for many among the elite security has become the number one priority when choosing a new home. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us do not have the resources to move into high security communities guarded by teams of armed professionals. When things really start hitting the fan, most Americans are just going to have to deal with the chaos that is suddenly erupting all around them.

But for the ultra-wealthy, one of the benefits of having so much money is being able to shut yourself off from the rest of the world.

In Delray Beach, Florida a community known as Stone Creek Ranch has become extremely trendy among the elite for one particular reason.

It has a heavily armed security unit that watches over it 24 hours a day…

On paper, Stone Creek Ranch—a “prestigious” enclave made up of less than 40 luxury homes—is a world away from Miami, Manalapan, and Palm Beach: It offers no beaches, no celebrity-approved nightlife, and no glitzy designer shopping.

Yet it offers one very particular luxury that is proving to be quite the draw among the one percent: total and absolute privacy that is safeguarded by a team of armed professionals who watch over the community 24/7—a majority of whom come from previous jobs in law enforcement or the military.

Prospective residents’ entry into the community is policed just as carefully: Any homebuyers seeking to purchase one of just 37 private residences within Stone Creek are required to go through rigorous criminal background checks before they can even attempt to secure a home there.

Considering how fast conditions in our society are deteriorating, it sounds like a wonderful place.

But you will never get to live there unless you have tens of millions of dollars…

Just last month, Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg made headlines when he dropped $37 million on a newly constructed megamansion inside the enclave — only to be followed weeks later by Rockstar energy drink founder Russ Weiner, who is in contract on two properties in the community, worth a total of $43 million.

Indian Creek Village is another high security community in southern Florida.

The island boasts “a high-tech security system that’s straight out of a spy movie”, and the list of residents includes Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos…

Indian Creek Village, known as the “Billionaire Bunker,” isn’t just another gated community. It’s the ultimate fortress for the ultrarich. Nestled in South Florida’s Biscayne Bay, this private island is where some of the world’s wealthiest people, including Jeff Bezos and Tom Brady, have decided to stake their claim. But living here isn’t just about luxury. It’s about security and lots of it.

You can’t just stroll onto Indian Creek. Not a chance. The island is locked down with a high-tech security system that’s straight out of a spy movie. “The wealthier you become, the more you want perfect security,” Setha Low, director of the Public Space Research Group at CUNY, told Business Insider recently. And Indian Creek delivers. An Israeli-designed radar system rings the island. It’s a system that can detect anyone approaching half a mile away. Cameras are everywhere: hidden in hedges, mounted on poles and linked to a command center that monitors every move.

The police force here? They’re more like personal bodyguards for the residents. With 19 officers for just 89 residents, Indian Creek has a cop-to-citizen ratio that makes New York City look understaffed. And these aren’t your average officers. They’re trained in tactical operations and armed with fully automatic weapons. They also spend most of their time patrolling the island’s perimeter, ensuring no one gets too close.

Once upon a time, the ultra-wealthy preferred living in large cities such as Los Angeles or New York City.

But now everything has changed.

On Twitter, New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino shared a very disturbing incident that just occurred in her area…

Last night in Malba, a large group of individuals from outside my district conducted an illegal ‘takeover’ of a quiet residential street at approximately 12:30am. This is not the first time it’s happened.

A private security guard attempted to calm the situation — he was assaulted by the mob and his vehicle was set on fire. He suffered significant injuries. A local resident was also assaulted.

Response to this incident was less than ideal. Residents reporting the incident to 911 were told that ‘quality of life team’ and 311 should handle the situation. Unacceptable. In fact, these violent street takeovers should be met with maximum force by the police department.

We have NEVER had these problems before. Now it’s an epidemic. What changed? We stopped arresting criminals.

I am meeting this morning with the chief of department and the local precinct at the scene to discuss exactly what happened last night. I have already been assured that Malba will receive four dedicated patrol cars from this point forward, as well as additional security upgrades that we cannot disclose.

However, the city MUST do something to stop this lawlessness. All the speed cameras in the world do absolutely NOTHING to prevent these incidents — we need police response and the most severe consequences for these criminals, not to simply allow them to drive away after they’ve completed their mayhem.

These incidents are happening citywide, and they’re happening because there are no longer any real consequences to this kind of criminality. But let me make something very clear to the criminals — you are risking your lives bringing this chaos into our neighborhoods.

Why would the elite want to live in a place where this sort of thing is happening?

Why would anyone want to live in a place where this sort of thing is happening?

Of course conditions are not just deteriorating in our core urban areas.

In southeastern Wisconsin, thieves from South America are systematically looting home after home…

A wave of high-end residential burglaries across southeastern Wisconsin has prompted a coordinated law enforcement response and drawn political attention at both the local and national levels.

The Mequon Police Department (MPD) says the burglaries share striking similarities, suggesting a professional operation.

The suspects, dressed head to toe in black, with faces covered and gloves on, have entered homes through wooded backyards, often targeting cul-de-sacs or properties near golf courses.

Stolen items include jewelry, designer handbags, watches and cash, all consistent with organized theft groups that target affluent neighborhoods nationwide.

All over the nation, crime and violence are out of control.

If you have the resources to move somewhere more secure, that is probably a good idea.

But of course most of the population doesn’t have the resources to move somewhere more secure.

In fact, we have reached a point where millions upon millions of Americans are just trying to figure out a way to keep the lights on…

Misty Pellew’s family lived in the dark for several days this month.

Pellew’s power was shut off Nov. 13 because of $602 in unpaid bills, the latest in a string of financial humiliations that began six months ago after her husband lost his $20-an-hour excavation job in northeastern Pennsylvania. The recent government shutdown dealt another blow, delaying federal funding for programs that helped the family pay for food and utilities.

Although Pellew’s lights were temporarily turned back on last week, they were set to be disconnected again if she didn’t pay another $102. With an overdrawn bank account, she was bracing to be without power again. Last time, her family ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner and slept in hoodies and gloves to keep warm.

This is what life looks like for so many people out there right now.

In New York City, residential power shutoffs are up fivefold compared to one year ago…

In some areas, such as New York City, the surge has been dramatic — with residential shutoffs in August up fivefold from a year ago, utility filings show.

Needless to say, Americans aren’t just getting behind on their power bills.

As economic conditions have steadily gotten worse, delinquency rates have risen to historic levels…

Credit card balances alone jumped $24 billion, reaching an all-time high, while the share of balances in serious delinquency—90 days past due—climbed to a nearly financial-crash level of 7.1 percent.

Auto loans tell a similar story, with serious delinquency rates at 3 percent, the highest since 2010. And a spike in resulting defaults has triggered a wave of repossessions in 2025, with 2.2 million vehicles already repossessed, per figures from the Recovery Database Network (RDN), and forecasts of a record 3 million by year’s end.

“Delinquencies, defaults, and repossessions have shot up in recent years and look alarmingly similar to trends that were apparent before the Great Recession,” the Consumer Federation of America said in a recent report.

When you are drowning in debt, relocating to a better place that will be more secure for your family is nothing but a pipe dream.

Most Americans will have to deal with whatever is ahead wherever they are located right now.

But the ultra-wealthy have enough money to live wherever they want, and the fact that so many of them are choosing to live in “fortress communities” says a lot about where things are heading.

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