US economy thread (2 Viewers)

[the moops]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

Max - that guy seems like a scam artist. He is trying to peddle fear into paying him money, lots of money, for his financial advice.

HFU Membership

heresyfinancial.teachable.com

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

*scans through page*

This ancient portfolio technique has helped protect the assets of the Jewish people since 500 CE.

Oh... neat.

 

[Sparky Polastri]

What year was it they made the law saying companies didn't have to provide insurance/benefits for part time jobs? Was that part of ACA? There's likely a direct correlation between when that started and when companies started hiring so many part time employees.

 

[SFBayDuck]

We are a whiney, mostly miserable, society in many ways,

Is this really your impression of society?

I may lead a sheltered existence, but feel like a small, albeit vocal minority are whiny and miserable. Most people in my day-to-day experience seem pretty content with their lot in life.

That's a great question and point.

My intuition is we're overall much less whiny than it seems. Simply because the whining is amplified.

The interwebs are mostly whiney and miserable. Most people aren't like that once (if?) they step away from their keyboards.

 

[Max Power]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

Max - that guy seems like a scam artist. He is trying to peddle fear into paying him money, lots of money, for his financial advice.

HFU Membership

heresyfinancial.teachable.com

Peddling fear into money is what half this country does best... What about the claims he made in the video?

 

[the moops]

What year was it they made the law saying companies didn't have to provide insurance/benefits for part time jobs? Was that part of ACA? There's likely a direct correlation between when that started and when companies started hiring so many part time employees.

Companies never had to offer benefits to part time employees. The ACA mandated that companies do if they work 30 hours though

 

[SFBayDuck]

looks like chart only goes through 2022 but % of full-time hit a high then. part-time work is increasing due to more a 'gig' economy due to Uber/doordash drivers, etc.

That's the point I was going to make. Uber was founded in 2009, Instacart in 2012, Doordash in 2013. The gig economy didn't exist until about a decade ago, and has grown ever since. I've been in an Uber with a Lyft sticker in the window and a trunk full of Amazon packages they were delivering talking to me about Doordash. It's how some people, mostly younger, choose to work now.

This isn't just people working 24 hours a week at McDowells, unable to find full time work.

 

[the moops]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

Max - that guy seems like a scam artist. He is trying to peddle fear into paying him money, lots of money, for his financial advice.

HFU Membership

heresyfinancial.teachable.com

Peddling fear into money is what half this country does best... What about the claims he made in the video?

Didn't get a chance to watch yet

 

[Nugget]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

I'll also say as a government worker myself, I found his take on government workers to be eye-opening. Framing it the way he does makes sense.

Video is scammy at best. Teachers are considered government workers.

Table B1 - Bottom shows the numbers

Local and State government add 1,109K educators. This happens every summer. This is why we shouldn't use non seasonally adjusted numbers. But his video is less click bait if he does that.

 

[Max Power]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

I'll also say as a government worker myself, I found his take on government workers to be eye-opening. Framing it the way he does makes sense.

Video is scammy at best. Teachers are considered government workers.

Table B1 - Bottom shows the numbers

Local and State government add 1,109K educators. This happens every summer. This is why we shouldn't use non seasonally adjusted numbers. But his video is less click bait if he does that.

He cited the article that breaks it down.

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

This time the job report used the non seasonal adjustments to make the numbers look better. Historically they haven't.

 

[Gatorade]

I'm not trying to make this political.

I was just in Alabama for a week.

Drive down. Gas in Tennessee and Alabama was 2.65.

Is this considered high? All I hear is how gas prices are out of control

That is the lowest they have been in almost four years. What else happens every for years.

 

[SoBeDad]

It's easier than ever for many businesses to start and scale up. No need to hire a dedicated IT person to manage computers and servers. An assistant can potentially be replaced by AI. There are many startups with fewer employees than imaginable than a decade ago. It could be a double-edged sword as the next Microsoft or big hedgefund or Uber with self-driving cars will need fewer employees. Could Joe start footballguys with fewer employees than he had years ago?

 

[stbugs]

I know many, many people living in $300+k houses, 2 nice cars, vacations, with swimming pools and trampolines in their yards... and yet they are mad about nearly everything. That can't be a good sign.

Maybe material wealth and possessions don't really make a person truly happy. #mindblown

Yea, I realize my statement highlighted material wealth, but I feel it's more than that (and we can't get too deep into it without derailing this excellent thread, so I won't). Because it should be easy enough to say "stuff doesn't make me happy - so let's stop with the stuff".

ETA - Doc Oc nailed it pretty good.

He did but honestly, stuff is a huge thing nowadays. You read about average credit card debt, realizing it’s likely double that since the truly responsible/rich have none, and you read about the median level of savings for retirement/emergencies. Then you watch social media and look around neighborhoods and wonder how it seems like everyone’s loaded.

I often wonder if people seem mad/miserable is because so many are struggling under the facade of trying to keep up with the Joneses. I look around and wonder myself sometimes. I’m sharing my 9 year old Lexus with my youngest because I don’t want to buy him a new car in case he can’t have one next year at college (his top choice doesn’t allow it) and I see some of the cars kids at his high school drive and it shocks me. I live in probably the nicest neighborhood that go to this school, which is 3rd “richest” in our county, and my car only has a bit over 100k miles, but I almost feel poor at times. Maybe it’s the fact that we have 80%+ equity in our house and haven’t looked at it as an ATM to get a $100k SUV, I don’t really know. Maybe I’m doing it wrong lol!

I agree that's really eye-opening to look at some of the numbers out there on average net worth by age, average retirement savings by age, etc. You start to realize that a lot of these people with $80K pickups are just driving their net worth around.

Yeah, when I look at averages/medians, I feel better but there is a lot of money out there as well. Its

I know many, many people living in $300+k houses, 2 nice cars, vacations, with swimming pools and trampolines in their yards... and yet they are mad about nearly everything. That can't be a good sign.

Maybe material wealth and possessions don't really make a person truly happy. #mindblown

Yea, I realize my statement highlighted material wealth, but I feel it's more than that (and we can't get too deep into it without derailing this excellent thread, so I won't). Because it should be easy enough to say "stuff doesn't make me happy - so let's stop with the stuff".

ETA - Doc Oc nailed it pretty good.

He did but honestly, stuff is a huge thing nowadays. You read about average credit card debt, realizing it’s likely double that since the truly responsible/rich have none, and you read about the median level of savings for retirement/emergencies. Then you watch social media and look around neighborhoods and wonder how it seems like everyone’s loaded.

I often wonder if people seem mad/miserable is because so many are struggling under the facade of trying to keep up with the Joneses. I look around and wonder myself sometimes. I’m sharing my 9 year old Lexus with my youngest because I don’t want to buy him a new car in case he can’t have one next year at college (his top choice doesn’t allow it) and I see some of the cars kids at his high school drive and it shocks me. I live in probably the nicest neighborhood that go to this school, which is 3rd “richest” in our county, and my car only has a bit over 100k miles, but I almost feel poor at times. Maybe it’s the fact that we have 80%+ equity in our house and haven’t looked at it as an ATM to get a $100k SUV, I don’t really know. Maybe I’m doing it wrong lol!

I agree that's really eye-opening to look at some of the numbers out there on average net worth by age, average retirement savings by age, etc. You start to realize that a lot of these people with $80K pickups are just driving their net worth around.

Those averages/medians do make me feel better. I know there’s plenty of money out there. I know a lot of retired people with really nice pensions, which make it easier to keep up with the Joneses knowing stock market drops don’t limit spending. I know people whose parents still take them on vacation or buy them cars and they are in their 50s. There are also people who make great money. Then there are a lot of people who try to keep up with the others and are likely using their home and maybe credit cards and 401k loans to keep up.

 

[Nugget]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

I'll also say as a government worker myself, I found his take on government workers to be eye-opening. Framing it the way he does makes sense.

Video is scammy at best. Teachers are considered government workers.

Table B1 - Bottom shows the numbers

Local and State government add 1,109K educators. This happens every summer. This is why we shouldn't use non seasonally adjusted numbers. But his video is less click bait if he does that.

He cited the article that breaks it down.

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

This time the job report used the non seasonal adjustments to make the numbers look better. Historically they haven't.

Did you read the data in the table? It literally goes over line by line, month by month the changes.

September 2024 over August 2024
Federal - USPS increased 500 jobs, rest of federal goverment down 300
State Government - Education jobs up 368,900, rest of state government down 12,400
Local Government - Education jobs up 740,800, rest of local government down 179,300.

I'll look more into the author of your Zero Hedge piece, Tyler Durden.

 

[Sand]

I'm not trying to make this political.

I was just in Alabama for a week.

Drive down. Gas in Tennessee and Alabama was 2.65.

Is this considered high? All I hear is how gas prices are out of control

For the last many months energy costs, particularly gas, have come down. If you take a longer view gas prices have bounced around a lot since 2008.

Alabama/Tennessee tend to tax this stuff less than other places, so you'll see those prices a bit lower than the average, which is evidently at about $3.30 now.

U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon)

 

[massraider]

It's easier than ever for many businesses to start and scale up. No need to hire a dedicated IT person to manage computers and servers. An assistant can potentially be replaced by AI. There are many startups with fewer employees than imaginable than a decade ago. It could be a double-edged sword as the next Microsoft or big hedgefund or Uber with self-driving cars will need fewer employees. Could Joe start footballguys with fewer employees than he had years ago?

I completely agree, and I think this is a good thing for the economy, if not a great thing. Small businesses, especially not brick and mortar, can get off the ground for very little money.

My company, as an example:

We use a part time CFO, we use software for accounting, software for HR, software for graphic design. On and on. Many things, like marketing and advertising, can be done for pennies compared to what companies had to do just a few years ago. Raising money is always an issue, but there are resources for that, people have started businesses with Kickstarter, there are angel investor websites.

Even things like social media influencer, OnlyFans, YouTube, you see individuals and small businesses carving out a piece of the market, money that was going to larger companies. I think that part of the economy is fairly exciting. If you have a good idea, it's never been easier to monetize it.

That doesn't speak to the salaried/hourly worker, looking for a living wage, benefits, and security, but is is an avenue that has widened considerably.

EDIT: And while the argument can be made that companies need less employees, if there are more small companies out there, that may be a net positive. Spreading the business across more Americans is something I assume most people are in favor of.

 

[McBokonon]

If you're relaying info from a scammy Youtube guy who cites zerohedge, you're in a permabear algorithm and probably on purpose.

 

[MTskibum]

It's easier than ever for many businesses to start and scale up. No need to hire a dedicated IT person to manage computers and servers. An assistant can potentially be replaced by AI. There are many startups with fewer employees than imaginable than a decade ago. It could be a double-edged sword as the next Microsoft or big hedgefund or Uber with self-driving cars will need fewer employees. Could Joe start footballguys with fewer employees than he had years ago?

I completely agree, and I think this is a good thing for the economy, if not a great thing. Small businesses, especially not brick and mortar, can get off the ground for very little money.

My company, as an example:

We use a part time CFO, we use software for accounting, software for HR, software for graphic design. On and on. Many things, like marketing and advertising, can be done for pennies compared to what companies had to do just a few years ago. Raising money is always an issue, but there are resources for that, people have started businesses with Kickstarter, there are angel investor websites.

Even things like social media influencer, OnlyFans, YouTube, you see individuals and small businesses carving out a piece of the market, money that was going to larger companies. I think that part of the economy is fairly exciting. If you have a good idea, it's never been easier to monetize it.

That doesn't speak to the salaried/hourly worker, looking for a living wage, benefits, and security, but is is an avenue that has widened considerably.

EDIT: And while the argument can be made that companies need less employees, if there are more small companies out there, that may be a net positive. Spreading the business across more Americans is something I assume most people are in favor of.

Appropriate comic:

Crowdsourcing

xkcd.com

 

[Zeppelin]

My intuition is we're overall much less whiny than it seems. Simply because the whining is amplified.

There is so much more whining on social media than I hear in person.

 

[massraider]

Discount stores with closing announcements due to bankruptcies.

Big lots 344
Dollar General 800
7-Eleven 444
$.99 store 371
Family Dollar 1000
CVS 900
Walgreen 150 update 10/15 1200 stores
True value Hardware bankruptcy

There is another thing in play here, as we come off a record tun of low interest rates.

Zombie companies. Unprofitable companies. Have been adding to debt for years, and should have gone out of business already, or cut back years ago.

43% of the Russell 2000 companies are unprofitable, the most since the COVID CRISIS.
At the same time, interest expense as a % of total debt of the Russell 2000 firms hit 7.1%, the highest since 2003.

A lot of companies were propped up with cheap money, and bad businesses going under can mean more money for stronger concepts.

 

[Desert_Power]

I'll look more into the author of your Zero Hedge piece, Tyler Durden.

 

[Sparky Polastri]

What year was it they made the law saying companies didn't have to provide insurance/benefits for part time jobs? Was that part of ACA? There's likely a direct correlation between when that started and when companies started hiring so many part time employees.

Companies never had to offer benefits to part time employees. The ACA mandated that companies do if they work 30 hours though

Thats what it was. Thanks!!

 

[Sparky Polastri]

Discount stores with closing announcements due to bankruptcies.

Big lots 344
Dollar General 800
7-Eleven 444
$.99 store 371
Family Dollar 1000
CVS 900
Walgreen 150 update 10/15 1200 stores
True value Hardware bankruptcy

There is another thing in play here, as we come off a record tun of low interest rates.

Zombie companies. Unprofitable companies. Have been adding to debt for years, and should have gone out of business already, or cut back years ago.

43% of the Russell 2000 companies are unprofitable, the most since the COVID CRISIS.
At the same time, interest expense as a % of total debt of the Russell 2000 firms hit 7.1%, the highest since 2003.

A lot of companies were propped up with cheap money, and bad businesses going under can mean more money for stronger concepts.

The numbers look big dont they? Reality is 800 dollar general stores is approx .000000000000000001% of their stores.

And whats with the conspiracy theory stuff? Algos are suffocating reality.

 

[Terminalxylem]

A link to this analysis @Max Power would be helpful

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

This is the video that info is from.

Max - that guy seems like a scam artist. He is trying to peddle fear into paying him money, lots of money, for his financial advice.

HFU Membership

heresyfinancial.teachable.com

The title of the video tells you all you need to know about its content. Reason number bazillion to minimize consumption of YouTube drivel.

 

[massraider]

Yesterday, Walgreens said it will close 1,200 US stores, about one in seven locations, by 2027. The retailer will shutter 500 stores by the end of next year.

CEO Tim Wentworth has spent his first year at the company implementing a turnaround plan that includes a hard pivot away from his predecessor’s investments in primary care clinics and foregoing expensive leases. But it’s not just Walgreens—business is rough for rival chains that also sell Maybelline, Mucinex, and Monster energy drinks.

• Rite-Aid said it would close 800 stores as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last October.
• CVS announced earlier this month it would cut an additional 2,900 jobs on top of the 5,000 it cut last year.

The widespread closures could push even more rural and minority communities into “pharmacy deserts.” Roughly 46% of US counties had a pharmacy desert, or a populated area 10+ miles from a retail pharmacy, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Big picture: Drugstores have pinned their struggles on the rise of online retailers like Amazon and population decline. But an FTC report also lays some blame on the three giant pharmacy benefits managers—companies that act as middlemen to negotiate drug prices—for “squeezing” pharmacies by lowering reimbursement rates.

From Morning Brew.

I am not posting this to make some dire point about the economy. In fact, the opposite. I don't think a bunch of pharmacies and 99 cent stores closing is a bad thing. Might simply be a sign that these companies made bad decisions with massive expansion. Or the continuation of brick and mortar not being a great investment.

CNBC has a story about this town that lost its pharmacy. Used as an example of the rise of their clickbait phrase "Pharmacy deserts". In this story, a town of less than 4,000 doesn't have a pharmacy, and the mayor is talking about how the nearest one is a 15 minute drive away. Uhh, yeah, if you have a town of less than 4,000 people, you gonna have LOTS of things that are a 15 minute drive away. The author mentions the town has 3 'dollar stores'--in a town with less than 4,000 people!

My only point here is businesses closing down isn't always a warning sign for the economy.

 

[NutterButter]

I remember when the Walgreens and the CVSs of the world were going through their massive expansion in suburbia and thinking who the heck even goes to all these huge stores. Besides the pharmacies, I hardly ever see anyone shopping in them the few times I've been in there. Another headscratcher is all the bank locations we have.

 

[Nugget]

I remember when the Walgreens and the CVSs of the world were going through their massive expansion in suburbia and thinking who the heck even goes to all these huge stores. Besides the pharmacies, I hardly ever see anyone shopping in them the few times I've been in there. Another headscratcher is all the bank locations we have.

Banks and churches dominate the landscape in suburban Kansas. Seems like with the hours both keep they could just combine.

 

[bcat01]

I remember when the Walgreens and the CVSs of the world were going through their massive expansion in suburbia and thinking who the heck even goes to all these huge stores. Besides the pharmacies, I hardly ever see anyone shopping in them the few times I've been in there. Another headscratcher is all the bank locations we have.

We used to shop at CVS and only buy the items on sale. They would have great deals and almost pay you to shop there. Now we never go. They stopped sending out paper ads so we never knew what the weekly deals were without looking online. The sales they have now are not as good.

 

[Sparky Polastri]

Algos are suffocating reality.

I listened in on a conversation this morning with Dr. Joanne Hsu from the University of Michigan - she runs their surveys on consumer sentiment. One stat that popped was the correlation with political party and their opinion on the economy. The swings are getting larger over time. It is also taking longer for opinions to shift - part of the discussion focused around social media. If your party is (or is not) in power, you are going to be fed more posts to support that position, and once you click the "Like" button, you are more likely to dig in your heals.

Bush - 20 pts
Obama - 20 pts
Trump - 40 pts
Biden -37 pts
Current - 44 pts

Link to the latest data

 

[Mitchie]

My intuition is we're overall much less whiny than it seems. Simply because the whining is amplified.

There is so much more whining on social media than I hear in person.

Why whine to your friends and loved ones when you can whine to social media and get a much greater response.

 

[beer 30]

My intuition is we're overall much less whiny than it seems. Simply because the whining is amplified.

There is so much more whining on social media than I hear in person.

Why whine to your friends and loved ones when you can whine to social media and get a much greater response.

Dopamine is a helluva drug

 

[Joe Bryant]

My only point here is businesses closing down isn't always a warning sign for the economy.

Agreed.

It might be a cause. But it also could be just correcting decisions.

We tried Basketballguys.com a while back. And couldn't get it going despite our best efforts and a good bit of money. So I closed it.

Wasn't a bad economy. Was a bad decision by me.

With that said, I do think very often businesses closing IS a warning sign for the economy. At the least, it's something to watch closely and understand why they're closing.

 

[Buckna]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

 

[Bossman]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

 

[Buckna]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

Seems like every insurance company has been pushing tele-doctors on people the past few years with Covid really accelerating the trend. No doubt it saves them a lot of money. Not something I prefer to use unless its like the sniffles or a head cold or another minor ailment.

 

[SFBayDuck]

I listened in on a conversation this morning with Dr. Joanne Hsu from the University of Michigan - she runs their surveys on consumer sentiment. One stat that popped was the correlation with political party and their opinion on the economy. The swings are getting larger over time. It is also taking longer for opinions to shift - part of the discussion focused around social media. If your party is (or is not) in power, you are going to be fed more posts to support that position, and once you click the "Like" button, you are more likely to dig in your heals.

Bush - 20 pts
Obama - 20 pts
Trump - 40 pts
Biden -37 pts
Current - 44 pts

Link to the latest data

I've been trying to figure out how to say this in this thread without being "political".

 

[The Z Machine]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

Seems like every insurance company has been pushing tele-doctors on people the past few years with Covid really accelerating the trend. No doubt it saves them a lot of money. Not something I prefer to use unless its like the sniffles or a head cold or another minor ailment.

I think this would work best for 1) psychological stuff (mental health), 2) Stuff like ED where the doc doesn't need to physically verify you can't get it up, and 3) Reviewing test results and reading out the recommendations for new meds.

 

[Instinctive]

It's not exactly the same but we call our pediatrician's office whenever baby boy is sick. It's nice to say what's going on and then they say whether that's anything to worry about, what to do at home, and what triggers to bring him into them for. Feels like that's how all this should work all the time.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

 

[Softballguy]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

 

[NutterButter]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

 

[McBokonon]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

 

[nightmare]

15 storage facilities in a 5 mile radius of my home.
3 or 4 built within the past year.

 

[NutterButter]

15 storage facilities in a 5 mile radius of my home.
3 or 4 built within the past year.

I can see those as actually being used. People buy so much crap these days and now at least in NJ they're building a crap ton of condos so they have even less space to store it.

 

[The Gator]

15 storage facilities in a 5 mile radius of my home.
3 or 4 built within the past year.

Consume consume consume, store it #America

 

[SFBayDuck]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

 

[Gatorade]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

I would think you would go to urgent care after "Hitting" the car wash and storage unit.

 

[Buckna]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

 

[AAABatteries]

Stuff like ED where the doc doesn't need to physically verify you can't get it up

Wait, they don't? Be right back, I have to make a phone call.