Tag Archives: low self-esteem

May 12 2023

Biden Administration: “Birthing Persons” or “Unpaid Caregivers” are Bad for the Economy


Armstrong Econo9mics Blog/WOKE Re-Posted May 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Happy early Mother’s Day to the women in charge with shaping our society. The vital role of a mother, arguably the most important responsibility one can take on, has been dismissed in recent years as society changes drastically. The woke agenda feels that the word “mother” is offensive and wants to replace the term with “birthing persons.” I have not heard anyone refer to fathers as “inseminating persons,” as part of the woke agenda is to eliminate the importance of women in society. Economic conditions have made it nearly impossible for the average family to survive on one income. Yet, those who can and do choose to stay home deserve appreciation for the role they play in our society.

The Biden Administration recently took a jab at stay-at-home mothers, claiming they are hurting our economy. His administration supports sending “free” money to “hard-working families” as long as they are receiving some income tax revenue. The schools can raise our children according to their way of thinking.

“[M]any Americans — particularly women — stay out of the workforce to care for their families, making it hard for businesses to attract and retain a skilled workforce and for the economy to grow. A BCG brief forecasts losses of $290 billion each year in gross domestic product in 2030 and beyond if the U.S. fails to address the lack of affordable child care.”

The cited report from the BCG refers to parenting as “unpaid caregiving” as it lowers the number of taxable workers. Instead of staying home with your children or elderly relative, the government believes you should move into “paid caregiving.” “About 1.8 million critical-care jobs, including nursing assistants, home health aides and childcare workers, are open, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,” the report noted. The report also noted that these jobs often have terrible pay and poor benefits. Furthermore, the study noted that 40% of caregivers have missed “more than five days of work over the last year simply because their paid-care support has fallen through.” Other countries will laugh at the US for that one. They also talk about implementing a “government-run childcare system that begins at birth.” That is sad prospect. Even dogs have an 8 to 10 week grace period before their puppies can be adopted, a luxury not provided to women living in the financial capital of the world.

Caretaking roles are only seen as essential is they benefit the government. It is almost impossible for one 40-hour salary to support a family comfortably. Preschools and childcare centers often cost more than the salary a parent would bring home. And they wonder why there is a steep decline in the birth rate. The nuclear family has no place in woke America. Whether you stay home or choose a career, a mother’s role is essential.

Ca

May 12 2023

Elon Musk Hires Ultra Woke Linda Yaccarino as CEO of Twitter – Former Head of NBCUniversal Advertising – WEF Board Member – Pioneer of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) Wokeism


Posted originally on the CTH on May 11, 2023 | Sundance 

Elon Musk has reportedly hired Linda Yaccarino as the CEO of Twitter.  Unfortunately, this decision is the exact opposite of what everyone hoped about Musk’s intentions with the platform.

Ms. Yaccarino is the head of NBCUniversal Advertising and Partnerships [Example Here], and she is the tip of the spear in the creation of DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) indexing and corporate scoring.  You might be familiar with ‘DEI’ as a result of the Bud Light woke advertising campaign to promote beer for transgenders.  Well, that’s DEI in action, and Ms. Yaccarino is one of the pioneers in the advertising industry.

Additionally, Linda Yaccarino is the Chairwoman of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Taskforce on Future of Work.  As she noted in her position, “every CEO and executive needs to look inward, and build workplaces that ensure our employees, current and future, can always succeed amid rapid transformation.” Overlaying the Diversity Equity and Inclusion mindset, you will note Yaccarino says, “long-term benefits for the unemployed, women, and communities of color.”

Why would Elon Musk bring the most woke NBC advertising executive to become the CEO of Twitter?  Obviously, he is focused on generating revenue, and Yaccarino can bring woke credentials to the platform luring corporate advertisers.  Unfortunately, in order to achieve that objective, the platform content will have to be modified.

That means the public square of Twitter needs to become a platform of non-controversial NPCs (Non Player Characters) which generally are identified in memes [SEE HERE].  The content on Twitter must fit an approved standard for advertising. Leading this effort to control platform content through the control of the monetization, is literally what Yaccarino has done in her work at NBCUniversal.  Thus, her efforts to promote DEI take on a new level of importance.

Ms. Yaccarino also supports Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and follows him and his fellow influencers through her Twitter account.  Politically this puts her in alignment with Elon Musk and the acceptable Republican group that promotes the Florida Governor.

Keep in mind, for DeSantis, the “woke issues” are political tools to achieve an objective; nothing more.  Ms. Yaccarino supporting Ron DeSantis is not a misnomer, it’s just politics.

Similarly, for Elon Musk, it appears Ms. Yaccarino brings a greater financial value to the table offsetting any contradictions in his belief system about wokeism as a danger to speech and culture.   Obviously, this hire says Musk is more concerned about revenue generation than actual free speech.

Regarding opposition or alignment with what is colloquially called “wokeism”, Ms. Yaccarino is somewhat of a touchstone.  Her bona fides on DEI make her a subject matter expert on the weaponization of advertising to advance a cultural objective.

Just accept things as they are and not as you might wish them to be.  That way you are not disappointed later.

Accept the Musk selection of Ms. Yaccarino as exactly what it says for the Twitter platform.  First, money is the most important issue right now; revenue generation for Musk is the #1 priority.  Second, the content of the platform will modify accordingly.

[ Yaccarino on Twitter ]

May 11 2023

Medical Schools Eliminating MCAT in Favor of Diversity


Armstrong Economics Blog/WOKE Re-Posted May 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is “a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess your problem-solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine.” Students wishing to study medicine needed to pass this examination to determine if they were suitable for the profession. Now, in the name of diversity, some medical schools no longer require potential doctors to pass this exam because it is seen as racist.

A watchdog group called Do No Harm stated that this is a “dangerous trend.” “The MCAT has been shown to predict who has the best chance to be successful in medical school,” Do No Harm Program Manager Laura Morgan told the DCNF. “Eliminating it removes a proven standard for schools to consider when admitting students who demonstrate the aptitude to be good doctors.” Around 40 medical schools across the US are abandoning the MCAT already.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the same agency that developed the MCAT, is pivoting away from the old model to test future doctors on holistic measures. They cannot mandate that medical schools require students to take or pass this examination. Some schools, like CUNY, have stated their goals clearly. CUNY wishes to “increase the number of physicians of African-American, Hispanic and other ethnic backgrounds who have been historically under-represented in the medical profession and whose communities have been historically underserved by primary care practitioners.” I don’t know about you, but I do not care about my doctor’s ethnic background, sexual orientation, or gender. I simply want to speak to the most qualified individual. If they wanted to attract more bright minds, they could eliminate the costs of admission to enter the profession in the first place. Medical students are strapped with hundreds of thousands in debt and arguably underpaid as residents.

Medical deaths are the third-leading cause of death in the US. Around 251,000 people die every year in the US as a result of medical malpractice. Diminishing qualifications for doctors who are expected to make life and death decisions is a major threat to public health.

This is happening in important roles across every sector as the woke agenda destroys our culture from within. Biden boasted how he managed to appoint numerous LBGTQ members to his cabinet, more than any other president. Does anyone care? Most of us want the most qualified individuals in positions of power.

May 9 2023

How the Woke Agenda Ruined Nicola Sturgeon


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted May 9, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon resigned in February due to the “brutality” she faced for her controversial rulings. She hoped her successor would be “someone who is not subject to the same polarized opinions, fair or unfair, as I now am.” The demise of Sturgeon was at her own hand. She put her career and reputation on the line for an agenda that was so absurd that the UK government was forced to invoke Section 35 of the Scotland Act of 1998 for the first time in history to prevent her ruling from passing.

Nicola Sturgeon attempted to pass the Gender Recognition Reform Bill to allow anyone to change their gender after a three-month “reflection period.” The bill would have provided teens as young as 16 with the ability to bypass the medical system and obtain legal documents stating their biology suddenly changed. All-girls schools would likely be prohibited, and there were concerns “trans tourism” would spike with people coming to Scotland to bypass their own nation’s laws. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack invoked section 35 because it did not align with the values of the UK. Sturgeon double-downed and called it a “full-frontal attack” on Scotland.

As Nigel Farage commented during his interview with Donald Trump, the final straw for the people was the case of Isla Bryson. Bryson, a man with male genitals, brutally raped two women in their own homes in 2016 and 2019. While awaiting trial, this man decided to buy women’s clothes, a blond wig, and declare himself a female. The High Court in Edinburgh sentenced Bryson to 8 years, and to appease the woke crowd, placed this dangerous rapist in an all-women’s prison. The public outcry made international headlines, and Bryson was later moved to a prison for men.

The case happened shortly after the Gender Recognition Reform Bill was vetoed. This was the final straw and the end of Sturgeon’s career. Everyone has a breaking point. Trump stated that he receives enormous applause when he discusses women’s rights in sports. Perhaps the human rights abuses at this level are easier for the public to understand than some of the financial abuses we are experiencing. But this woke agenda is beginning to backfire in a big way as the masses are unwilling to change their reality to appease the wishes of a few.

May 6 2023

The Hate & Great Divide – Tearing Apart Even Families


Armstrong Economics Blog/Great Divide Re-Posted May 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: I see you are not a 100% diehard Republican or a Democrat. Not sure what that makes you. Perhaps you should run for president.

LR

COMMENT #2: The more I have looked into everything, the more I see your point. The majority of people think linearly. Everything is just a straight line. It seems hopeless to ever get humanity to advance and see the world of cycles.

PV

COMMENT #3: You are as biased as Tucker. Your day is coming too.

HN

COMMENT #4: These are trying times. I and my son no longer talk. He voted for Biden and I for Trump. He refuses to relent and we no longer have respect for one another. Never thought this would come to that.

WH

REPLY: First, I am sure you are being sarcastic. I think they would assassinate me before my hand ever got close to the book to swear in. I don’t have the passion to rule from the White House. I believe in cycles, not the authoritarian rule. The country is too deeply divided. I am middle of the road. I believe in individual freedom of speech, religion, and rights. Our company is like the UN. We have offices around the world with different races, creeds, and ethnic backgrounds. We all get along and we all respect each other. Our staff is there because they are qualified – not to fill some slot to pretend we are diversified.

One of my partners before he died out of the blue asked me to make sure that everything went to his second wife. He no longer was on speaking terms with his children. I have witnessed this many times. I remember growing up my father had a client who left everything to the woman who was his caretaker. When he dies, the kids ransacked the house punching holes in the wall and looking for hoards of cash they thought he had. The justice was, they had to pay for all the damage for he left them with nothing. Many have written in about how this Great Divide has divided their families.

It is not as uncommon as one might think. As some have said, you have a 50% chance they kids may be like your wife and if you split because you did not get along, then I suppose it makes sense. Another friend cannot speak with his children for they thought COVID was real and called their father a conspiracy nut. They refuse to admit they were wrong and just will no longer speak to their father.

When you try to tell people how to live and follow some rules arbitrarily created, you will infringe upon freedom. That is why there MUST be a separation of religion from state. Once any religion seeks to control the state, freedom ends. We have gone through so many upheavals in history outlawing drinking to outright religious wars that became gun battles on the streets in the United States. Even the Civil War was inspired by religion.

There were gun battles between Protestants and Catholics bringing the old hatred from England to America. Attacks on Muslims today is simply how history unfolds. Whoever the press demonizes, transforms into prejudice and then violence. The Muslims were demonized because of the Terrorists and we will see similar violence against Russians in the not-to-distant future. They locked up all the Japanese during WWII.

This is a video I would show at conferences over the decades. This illustrates the complexity of cyclical behavior.

There is such hidden complexity that it is impossible to regulate society and create whatever people dream of. To Marx, it was to eliminate the business cycle and he blamed the rich. Confiscating all the assets from people did not terminate the business cycle. Keynes followed Marx and tried to create a government to also eliminate the business cycle.

All I can hope is that we move toward a realistic form of government and STOP this leftist idea of authoritarian rule to create some utopia that is just impossible. The fools like Bill Gates who tries to reduce the entire world to CO2 illustrate for as smart as people think they are, they are still very primitive and have never tried to discover the true nature of the world in which they live.

I know a lot of people who hate me read this blog just to see what I have said now. Don’t worry, I have no interest in ruling the world. I am just waiting for Scotty to beam me up. The government tried to kill me once but I survived and woke from a coma. I’m sure they will try again when they no longer want to listen to the forecasts.

For you see, just as you hate me, I am not fond of the world you are trying to advocate. So go ahead – vote for Biden and let’s get WWIII over with ASAP. This is all part of the cycle and you are fulfilling your role in bringing this American experiment to an end. Somehow you lost the meaning of freedom. You just hate anyone who does not comply with your ideas.

May 6 2023

Watch The Other Hand – The Potential for One Million Illegal Alien Migrants Expected to Swarm the U.S. Southern Border, May 11th With Biden Ending Title 42


Posted originally on the CTH on May 5, 2023 | Sundance 

On or around May 11th, will the U.S. launch the new spring offensive in Ukraine?  Will Fulton County Georgia release unseal their indictment of Donald Trump?  Will Jack Smith release his assault upon the former president?   Will Main Justice finally release, through the USAO in Delaware, the indictment of Hunter Biden?

These are the questions we should ask as approximately 1,000,000 economic migrants are positioned to swarm the U.S. southern border on the same date.  They will need a distraction, a BIG distraction.

What we can anticipate is that on/around May 11th something big will be delivered as part of that distraction.

The people in command and control of the Biden administration will need to coordinate something big to cover for their May 11th removal of Title 42, the public health authority currently being used to slow illegal alien migrants from entering the U.S.

They have already positioned Vice President Kamala Harris as the sacrificial lamb to take the blame, via her appointment as border czar.  Harris essentially representing a pre-deployment of a defensive narratives.

According to border patrol three weeks ago the number of migrants assembling in advance of the release date was 700,000, that number has certainly risen since then.

[Breitbart] “Border Patrol shared with us their intelligence that there are approximately 700,000, as of three weeks ago, in the shelters in Mexico waiting to come into the United States,” Lines said. “They also shared with us that at the Darian Gap which is at the Panama Canal, they’ve seen a 500 percent surge in people crossing over that gap on their way up to the United States.” (read more)

Keep in mind, the White House has positioned Mexico as the enemy of the Biden regime in North America. We keep saying watch Mexico because Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador is as disposable to the hands that control the ‘fundamental change’ mechanism as Kamala Harris.  AMLO has no motive to assist the U.S. with any of this; indeed, taken at his recent words, AMLO stands in direct opposition to the Joe Biden administration and the multiple crises his people have created.

TEXAS – […] The Biden administration plans to end Title 42 on May 11, and political leaders and immigrant rights advocates in El Paso and other cities on the southwest border are expecting a stream of asylum-seekers who have been stranded in Mexican border cities to cross into the U.S.

[…] An untold number of migrants are still waiting to make the same crossing and hoping that the end of Title 42 will allow them to seek asylum in the U.S. In preparation for a post-Title 42 border, the Biden administration has rolled out a series of policy changes that will create pathways for people to enter the U.S. legally, with the goal of reducing the rising number of illegal crossings on the southern border — immigration agents made a record-breaking 2.3 million apprehensions in the last fiscal year, which ended in September.

Last week, the administration also announced plans to open processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala to allow qualifying migrants to legally enter the United States, Canada or Spain without coming to the U.S.-Mexico border. It also unveiled a new family reunification program for people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia: People from those countries will receive background checks before immigration agents determine on a case-by-case basis if they are eligible to be reunited with family already in the U.S. (link)

Last week the team pulled out Susan Rice from the zone of collateral damage.  On Tuesday, the people in control of the Biden administration announced they were sending 1,500 U.S. troops to the border to help immigration agents on the ground as Title 42 ends.

The United States is about to be crushed by the largest mass migration of illegal aliens in history.  Yeah, you can guarantee there’s something planned to distract everyone from the reality of a purposefully collapsed border.   The only question remains, what will it be?

May 5 2023

Former Navy Seal Team 6 Member: “China is Going to Destroy Us”


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted May 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SYA8IbOIhBk%3Ffeature%3Doembed

The US military has been struggling with recruitment efforts in recent years. Only 13% of 18 to 29-year-olds are “highly willing” to enlist. Prioritizing the woke agenda has alienated the once-core conservative, traditional members. The current Commander in Chief is not patriotic and does not inspire young men to join the military. We abandoned operations in Afghanistan chaotically when we should never have been there anyhow, forced service members to undergo vaccinations, and continued to heighten tensions with foreign nations to a level where another world war is inevitable. Every branch has failed to meet their recruitment numbers despite the military lowering the standards to join. The latest desperate attempt to recruit members is the opposite of the image of a tough soldier.

The US Navy invited an active-duty drag queen to be its latest digital ambassador. Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who identifies as non-binary, is creating videos cosplaying as a woman “to explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates,” a Navy spokesperson stated. Yeoman, or Harpy Daniels as they call themself “on stage,” is sharing his experience of going back and forth between genders to represent “queer sailors.” Let’s remember, regular gay folks recently fought to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” bill to permit people to serve while openly gay. How on earth could the military think this is a good idea?

Former US Navy SEAL Team Six member Robert J. O’Neill was part of the special operation to kill Osama bin Laden, one of the best and bravest our country has to offer. “Alright. The US Navy is now using an enlisted sailor Drag Queen as a recruiter. I’m done. China is going to destroy us. YOU GOT THIS NAVY. I can’t believe I fought for this bulls-t,” O’Neill wrote. “Not this Navy veteran. I’m ashamed of the Navy,” wrote another veteran. “It’s an insult to every veteran. The army kept making me go to trans EO-type classes before I retired. Nope. Didn’t go.”

Who the hell are they trying to recruit? Are these people even mentally fit to serve? It’s almost like they’re begging for a future draft of “all persons,” because the military knows better. The Airforce saw an uptick in recruitment after Tom Cruise released his film “Top Gun” portraying a fearless fighter pilot. You are not “fearless” for dressing up as the opposite sex. This effort will fail and it is a slap in the face to our veterans who do not want to be portrayed in this light.

May 5 2023

Position Reversed Again – Nashville Police Refuse to Release Transgender Audrey Hale Christian Murder Manifesto


Posted originally on the CTH on May 4, 2023 | Sundance 

Long-time readers of CTH research will remember a very specific agency inside government, the Dept of Justice Community Relations Service (DOJ-CRS).

This little-known, quasi legislatively authorized, Eric Holder weaponized, silo inside the justice system operates to control information that would be deemed ‘adverse to the peace and tranquility interests of the nation.’ In non-pretending terms, the DOJ-CRS controls any information in the criminal justice system that doesn’t fit the agenda of the radical communists and left-wing activists within it.

The CRS controlled the George Zimmerman case. The CRS controlled the Darren Wilson case (Ferguson). The CRS controlled the Baltimore-Six case. The CRS controlled the Stephen Paddock case (Las Vegas).  There are many more.

The CRS, also known colloquially as the “peacekeepers” can reach into any system of justice, local, state, federal, including courts, judges, trials and law enforcement agencies, and control the information that is at the center of their topic, charge or investigation.

The CRS is an omnipotent smaller agency, with incredible power within the Dept of Justice, that has full control over anything they identify as needed to retain the “domestic tranquility,” including instructions to federal and state judges.

Almost no one knows about the CRS, and no one is permitted to talk about their true mission. What the FISA court is to the star chamber of the judicial branch, the CRS is to the star chamber of the executive branch and domestic DOJ operations. The CRS can remove investigators, lawyers and even judges from cases, and the CRS can appoint investigators, lawyers and judges to cases of their interest by authority of their power. They can also control any evidence in any case, in any jurisdiction.

When I see flip-flopping, reversals and unexplainable action in any legal or criminal case, I usually can spot the CRS fingerprints based on the timing of the ‘advisors’ arrival at the local scene.

The CRS isn’t on camera, ever.

They are behind the scenes quietly guiding and controlling what is witnessed. The issues surrounding the release of the Nashville shooter manifesto bear all the hallmarks of CRS in control now:

[Source Link]

Prior to the Nashville police announcement yesterday, a reversal of a prior position where they claimed the manifesto was going to be released, the manifesto of the Nashville shooter Audrey Hale was claimed to be under the control of the FBI.

Initially, the Nashville police said they were not going to release the manifesto. Then the Nashville police said the FBI was controlling the manifesto. Then the Nashville police reversed provenance last week and said they were going to release the manifesto. Now they change position again.

This bizarre and odd conflagration of information, and who controls it, and what is going to happen with it, is exactly what it looks like when the CRS is involved.

APRIL 27, 2023 – Nashville police confirmed they will release a manifesto they recovered from the car of Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former student who they say gunned down three 9-year-olds and three adults last month.

“The investigation has progressed to the point where the Covenant shooter’s writings are now being reviewed for public release,” the Metro Nashville Police Department told Fox News Digital. “This process is currently underway.”  A specific time frame for the release was not yet available, a police spokeswoman said. (read more)

However, a week later and everything changes, yet again.

Unfortunately, due to CRS involvement I am leery of going too deep in what my Tennessee/DC sources have told me about this manifesto.  However, in the bigger of the big pictures I will simply share this….

The most likely reason we are not going to see the release of a reported (300-page) very detailed manifesto about the ‘dangers of Christianity and how to confront it‘, is because Audrey Hale didn’t write it. Rather, the transgender mass murderer followed the detailed instructions within it.

That said, I suspect we will see some form of filtered and redacted release.

May 4 2023

American Cops Resigning En Masse


Armstrong Economics Blog/Crime Re-Posted May 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Being a police officer in America has to be one of the least appealing jobs in today’s day and age. After 2020 and the rise of the BLM movement, there were countless calls to defund police agencies. Officers in blue cities must sit idly and watch their hometowns burn because those in charge are light on crime, and no one wants to become the next target of a police brutality campaign. The people in power who they protect know this and are worried.

As civil unrest rises into 2024, US cops will be in the middle of a brewing civil war. A number of active police also serve in the military reserves, and I know of a few young men personally who have been called to serve overseas in lands surrounding Ukraine. As for those who remain on the force, the government will not allow them to have personal privacy.

New Jersey implemented a new law requiring all officers to disclose their social media accounts to the government by 2024. They will also be required to disclose any organizations they are affiliated with, including religious groups. This will spread to other states as well because the government knows their cities will fall if the police side with the people who WILL protest and cause upheaval in the time leading up to the election.

Cops are resigning at a rapid pace. The NYPD, once a proud force, saw 3,701 cops leave the force in 2022. That marks the highest number of officers leaving the force since the 9/11 attacks. Philadelphia’s police force fell from 6,590 officers in 2019 to only 5,983 by 2022. The city of Philadelphia believes there will be less than 5,200 cops in the city by 2025. The Chicago Police Department lost 1,000 officers in 2022 and hundreds more are threatening to resign. This is happening across the US. Police Executive Research Forum, an independent think tank, reported that resignations rose 43% and retirements increased 24% from 2019 to 2022, and that number is growing.

Cops in NJ and elsewhere must also undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which seems reasonable. But why is the same not required for our government officials, especially the one with the nuke codes who is mentally incapacitated in all of his speaking engagements? Revolutions succeed when the police turn their backs on the government and side with the people. Governments then call in the military, but it is too late because they too will section off based on who they believe needs to be protected.

May 4 2023

With Sales Crushed, Anheuser Bush Tells Wholesalers to Give Bud Light Beer Away Free to Employees Before Expiration Date


Posted originally on the CTH on May 3, 2023 | Sundance 

Here we go.  Hard data is now starting to surface showing the devastating impact of the Anheuser-Busch decision to rebrand Budweiser products as the beer for the transgender community.   The #1 and #2 best selling beers in the United States are now fully rebranded to consumers and destroyed.  Now we see the ramifications.

The irony of Budweiser creating the “born on” date and freshness date system in the beer industry is just too damned funny, here’s why.

Across the United States, wholesalers are on the hook for inventories of Bud Light and Budweiser products that no one is buying.  These products have an expiration date, thanks in part to the previously mentioned freshness campaign long ago created.  The wholesalers have to swap out the close-dated products that are not being sold in retailers and restaurants.  The wholesalers are then stuck with out-of-date product, and turn back to the corporate office for help.

From reporting in the Wall Street Journal, Anheuser-Busch (A/B) is telling the wholesalers to give the product free to their employees rather than dump it.  By law, they cannot give it away to consumers, and they cannot cross promote the beer by “bundling” alcohol with another CPG product (ie, buy chips, get free beer).

The story is being promoted as A/B being magnanimous in giving the beer to the employees; however, in reality as the product hits its expiration or sell-by date, A/B only has that option, other than to dump it in the garbage and recycle the containers.  There is so much unsold inventory, data below, they are now giving it away (lol).

DATA – “In the week ended April 22, Bud Light’s U.S. retail-store sales fell 21.4% compared with the year-earlier period, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Bump Williams Consulting. Meanwhile, sales of rival brands Coors Light and Miller Lite each grew about 21%.”  It’s not just Bud Light collapsing, it’s the faceplate brands for all Budweiser products. “Sales of other Anheuser-Busch brands declined, too, including Budweiser, Busch Light and Michelob Ultra, according to Bump Williams.”

At a cursory glance you might think a 21.4% sales drop is not as significant as you would think or hope.  However, that doesn’t fully tell the entire story.

Keep in mind, this data is only the initial evaluation of year-over-year sales impact, and this data is national. Regionally, where the beer drinking is heaviest, the amount of sales loss is much higher.

Bud Light and Bud are the #1 and #2 products across the entire beer industry.  Within the A/B wholesaler’s sales book, those two brands likely represent well over half of all their retail beer sales combined (‘well over’, and I’m being generously low in the estimate).

It depends on the region and wholesaler product mix, but Bud and Bud Light easily make up more than half of the specific portfolio of distributor gross product sales.

When the #1 and #2 products that consist of more than half your gross revenue drop by 20 to 25%, essentially the value of your company has just dropped by the same percentage.   A $50 million beer distributorship, now worth $40 million and falling fast.

Additionally, and worse still for the parent company, the sales of the competitor products have increased by the same amount as the collapse in the targeted brand.  Coors Light and Miller Lite have picked up all the customers.   This is what’s known as a “hard brand switch;” meaning it’s likely to be very difficult – if not impossible – to regain brand position.

A/B just gave Coors and Miller brands their biggest sales increase in history, and that increase is likely permanent as beer drinkers solidify brand use.  This is why you are starting to see such urgent action in response by the U.S. parent company AB Inbev.    However, Bud and Bud Light have created a no-win position, as they are now being targeted by the transgender community activists for failing to support their Tranny Beer rebranding effort strongly enough.

[Washington, The Hill] “In a letter sent this week to Anheuser-Busch’s head of human resources, Jay Brown, a senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, slammed the company’s response to the controversy as insufficient and cowardly.  “In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” reads the April 26 letter obtained by The Hill.

“However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders and the LGBTQ+ community.”  […] According to the HRC letter, the group is preparing to lower Anheuser-Busch’s long-standing 100 percent Corporate Equality Index score, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits relevant to LGBTQ employees. (read more)

As noted in the Wall Street Journal, “They didn’t need to take this risk,” one distributor said, adding that he was worried the brand might now swing back in the other direction. “I lost my cowboy bars and now I could lose my gay bars, too.”  – Sorry, but this is just too darned funny.

Bud and Bud Light beer inventories are piling up.  The product is now going out of date due to lack of sales.  Beer drinkers do not want to be viewed with weird side-eye looks if they pick up a Budweiser product in a bar.  Retail consumers are walking past the product.   Regional wholesalers, seeing their distributorships being destroyed, are calling the home office looking for help.

Meanwhile, the alphabet activists are stomping their feet and riding their bicycles in slow circles at the bottom of the Anheuser Bush corporate offices, glaring in the windows while telling Budweiser they need to worry about their feelings.   {{{I cannot stop laughing}}}

[…] Anheuser-Busch has declined several meeting requests from [Human Rights Council] in the wake of right-wing pushback over its partnership with Mulvaney, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

The letter also recommends that Anheuser-Busch meet with its LGBTQ employees to discuss and “understand their concerns” and conduct workplace transgender inclusion training for company executives.” (link)

Anheuser Bush’s solution?

Screw it… we’re f**ked, just give it away!

[Wall Street Journal]