off-grid

Sears Bankruptcy Shows America Is No Longer Middle-Class

The Sears bankruptcy shows America could no longer be a middle-class country. Sears has been the store for America’s middle-class for many years.

In its heyday, Sears sold everything needed for the middle-class lifestyle. In particular, Sears sold houses, appliances, clothes, electronics, furnishings, lawnmowers, insurance, tools, and even cars at various times.

Sears became America’s largest retailer by selling bland, average-priced goods to the middle-class. Nonetheless, the Sears bankruptcy comes at a time when the middle-class is shrinking.

The Sears Bankruptcy Proves Middle-Class Is Shrinking

The percentage of middle-class Americans fell from 62% in 1970 to 43% in 2014, the Pew Research center estimates.

Notably, Sears was America’s largest retailer in 1970. However, today Walmart is America’s largest retailer. Additionally, Business Insider did not include Sears on its July 2018 list of America’s 20 largest retailers.

Instead, America’s 20 largest retailers in 2018 include Dollar General, Aldi, McDonald’s, Target, TJX, Costco, and Amazon. Furthermore, the Apple Store, which is part of Apple Inc., is America’s 12th largest “retailer.” Amazon is now America’s 3rd largest retailer, exceeded in sales only by Walmart and Kroger grocery stores.

The Sears Bankruptcy Could Kill 68,000 Jobs

Sears declared bankruptcy Monday because it cannot pay a $134 million debt, The Chicago Tribune reports.

Management will try to keep Sears open by closing 142 unprofitable stores. The company operates 570 Sears and 360 Kmart stores across America. Nevertheless, Sears operated 2,205 Sears and 1,305 Kmart stores as recently as 2012.

Sears will operate 400 stores if a reorganization plan that management is proposing ends up working. The Sears bankruptcy will only work if unpaid creditors go along with the plan. In addition, Sears will need a $300 million loan from the ESL Investments hedge fund to stay in business.

Sears stock was trading at 62¢ a share on Wednesday and analysts estimate that Sears still employs 68,000 people nationwide.

A Brief History Of Sears: America’s Middle-Class Retailer

In the first place, Sears was a watch company. In fact, Richard Sears began by selling watches in 1886 in Minneapolis.

Sears became America’s most famous catalog after moving to Chicago. Sears’ most interesting product consisted of 70,000 to 75,000 house kits sold between 1908 and 1940. To clarify, the kit was a complete house that you ordered and built. There are reportedly 447 house designs from the Sears catalog.

The longest Sears catalog is over 1,000 pages long, but Sears stopped printing their catalog in 1993. Generations of Americans know the Sears catalog as the “wish book.”

The wish book helped African Americans fight segregation and enter the middle-class. All in all, the Sears catalog gave Southern blacks an alternative to segregated stores. For example, African Americans could order guns and other items that racist storekeepers refused to sell them from Sears.

Strange Things From Sears’ History

Sears waited until 1924, 28 years after its founding, to open its first retail store in Chicago. The company became America’s largest retailer during the Great Depression, as the number of Sears’ stores doubled during the 1930s.

Sears’ failures include two attempts at retailing automobiles. A “Sears Motor Buggy” appears in the catalogs published between 1908 and 1912. In addition, Sears sold the Allstate car through its stores in the early 1950s.

Allstate and the Discover Card are Sears’ spinoffs. In detail, Allstate insurance is a former Sears’ subsidiary founded in 1926. The Discover Card is a creation of the brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds when it was a Sears’ subsidiary. Other former Sears’ brands include Craftsman, Kenmore, Diehard, and Land’s End.

Sears also built the Sears Tower in 1973, which was the world’s tallest building at the time. Tellingly, Sears abandoned the Tower to creditors in 1994.

How A Hedge Fund Caused The Sears Bankruptcy

The path to the Sears bankruptcy began in 2005 with hedge fund operator Edward S. Lampert buying control of the company.

In general, Lampert has tried to compete with Walmart by merging Sears and Kmart together. Yet, critics accuse Lampert and his hedge fund, ESL Investments, of looting Sears. Lampert is currently transferring large amounts of Sears’ real estate to his Seritage real estate investment trust.

Additionally, Lampert is slowly breaking up Sears. For instance, Land’s End and Sears’ Home Town stores are now independent companies. Sears is also selling assets including Kenmore, Craftsman tools, and Diehard.

Fortune estimates that Lampert is worth $1 billion. However, nobody knows what will happen to Sears’ 68,000 employees or its 100,000 retirees. Moreover, the fate of America’s middle-class remains uncertain.

You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid News article: The Average American’s Income Is Falling

Do you have any thoughts on the Sears bankruptcy and how it relates to the middle-class? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Sears Bankruptcy Shows America Is No Longer Middle-Class appeared first on Off The Grid News.

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Self Sufficiency

NYC Adds Nearly 4,000 People Who Never Tested Positive To Coronavirus Death Tolls

New York City added nearly 4,000 people who never tested positive for the coronavirus to its death toll Tuesday, bringing coronavirus-related deaths in the city to around 10,000 people.

The city decided to add 3,700 people to its death tolls, who they “presumed” to have died from the virus, according to a report from The New York Times. The additions increased the death toll in the U.S. by 17%, according to the Times report, and included people who were suffering from symptoms of the virus, such as intense coughing and a fever.

The report stated that Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio decided over the weekend to change the way the city is counting deaths.

“In the heat of battle, our primary focus has been on saving lives,” de Blasio press secretary Freddi Goldstein told the Times.“As soon as the issue was raised, the mayor immediately moved to release the data.”

The post New York City added nearly 4,000 people who never tested positive for the coronavirus to its death toll appeared first on Daily Caller

This Article Was Originally Posted On dailycaller.com Read the Original Article here

off-grid

The Ultimate Energizer Review – Does It Really Work?

If you’re looking for a review of the ultimate energizer guide then you have come to the right spot because in this exclusive article we’re going to blow the lid off the ultimate energizer once and for all and reveal weather it is the real deal or not.

This brings us to the review of the ultimate energizer guide. This is a program that provides users with classified information on how to build a free energy generator. But can the program really make you achieve this?

does it work? will it be worth your investment, time and energy? all these questions and more are what this review on the ultimate energizer program seeks to help you find answers to.

The ultimate energizer review – is it worth it?

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About The Ultimate Energizer guide

The ultimate energizer is your ultimate guide to building your own alternative and portable energy source to power up any of your household appliances including refrigerators and aircon units. It is a very affordable way to having an emergency generator that can help you save more than 50% from your electricity bills without spending too much on other alternative energy source like solar panels or wind turbines which is costly and will also need a lot of space.

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About The Ultimate Energizer Creator

The creator of the complete the ultimate energizer guide is steven perkins. He found the journal of the founder of this technology in his home when his father shifted near quebec city in canada.

In this post, we will review the ultimate energizer whose creator claimed to offer a way through which you can generate non-stop current. According to the author, you can drop down your electricity bills by 80%.

Of course the ultimate energizer owners provide resources. But the truth is that you are a master creator. All of them have that talent in us. The only difference is the extent to which it is hidden in each of us.

Features of The Ultimate Energizer

The features of the ultimate energizer guide are as follows:-. This program guide will help you to design a the ultimate energizer generator which will follow the rules of linear induction motor which is built around a track that is orbicular to maintain the smooth motion of rotors that are transportable.

You can find here, a extensive review which highlights all the important features and performance criteria of the ultimate energizer. Use of the the ultimate energizer is very easy since all of the functions can be accessed in a short time; you have complete control over it. 100% money back guarantee shows that the ultimate energizer really works. The ultimate energizer gives full customer support for 7/24/365, also, features, credibility and the ultimate energizer’s ease of use are favorably satisfied by the buyers.

Use it on any electrical appliances from small clocks to big plasma tv screens, refrigerators, and air conditioners. Power the cabins while hiking to the mountains or camping. Other essential features of this complete the ultimate energizer are that it is easy to assemble and does not require a technical background to master engineering.

Pros and Cons of The Ultimate Energizer

I’ve created this honest ultimate energizer review to help you make a well-informed decision. I’ve tested it myself and now i’m going to share with you all the key aspects you may be interested in: how does it work? is it really so powerful and effective? what are its pros and cons?.

It is non-polluting. It remains popular the ultimate energizer guide pros & cons because it is both a renewable and clean source of energy. Harnessing solar energy is more than a fine idea it’s currently a reality in thousands of homes in a lot of nations around the world.

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On the review of the ultimate energizer guide, we will be looking into what exactly the program is all about, the details of the energy generator program, the benefits, pros & cons and our conclusion on the program.

Does The Ultimate Energizer really work?

The device is usable during emergencies. It works without fuels and therefore there are no expected fumes. It is weather proof. Cons of the ultimate energizer. You can only download the program from the official website.

But the ultimate energizer reviews that are available from real users online on platforms like google and youtube seem to confirm that the device does indeed work. So, as per my ultimate energizer review answer to the question is the ultimate energizer legit? is definitely yes.

The ultimate energizer guide. The ultimate energizer is said to work for your home and cut electricity by 82%, guaranteed by tomorrow. The ultimate energizer reviews. It can boost any type of electricity by as much as 5 times.

Advantages of The Ultimate Energizer Program

The program can benefit you in many ways. Below we are listing the advantages of using the ultimate energizer program for generating electricity:. This device will help you save up to 60%-70%, without investing money in solar panels which can cost you a lot of money.

There are additional the ultimate energizer guide program advantages too, including advantages at tax time, so do your homework on what you might have for being a solar power pioneer contributed back.

Why The Ultimate Energizer is Useful?

The ultimate energizer is a complete guide and blueprint. With it, you get everything you need to know to build your own free energy generator. This generator can be completed for less than $50 if you have some tools already. But i remember reading another review of the ultimate energizer, and the guy said he took days. Maybe he was crafty. Then, you assemble it and get it to work.

You will be guided step by step, that anybody who can read can build it. You do not need prior building experience or massive strength; it is that easy. Building the ultimate energizer takes under 4 hours if you are slow and definitely a lot less when you have help.

The ultimate energizer has already changed the lives of over 30,000 families who chose to power their homes using this eco-friendly device. This is definitely a good investment that is worth your time and money and if you think it isn’t after trying it out, you can request for a refund.

Is The Ultimate Energizer a Scam?

The ultimate energizer guide really show you how to power your house and save tremendously, or is this just another overhyped scam? this system was created after its owner decided he wanted to have a home power generating system in case of any crises or disasters.

The ultimate energizer pdf. It does not need any conventional electric power. The ultimate energizer scam. In this program, you can also build more generator and sell for profit. This product can also be incorporated into the automobile to power an electric motor.

All you need is an open mind and a desire to try new things to get a life in the field of freedom of energy. So, what are you waiting for? it’s time to say goodbye to major energy companies and start using the ultimate energizer guide today.