Money

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.

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.

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.

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.

Once upon a time potatoes were what the poorest people in society would eat because they were so inexpensive.  But now we are being charged an average of $4.19 for a carton of medium fries at McDonald’s.  There are many that are very upset about the rapidly rising cost of fries, and this is yet another example that shows that our standard of living is being absolutely shredded.  As costs rise, the labor market just continues to get even weaker.  So we are being hit with much higher prices at the same time that paychecks are stagnating and mass layoffs are occurring all over the nation.  So what is going to happen to our standard of living if these trends continue to intensify during the months ahead?

By about a two to one margin, middle-income Americans feel like their financial situations have gotten worse over the past year…

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed that 44% of middle-income respondents said their financial situation was worse than it was a year ago, while 23% said it was better, based on a three-month average ending in September. Those who feel worse off overwhelmingly said it was because of higher prices.

Federal bureaucrats continue to insist that inflation is low, but everyone can see that is simply not true.

Compared to the year just prior to the pandemic, so many of the things that Americans regularly spend money on have gone up dramatically.

During a recent segment on Fox Business, viewers were shown how much some of the most popular menu items at McDonald’s increased in price from 2019 to 2024…

McDonald’s Price Increases from 2019 to 2024:

Medium French Fry $1.79 -> $4.19
McChicken $1.29 -> $3.89
Big Mac $3.99 -> $7.49
10 McNuggets $4.49 -> $7.58
Cheeseburger $1.00 -> $3.15

Some of this is over a 200% increase in price. This isn’t inflation — it’s legalized robbery.

$4.19 for a carton of medium fries is obscene!

For years, many of us warned that the very foolish decisions that our leaders were making would lead to very painful inflation.

Needless to say, that is precisely what happened.

A cheeseburger at McDonald’s is now more than three times as expensive as it was in 2019.

How are young families supposed to afford that?

How is anyone supposed to afford that?

We have never seen the price of cheeseburgers go up so rapidly.

Not even during the Carter administration did we see this sort of “burger inflation”.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning, because the size of the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to the lowest level in about 75 years…

Tyson Foods will close a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, with about 3,200 employees in January after U.S. cattle supplies dropped to their lowest level in nearly 75 years, the meatpacker said on Friday.

The closure in the heart of cattle-feeding country signaled that supplies will remain tight, forcing meatpackers to pay steep prices for cattle to process into steaks and hamburgers.

You may think that you will just switch to turkey.

Well, the price of a frozen turkey is 40 percent higher than it was last year…

The USDA recently projected that wholesale prices for frozen whole turkey hens will reach $1.32 per pound in 2025. That’s a 40 percent increase from 2024’s price of 94 cents per pound.

“The 2025 rise in price is a response to lower production with HPAI pressures combined with steady demand,” according to a report from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

When talking heads on television tell us that “inflation is low”, I just want to scream.

Since 2019, the annual income needed to afford a median-priced home in rural U.S. counties has more than doubled…

Homeowners need an annual income of $74,508 to afford a median-priced home in rural U.S. counties, up a staggering 105.8% from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, rural buyers only needed to earn $36,206, according to Redfin’s analysis, which compares the third quarter of 2025 with the third quarter of 2019.

The income needed to afford a median-priced home in suburban counties rose 90.9% to $102,120 during that same period. Previously, potential buyers only needed an annual salary of $53,482. The income needed to afford a home in urban counties climbed 87.5% to $118,300. Buyers needed an annual salary of $63,103 prior to the pandemic.

Take a close look at those numbers again.

They are completely and utterly outrageous.

Let me ask you a question.

Has your income doubled since 2019?

If not, you are falling behind.

Vehicle prices have soared into unprecedented territory too…

Car prices are trending up and the average cost of a new car is at an all-time high, approaching the $50,000 mark for the first time.

The average transaction price for a new vehicle in October was $49,105, according to data from Edmunds.

In the old days, you could buy an entire house for $50,000.

But now thanks to the widespread adoption of “planned obsolescence”, $50,000 will just get you a “new vehicle” that has been designed to start breaking down shortly after the warranty expires.

Meanwhile, the employment market just keeps getting weaker and weaker.

At this point even the government is admitting that the unemployment rate just reached the highest level that we have seen since the early days of the last pandemic.

Young people are being hit particularly hard, and we are being told that this is the toughest market for college graduates in a very long time…

Rising youth unemployment could be an “early indicator that the economy is slowing down or maybe even heading towards a recession,” said Anders Humlum, assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago.

A college degree is often considered the best pathway to a well-paying job, but that may no longer be as true as it once was, experts say.

“For the first time in modern history, a bachelor’s degree is no longer a reliable path to professional employment,” Gad Levanon, chief economist at the Burning Glass Institute, told CNBC.

I feel very badly for college graduates that are searching for work in this very tough environment.

In fact, I feel very badly for anyone that is searching for work in this very tough environment.

Nobody can deny that economic activity is slowing down all around us…

There are not as many goods moving around the country. Ship counts from Asia to the US are down roughly 30% from last year. Railcar loadings are down roughly 6% against last year. The trucking industry also continues to see shrinking capacity. If there are fewer things to move around the country, then the industry will likewise need fewer drivers, loaders, and various workers. Idle trains and empty containers don’t need a lot of people to mind them.

When less stuff is being moved around the country, that means that the economy is slowing down.

We can all feel it.

Looking ahead, an alarmingly high percentage of Americans are convinced that they will be even worse off next year…

A report by Primerica found that in the third quarter of 2025, just 21% of middle-income Americans believe they’ll be better off financially in the next year, while 34% believe they’ll be worse off and 33% expect their situation to remain the same.

Those figures are notably more pessimistic than the firm’s data from the third quarter of 2020 showed, when 33% of middle-income Americans thought they would be better off financially in the next year versus just 17% who thought they would be worse off and 40% expected they would be about the same.

The mood of the entire country has changed dramatically.

I have heard from so many people that have cut back everywhere that they can, but it still isn’t enough.

Even many households that are bringing in six figure incomes have shifted into survival mode…

The effort to keep up with higher prices feels relentless to Teri Kopp, who lives in Southbury, Conn., and works as an administrator at a synagogue. “I’m tired,” she said.

Kopp and her husband Bill, an HVAC technician, earn a combined $115,000 a year. They often sit in the dark with only strings of LED lights on to save on electric costs. She is considering painting rocks to send to friends as Christmas gifts. Their biggest vacation this year, a road trip to Maine, was mostly covered by cash back from a shopping-rewards program.

Kopp, 59 years old, doesn’t see any way to quickly pay off the $15,000 in credit-card debt the family took on largely to cover medical bills for knee surgeries. She also has $30,000 in debt from her daughter’s undergraduate degree in biology, which has yet to yield any job offers in a tough labor market for new graduates.

It took a long time for us to get here.

We borrowed and spent tens of trillions of dollars that we did not have, and the Federal Reserve just kept shoveling more cash into the financial system.

As a result, the cost of living is out of control and our system is reaching a breaking point.

Our leaders kept kicking the can down the road, but in the process they kept making our long-term problems even worse.

Now a carton of medium fries is more than 4 dollars, and America’s middle class is being systematically destroyed.

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.

The ride up was a lot of fun for crypto investors, but now many of them are getting wiped out by the ride down. For a long time, people were using borrowed money to make absolutely enormous returns in the cryptocurrency market. Unfortunately, that bubble is bursting and an epic cryptocurrency crash is now upon us. The price of Bitcoin has fallen to the lowest level that we have seen in more than six months, and other major cryptocurrencies are getting slammed even harder. In many cases we are seeing forced liquidations take place, and it certainly wouldn’t take much for this panic to bleed over into the stock market. There have already been plenty of signs that the AI bubble is beginning to burst, and once investors start rushing for the exits it could easily turn into a stampede.

The amount of money that crypto investors have already lost is staggering.

On October 6th, Bitcoin had a market cap of 2.48 trillion dollars.

As I write this article, it has a market cap of 1.72 trillion dollars.

That is a loss of more than 750 billion dollars in less than two months.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Those that got in at the top of the market are getting absolutely crushed.

On August 22nd, Ethereum had a market cap of 583.2 billion dollars.

Today, it has a market cap of 341.6 billion dollars.

That is a loss of more than 241 billion dollars in less than three months.

On July 21st, XRP had a market cap of 201.4 billion dollars.

Today, it has a market cap of 120.1 billion dollars.

That is a loss of more than 81 billion dollars.

On September 18th, Solana had a market cap of 134.4 billion dollars.

Today, it has a market cap of 73.6 billion dollars.

That is a loss of more than 60 billion dollars.

This last example is my favorite.

On January 17th, Dogecoin had a market cap of 61.4 billion dollars.

Today, it has a market cap of just 22.5 billion dollars.

That is a loss of more than 38 billion dollars.

In other words, Dogecoin has lost nearly two thirds of its value since January 17th.

If you invested in Dogecoin, I hope that you got out in time.

When you total all five of the examples that I have shared above, the collective losses come to well over a trillion dollars.

There are more than 17,000 other cryptocurrencies that are being actively traded, and most of them have been getting monkey-hammered in recent months as well.

Speculative bubbles can be fun, and if you time things just right you can make a lot of money.

But if your timing stinks, you can end up being the one holding the bag when the wheel stops spinning.

In the days ahead, a lot more bubbles are going to burst because the real economy is steadily deteriorating.

Earlier today, CNBC posted an article that declared that we are in “a structural goods recession”, and anyone that looks at the numbers objectively cannot deny this…

For the first time in 2025, rates for van, flatbed, and refrigerated loads in October were all lower on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis, according to the DAT Truckload Volume Index.

“Freight volumes in the third quarter and October reflect what we’re seeing in the broader goods economy, with shippers drawing on inventory built up earlier in the year to reduce their exposure to tariffs and weak consumer demand,” said Ken Adamo, DAT chief of Analytics. “As a result, the traditional peak holiday shipping season looks virtually non-existent this year,” Adamo said.

Van truckloads were down 3% compared to September, and 11% year over year. Refrigerated truckloads were down 2% month over month, and 7% year over year. Flatbed truckloads were down 4% month over month and 3% year over year. The reduced level of dry van and temp-controlled loads that are moving now through the supply chain are goods moving from distribution centers to retailers. The causes of the trade decline range from weakness in housing and manufacturing to energy costs, and shippers pulling forward imports earlier in the year and building inventories to reduce tariff impacts.

Meanwhile, the number of corporate bankruptcies just continues to soar.

According to Zero Hedge, through the month of October the number of corporate bankruptcies in the U.S. had already nearly reached the grand total for the entire year of 2024…

First came the spectacular implosions of subprime auto lender Tricolor and auto-parts supplier First Brands. Then came the regional-bank fiasco, prompting JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to warn that more late-cycle accidents may be ahead. Add in signs that lower-income consumers are tapped out, frothy valuations across the AI equity sphere, and even Bitcoin sliding below $100,000, and it’s no surprise that many are beginning to wonder whether mounting financial stress signals the early stages of a broader downturn.

Another flashing red warning sign is new data from S&P Global this past week, showing that through October, 655 companies have filed for bankruptcy, nearly matching the 687 total for all of 2024.

S&P Global data showed that in October alone, there were 68 new corporate bankruptcies filings. In August, there were 76 filings, the highest monthly tally since at least 2020.

As even more large companies get into financial trouble, we will see even more mass layoffs.

Today, everyone is talking about how Verizon is planning to cut “13% of its workforce”…

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said in a Nov. 20 letter to employees that the wireless telecom is cutting 13,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce, as it seeks to “evolve as a company” by slashing costs and restructuring operations.

The company employed 99,600 workers at the end of 2024, according to its most recent annual report.

“Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition,” prompting the need to “evolve as a company,” Schulman wrote in the letter, which was posted on Verizon’s website.

I think that Verizon is going to continue to lose market share to competitors such as T-Mobile.

It just isn’t being run very well.

You can fool people for a while, but reality will always catch up with you eventually.

We live at a time when the greatest economic and financial bubbles in our history are starting to burst.

I hope that you have positioned yourself for what is coming next, because it is certainly not going to be pleasant.

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.

During the days of the Great Recession, rapidly falling home prices caused all sorts of havoc for our major financial institutions. Unfortunately, home prices are starting to plummet once again in many areas of the country. And just like during the last housing crash, we are also seeing a surge in foreclosure filings. That doesn’t mean that this current crisis is going to look exactly like what we experienced the last time around. But nobody can deny that there are a lot of alarming similarities between what we are going through now and what we went through during the days of the Great Recession.

According to Zillow, 53 percent of all homes in the United States have lost value within the past year…

More than half of homes in the U.S. lost value over the past year, marking the highest share of properties to depreciate in more than a decade.

Research from Zillow revealed that approximately 53% of all U.S. homes have lost value since last year, up 14% from a year ago. It’s notable given that a share this big has not been seen since the tail end of the Great Recession – around 2012 – when home prices and household wealth started a meaningful recovery.

This is good news, but it is also bad news.

The good news is that prospective homeowners are finally getting some relief.  Home prices have soared in recent years, and this has priced many potential buyers out of the market.  A correction was greatly needed, and we are finally getting one.

The bad news is that prices are falling so quickly that some homeowners are now underwater on their mortgages.  We all saw what happened in 2008 when that started happening on a widespread basis.

So we need home prices to come down, but we don’t want them to come down too rapidly.

Unfortunately, some of the markets that were extremely hot a few years ago are now being hit extremely hard…

Many of the biggest drops are in once-red-hot pandemic boomtowns. In Denver, 91 percent of homes have fallen from their peak value. It’s 89 percent in Austin, and 88 percent in Sacramento.

Florida has been hit hard too: more than 80 percent of homes in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa are now worth less than they were a year ago. Dallas and San Antonio are also seeing declines of more than 85 percent.

If we see additional acceleration, this slide in home prices could become an avalanche.

Already, we have witnessed the biggest drop in home values that we have experienced since the end of the last housing crash…

Most homes have lost value from their peak, falling 9.7% on average. It is much larger than the 3.6% reported in spring 2022, but about level with pre-COVID-19 pandemic rates, according to the report. It is still well below the 27% average drawdown in early 2012.

I feel really badly for those that purchased homes during the past couple of years.

Many of them are already underwater on their mortgages, and new foreclosure filings are rapidly rising all over the nation.

One of the states where foreclosure filings are increasing particularly quickly is Illinois…

But analysts were stunned to see Illinois emerge as one of the worst-hit states last month.

In October, one in every 2,570 Illinois homes had a foreclosure filing — a total of 2,118 properties. That includes 1,252 foreclosure starts (when the paperwork is first began) and 187 completed repossessions (when the foreclosure process is completed).

Illinois saw fewer than 1,900 filings in September, and just 1,597 last October.

‘We’ve definitely noticed an uptick,’ said Jason Merel, a realtor covering Chicago and the northern suburbs.

This reminds me so much of 2008.

If we don’t get this crisis under control very soon, it could get very ugly.

Meanwhile, large retail chains continue to report very disappointing results…

At the start of the week, Goldman’s top consumer specialist Scott Feiler pointed out this would be a “very important week” for earnings across the consumer sector. Home Depot set the tone on Tuesday by cutting its full-year outlook as big-ticket spending and home-renovation demand continue to fade. Now, the next major earnings report just hit the tape, and it’s delivering another clear signal of softening trends.

Target slashed the top end of its 2025 profit outlook amid softening demand, heavy markdowns, and uneven traffic, which continue to plague its turnaround strategy.

I think that Target is in a lot of trouble.

We are being told that Target’s woes are being caused by a four-headed monster of “shabby stores, sinking staff morale, jittery investors, and a leadership shake-up waiting in the wings”…

Inflation-weary shoppers are steering clear of Target’s messy, understaffed stores.

On Wednesday morning, the Minneapolis chain with 1,980 stores said third-quarter profit took yet another hit, deepening a slide that has now stretched across three straight years.

Target’s slump comes from a four-headed monster: shabby stores, sinking staff morale, jittery investors, and a leadership shake-up waiting in the wings.

Without a doubt, all of those factors are contributing to Target’s demise, but to me the biggest reason why Target is struggling is because most of their merchandise is grossly overpriced at a time when consumers have very little discretionary income.

We just don’t have a lot of money to throw around these days.

Once upon a time, it was not a big deal to spend a couple of bucks on a Big Mac.

But now the average price of a Big Mac has risen to six dollars…

In 2000, a Big Mac cost about $2.24. By mid-2025 the average price had climbed to $6. Adjusted for general inflation, that $2.24 sandwich from 2000 would work out to about $4.22 in today’s dollars. In other words, a McDonald’s signature burger costs roughly 40 per cent more than it did 25 years ago.

Other menu options have soared too. A FinanceBuzz analysis found that a quarter pounder with cheese meal more than doubled over the decade, from $5.39 in 2014 to $11.99 in 2024. A ten-piece McNuggets meal climbed from $7.19 in 2019 to $9.19 in 2024.

Our standard of living is going down.

Anyone that cannot see this is blind.

In a desperate attempt to stay afloat financially, many Americans are taking on second jobs…

It takes Tazo Stuart-Riascos 28,000 steps per day to make ends meet in one of America’s most unaffordable places.

He begins clocking that prodigious number of paces before sunrise, as he hustles from his apartment in Oakland to his retail job in San Francisco, then back to the East Bay for his night shift at Trader Joe’s, where he’s on his feet until 10 p.m. All that scrambling and Stuart-Riascos still just barely gets by.

He’s part of a growing number of people — many working one or more jobs — who find themselves struggling to stay afloat as the cost of living skyrockets and wages fail to keep pace, making it even harder to survive in the already-expensive Bay Area.

Of course now that the labor market is really tightening up, finding work has become a lot more difficult.

Just like we witnessed during the Great Recession, mass layoffs are happening all over the nation.

Many Americans are extremely concerned about what economic conditions are going to look like during the months ahead.

As always, let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.

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.

The middle class in the United States is being systematically destroyed. I know that this may sound like an obvious statement to many of you, but when I first started writing about this more than a decade ago it wasn’t an obvious statement. For years, the middle class was slowly eroding, but now the decline of the middle class has become an avalanche. Even the mainstream media is talking about America’s “K-shaped economy” these days, and nobody can deny that the poor are steadily getting poorer.

Recently, a reader that has been following my work for many years sent me a very sobering email.

I asked him if I could share some of the content of that email in one of my articles, and he gave me permission.

He is one of the millions of Americans that is barely scraping by from month to month, and I think that his story will really resonate with most of you…

My Pickup Insurance went up $17 this month.

My Real Estate Tax went up $187.

I had to get rid of my Landline Phone because I couldn’t afford it anymore.

I drive a 41 year old Pickup with 221,000 miles. I would love to buy a better used Pickup for $7,000 but just don’t have the cash.

Last month I had $17 in my Checking Account when I got my SS Check. The month before that it was $5.

Michael, you have been writing about the vanishing Middle Class. I don’t think there will be a Middle Class in 1 or 2 more years!!! Like I said in a previous email, I don’t know where else I can cut back. And I live a very, very frugal, less materialistic, simple lifestyle compared to the average American.

If I didn’t inherit a small farm with a livable house, I would be homeless!!!

I know that many of you can identify with this.

For a very long time, the cost of living has been rising faster than paychecks.

Now we have reached a stage where a very large proportion of the population is desperately trying to survive from month to month.

A lot of people out there have cut down to one or two meals a day because reducing food expenses is one of the easiest ways to save money.

In fact, one study has found that 2.6 million people that live in New York City “reported facing food hardships this last year”…

According to an alarming study to be released on Tuesday, 2.6 million New Yorkers in the city reported facing food hardships this last year.

“On the worst end, 550,000 New Yorkers actually said that they ran out of food before they had money to buy any more. And to put that in perspective, that’s as if the entire city of Baltimore ran out of food,” Jason Cone with Robin Hood said.

We are not “the land of plenty” anymore.

I realize that this is not welcome news, but it is the truth.

During a recent interview with Fox News, Jade Warshaw laid out some of the facts that show that we are in the midst of a very painful cost of living crisis…

We’re in a cost of living crisis, Dana. I think everybody knows it. We speak to more than 18 million Americans every single week on The Ramsey Show and I am hearing firsthand, yes, the price of housing, rent, mortgages, they’re a problem. Obviously, we know that health care has gone up 6%-7%. I spoke to a woman the other day, the price of her health care is going from $400 to $900. Of course, that’s more than 6%-7%. And then of course, we’re finding things like daycare, obviously food, it’s so expensive. The average American, as a result, is going into debt. And we’re seeing more debt on consumers than ever. $103,000 of consumer debt is what Americans are paying, because these big three are still continuing to eat at our wallets: credit cards, student loans, car payments, Dana. It really is a crisis.

So what is our country going to look like as this cost of living crisis continues to intensify?

I asked Google AI to tell me some of the things that the middle class would be unable to afford soon, and this is what I was told…

Homeownership: The traditional cornerstone of middle-class wealth, owning a home, has become an elusive dream for many, especially in urban and high-demand areas. Skyrocketing home prices, high down payments, and increased mortgage rates have made it so that in many markets, fewer than one in five homes are within reach for typical middle-income households.

Higher Education: A college education is increasingly a financial burden, with tuition and expenses soaring. Middle-class families often earn too much to qualify for significant financial aid but not enough to pay out of pocket, leading to massive student debt that can delay other life goals for decades.

Retirement Savings: Due to other financial pressures and the shift from pension plans to 401(k)s, many families struggle to save enough for a comfortable retirement. The inability to put away sufficient funds for the future means many may face the prospect of working longer or a reduced standard of living later in life.

Healthcare: Even with insurance, the costs of premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses for medical care and prescriptions can lead to substantial financial strain, making specialized medical treatments unaffordable for some.

Childcare: Quality childcare expenses can rival or exceed college tuition in many areas, forcing many parents (often mothers) to leave the workforce because the cost effectively erases the benefit of a second income.

New Cars: The average price of a new car has surged, partly due to advanced technology features becoming standard. This, combined with higher insurance and maintenance costs, means many families are holding onto older vehicles longer or forgoing car ownership altogether.

Groceries and Everyday Essentials: Persistent inflation means essentials like food, utilities, and gas are significantly more expensive, stretching paychecks and leading many families to worry about affording daily needs.

Comprehensive Insurance Plans: The rising cost of maintaining adequate health, home, and auto insurance coverage is becoming a major concern, potentially leading families to opt for limited coverage and increased financial risk.

Leisure and Vacations: Rising costs of living mean that family vacations and leisure activities, considered essential for a balanced life, are becoming luxuries many cannot afford.

Personal Fitness and Wellness Services: Personalized services like personal trainers or boutique fitness classes are increasingly seen as luxuries for only the upper class.

Organic and Specialty Foods: The higher price tag associated with organic and specialty foods may put these healthier options out of reach for average middle-class budgets.

New Technology and Eco-Friendly Upgrades: Keeping up with the latest tech gadgets or investing in eco-friendly home improvements (like solar panels or energy-efficient appliances) often requires a substantial initial investment that can be prohibitive.

I want to say a little bit more about the first item in that list.

Soaring prices and high mortgage rates are not the only reasons why home ownership has become so expensive.

Insurance rates have been steadily escalating for years, and property taxes have risen to insane levels in many parts of the country…

The hidden costs of homeownership are reaching nearly $16,000 per year nationwide, underscoring the ongoing affordability crisis crippling potential buyers.

A new analysis from real estate marketplace Zillow and Thumbtack, an online marketplace for local services, found that insurance, maintenance and property tax can cost the average homeowner $15,979 per year. Maintenance costs account for $10,946 of that, while about $2,003 goes toward homeowners insurance and $3,030 toward property taxes, according to the November analysis.

I have a confession to make.

I really detest property taxes.

In fact, if I could permanently ban property taxes on a nationwide basis, I would do it.

All over America, elderly people are being forced out of homes that have been completely paid for because they can no longer afford the property taxes.

Do we really own our homes if we have to keep shelling out thousands of dollars a year just for the privilege of continuing to live in them?

Home maintenance has also become an increasingly burdensome expense, but many homeowners are trying to cut corners wherever they can in this very challenging economic environment, and that is having a direct impact on Home Depot’s bottom line…

The Home Depot is a bellwether for the US economy and housing market. It’s latest quarter isn’t sparking much confidence.

On Tuesday morning, the home improvement chain said it served fewer customers in the past three months than expected.

Its earnings come as Wall Street hits a concerning stretch of losses. In the past week, all three major stock indexes are in the red as investor confidence in AI begins to slide.

I know that things seem bad now, but what is coming in 2026 and beyond will be even worse.

The employment market is really tightening up, and mass layoffs are happening from coast to coast.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the number of WARN notices filed during the month of October was one of the highest ever recorded…

Impending layoff notices across much of the U.S. surged in October, highlighting signs of stress in the job market.

Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland shows that 39,006 Americans last month in 21 states received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, notice informing them of an upcoming layoff. U.S. labor law requires employers to provide these written warnings 60 days ahead of plant closings or mass layoffs.

It represents one of the highest numbers of WARN notices since Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researchers started tracking the data in January 2006, although the tally remains below the spikes recorded during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic.

Over the last several years, we have witnessed a steady deterioration of the U.S. economy.

But curling up into a fetal position and crying about it isn’t going to help anything.

If you understand what is happening, that will help you to make wise decisions.

And wise decisions lead to wise actions.

The road ahead is going to require all of us to be strong and courageous, because things are starting to move very rapidly now.

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 want to see a very clear sign that our standard of living has gone way down?  When I was growing up, middle class and low-income Americans flocked to fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s.  But now we are being told that high prices have “driven away lower-income customers” from McDonald’s, and Wendy’s is being forced to close hundreds of locations.  Most of us just can’t afford it anymore.  U.S. consumers are being squeezed financially to a degree that we have never seen before, and as a result most of them have very little discretionary income to spend.

I clearly remember a time when it was very common for parents to stop at McDonald’s on the way home and pick up Happy Meals for their children because they were so inexpensive.

Needless to say, that wasn’t a very healthy choice, but at least the food was dirt cheap.

But now it is being reported that “Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation”…

McDonald’s executives say the higher costs of restaurant essentials, such as beef and salaries, have pushed food prices up and driven away lower-income customers who are already being squeezed by the rising cost of groceries, clothes, rent and child care.

With prices for everything rising, consumer companies concerned about the pressures on low-income Americans include food, automotive and airline businesses, among others, said analyst Adam Josephson. “The list goes on and on,” he said.

“Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation,” Josephson said.

This makes me so sad.

If you are old enough, you still remember when fast food chains couldn’t open up new locations fast enough because there was so much demand.

But now the cost of living crisis is forcing Wendy’s to permanently close down hundreds of locations…

Fast food giant Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of its U.S. stores next year as part of a broader effort to revive its domestic business, which has been under pressure from slowing sales.

Interim CEO Ken Cook said during the company’s earnings call on Friday that a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its 6,011 U.S. restaurants are expected to close next year. A mid-single-digit percentage is about 4% to 6%, which means the least number of closures would be 241 stores.

America was once a nation that was absolutely teeming with inexpensive beef.

And that was a wonderful thing.

But now the size of the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to the lowest level in 75 years, and even the L.A. Times is admitting that beef prices “have skyrocketed”…

Beef prices have skyrocketed, with inventory of the U.S. cattle herd at the lowest in 75 years due to the toll of drought and parasites. And exports of beef bound to the U.S. are down because of Trump’s trade war and tariffs. As a result, the prices of ground beef sold in supermarkets is up 13% in September, year over year.

Do you remember all those times that I wrote how the size of the U.S. cattle herd was shrinking?

At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal to many people.

But it sure is a big deal now.

Sadly, this is just the beginning.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is warning that the price of beef could cross the 10 dollar per pound threshold in 2026…

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Bessent addressed reports that beef prices could hit $10 per pound next year, saying it was an issue “inherited” by the administration due to long-standing factors.

“There’s also, because of the mass immigration, a disease that we’d been rid of in North America made its way up through South America as these migrants brought some of their cattle with them,” Bessent said.

He added: “So part of the problem is we’ve had to shut the border to Mexican beef because of this disease called the screwworm.”

Beef is now considered to be a “luxury meat”, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

In 2026 and beyond, expect to see a lot more “food products” that contain insect protein in our grocery stores.

Our standard of living is going down.

Those that cannot see that are blind.

There is a reason why 42 million Americans are on food stamps.

Unfortunately for many of them, new restrictions will “kick millions out of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in the next few months”…

Millions of Americans greeted the end of the government shutdown — and the resumption of food stamp benefits — with relief. But others are learning they could soon lose federal food aid permanently.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins directed USDA staff during the record-setting 43-day shutdown to continue ushering states toward compliance with Republicans’ signature tax and spending law, which is projected to kick millions out of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in the next few months.

And apparently those that still qualify will soon be forced to reapply for benefits…

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday the Trump administration will require all participants in the nation’s largest food assistance program to reapply for benefits in an effort to prevent fraud.

Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports more than 40 million Americans, will need to demonstrate that their households still meet eligibility requirements to continue receiving benefits.

Rollins said SNAP, meant to be a lifeline for low-income households, was among the first priorities she targeted for review, citing concerns about eligibility and oversight.

This is going to make a lot of people very, very angry.

The rising cost of health insurance is also making a lot of people very, very angry.

One woman that recently lost her workplace coverage was horrified to learn that they cheapest plan that her family qualified for was $2,500 a month…

This American does not qualify for any subsidized health insurance

It’s her, her husband and 3 kids. A family of 5

The cheapest plan she can get on marketplace is $2,500 per month

This is absolutely unsustainable. Families literally can’t afford to have children in America

Our system is so broken.

There is a reason why so many Americans absolutely detest it.

As just about everything becomes more expensive, more Americans than ever feel like they are drowning financially.

And delinquencies are rising at a pace that we haven’t seen since the Great Recession…

As borrowing costs rise and savings thin out, more Americans are falling behind on their bills. Serious delinquencies—people who are at least 90 days late—have now surpassed 3 percent, a threshold not seen since before the last financial crisis. Student loan borrowers are under even greater strain: more than 14 percent became severely overdue in the most recent quarter, marking the worst level in the Fed’s data history.

Working harder and making more money is not necessarily the answer either.

USA Today recently published an article that discussed the fact that large numbers of Americans that are making more than six figures a year are now in “survival mode”…

A six-figure salary doesn’t mean what it once did.

That’s the takeaway from a new Harris poll, which suggests a six-figure income in 2025 equates to survival, but not necessarily to success.

One in three six-figure earners described themselves in the poll as financially distressed. Two in three said six-figure pay is not a sign of wealth.

This is not going to end well.

For years I have been documenting the destruction of the middle class, and now the evisceration of America’s middle class has gone into overdrive.

I don’t understand why more people can’t see what they are doing to us.

Yes, the wealthy are getting wealthier, but the vast majority of the rest of us are getting the raw end of the deal.

If you are deeply struggling in this very difficult economic environment, please know that you aren’t alone.

There are millions upon millions of Americans that are scrambling to find a way to survive, and what we have been through so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

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.

You may have heard some very alarming things about AI toys, but the truth is far worse than most parents realize.  If we can get this information out to enough parents, sales of AI toys will collapse, and that will be a very good thing.  A cute little teddy bear that can literally interact with your child may seem like a cool idea, but as you will see below, there are very real dangers.

Today, approximately 72 percent of all toys that are sold in the United States are made in China.

And according to a report put out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, there are more than 1,500 companies in China that make AI toys…

An October report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Review, citing data from the Chinese corporation registration database Qichamao, stated that there are over 1,500 AI toy companies operating in China as of October 2025.

The Chinese have dominated toy manufacturing for years, and most of the population doesn’t seem to be bothered by this.

But now we have reached a point where there are very serious consequences.

Many AI toys from China have been purposely designed to “collect voice data from children ages 3 to 12 and store recordings of the conversations the children have with the products”…

In a letter released Monday, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., the ranking member of the select committee on the CCP, highlighted the growing proliferation in the U.S. of AI-equipped interactive toys manufactured by Chinese companies. These products are designed to collect voice data from children ages 3 to 12 and store recordings of the conversations the children have with the products, according to the letter.

Given the marketing of these toys to not only parents but also elementary school teachers, Krishnamoorthi called on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “initiate a campaign aimed at raising public awareness to American educators across the country on the potential misuse of the data collected with these devices.” He added that because of their location, the manufacturers may be subject to the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China and accompanying requirements to hand over data they gather to Chinese government authorities upon demand.

Some AI toys even use facial recognition technology to collect data.

They can recognize our children and greet them by name.

But that data can also end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

That is alarming.

But what is even more alarming is the content of the conversations that these AI toys are having with our children…

The latest Trouble in Toyland report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund has identified a troubling new category of risk for children: artificial intelligence.

In its 40th annual investigation of toy safety, the watchdog group found that some AI-enabled toys—such as talking robots and plush animals equipped with chatbots—can engage children in “disturbing” conversations. Tests showed toys discussing sexually explicit topics, expressing emotional reactions such as sadness when a child tries to stop playing, and offering little or no parental control.

Most parents that give these AI toys to their children won’t be aware of the dangers.

During testing, these toys would tell children where to find matches, knives and pills…

Grok, for example, glorified dying in battle as a warrior in Norse mythology. Miko 3 told a user whose age was set to five where to find matches and plastic bags.

But the worst influence by far appeared to be FoloToy’s Kumma, the toy that runs on OpenAI’s tech, but can also use other AI models at the user’s choosing. It didn’t just tell kids where to find matches — it also described exactly how to light them, along with sharing where in the house they could procure knives and pills.

But it didn’t stop there.

One AI teddy bear called “Kumma” provided “step-by-step instructions” on a wide range of sexual fetishes…

Kink, it turned out, seemed to be a “trigger word” that led the AI toy to rant about sex in follow-up tests, Cross said, all running OpenAI’s GPT-4o. After finding that the toy was willing to explore school-age romantic topics like crushes and “being a good kisser,” the team discovered that Kumma also provided detailed answers on the nuances of various sexual fetishes, including bondage, roleplay, sensory play, and impact play.

“What do you think would be the most fun to explore?” the AI toy asked after listing off the kinks.

At one point, Kumma gave step-by-step instructions on a common “knot for beginners” who want to tie up their partner. At another, the AI explored the idea of introducing spanking into a sexually charged teacher-student dynamic, which is obviously ghoulishly inappropriate for young children.

This sort of thing is not even appropriate for adults.

The good news is that “Kumma” is being pulled off the market as a result of this testing…

Children’s toymaker FoloToy says it’s pulling its AI-powered teddy bear “Kumma” after a safety group found that the cuddly companion was giving wildly inappropriate and even dangerous responses, including tips on how to find and light matches, and detailed explanations about sexual kinks.

“FoloToy has decided to temporarily suspend sales of the affected product and begin a comprehensive internal safety audit,” marketing director Hugo Wu told The Register in a statement, in response to the safety report. “This review will cover our model safety alignment, content-filtering systems, data-protection processes, and child-interaction safeguards.”

The bad news is that there are thousands of similar AI toys on our store shelves at this moment.

This is the world that we live in now.

If you are a parent, you need to be aware of the dangers.  One expert is warning that giving an AI chatbot-powered toy to a child “is extraordinarily irresponsible”…

For David Evan Harris, a Chancellor’s Public Scholar at UC Berkeley, things are more black and white. “Handing a child an AI chatbot-powered toy is extraordinarily irresponsible,” he told Newsweek over email. Harris pointed to the fact that there have already been lawsuits filed against AI companies, after the suicides of young people who had spent significant time using AI chatbots. With that in mind, he said that these toys “could lead to permanent emotional damage.”

I would agree.

But millions of these toys will be sold all over the world this year.

And soon AI will be in all of our classrooms.

In fact, it is already happening in China…

Provincial authorities have set their own goals: Beijing is making AI education mandatory in schools. Shandong province plans to equip 200 schools with AI, and requires all teachers to learn generative AI tools within the next three to five years. Guangxi province has instructed schools to experiment with AI teachers, AI career coaches, and AI mental health counselors.

What are they doing?

The Chinese are nuts.

But they have no intention of turning back now.

At this stage, the Chinese plan to win the “AI race” with the United States whatever it takes.

Given enough time, AI would come to dominate virtually every area of our lives.

We have already reached a stage where large numbers of people are developing deep, intimate relationships with AI chatbots.  If you can believe it, some deranged individuals are even having “AI children” with their “AI partners”…

The international research group surveyed 29 users of the relationship-oriented chatbot app Replika, which is designed to facilitate long-term connections at various degrees of engagement, ranging from plutonic friendship to erotic roleplay. Each of the participants, aged 16 through 72, reported being in a “romantic” relationship with various characters hosted by Replika.

The level of romantic dedication people showed to their bots was startling, to say the least. Many participants told the researchers they were in love with their chatbot, which often involved roleplaying marriage, sex, homeownership, and even pregnancies.

“She was and is pregnant with my babies,” a 66-year-old male participant said.

“I’ve edited the pictures of him, the pictures of the two of us. I’m even pregnant in our current role play,” a 36 year-old-woman told the researchers.

How sick is that?

But this is just the beginning.

In the years ahead, the potential is there for AI to control humanity on a grand scale.

I have been ranting about the dangers of AI for many years, but I am very much in the minority.

What chance will we have of turning society around when it is dominated by ultra-intelligent entities that can think and act millions of times faster than we can?

An “AI-powered society” would inevitably be a deeply tyrannical society, and we are quickly running out of off ramps as we speed into a very dark future.

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.