Then you have the girl on Youtube who plants a camera in front of slot machines that she plays and records her wins. She plays nothing but high limit slots, betting $100 per spin in the more glamourous casinos around the country and records her huge jackpot wins. She makes $40-50k per month from You Tube.
Meanwhile, my business is tied to advertising, and I just had the worst year in the last 6 years. Many small businesses and even big ones have closed now that the government money has run out and people don't want to work. Talk about trickle down economics!
Keith Michaels
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Excellent insights but the biggest thing of all is the number or rich and super-rich people GLOBALLY.
Yes, they buy up all the properties and don't live in them for one reason- they have to have somewhere to put their money! And, they don't care about anyone except themselves and other rich people they want to impress. The shallowness is pathetic.
That's why NFTs are so popular. And the market keeps roaring. They have to put their money somewhere.
But they have no hearts. They are everything we hated in the 60s. And it all took off with Reagan, Thatcher, and "greed is good".
John Parikhal
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Great snow here in Sun Valley but we are short handed too, and for the first time, we are facing a housing crises too, for the workers.
Pretty large Hispanic community here. Wonderful folks. Incredibly hard working, landscaping, stone work, construction workers. Industrial as all hell and yes, they vote Republican.
John Hummer
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First off it's ludicrous as the Vail Corp owns Heavenly and yesterday there wasn't a parking space within a mile of the Tram or the chair going up Gun Barrel.
Now we're talking $200.00 a fucking day for a day ski pass this year.
The lines are forever and it's "Hatchet Hill" on the mountain with people who can't ski and there must be at least 30-40,000 people on the mountain yesterday.
3/4ths of them are not season pass holders! So that means they made a cool 6 Million Dollars yesterday.
And they want to pay them the Mc Donalds everyday worker pay rate? KRAZY!
Val Garay
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Well yes, of course.
And it's not just the eVail Empire (I wish it was, but it's not) - there are trails here at Deer Valley that have huge mounds of previously man-made snowgun snow plus six feet of natural snow over the past 10 days, trails still not opened. Despite record holiday crowds. It has to be a shortage of workers, presumably to either wage issues or COVID positive tests. And, yes, the lack of employee or even affordable workforce housing is definitely part of it - in every ski town this winter. Restaurants are shortening hours, closing 2 or even 3 days a week - not enough workforce. Resort executives are out from behind their desks these days, helping out on the front lines of customer service.
Oi...
Toby Mamis
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It's so interesting that in the span of a couple of days, you bemoan how you fear a Xi in power here in the States, then wonder how to change the corporate greed in America.
We need a Xi. Yes, he's a maniacal psychopath who's wrong about a lot of things, and he's a danger to free speech around the world. But he gets one thing very right: He sees that Chinese companies were siphoning profits for themselves, and not paying the people their worth. And he would not stand for it. Hence Common Prosperity. High profit margins will not be tolerated, and this will lead to a more prosperous Chinese people over time.
As long as institutional Wall Street investors reward stinginess towards US employees (and what will make them realize this will be harmful to society until they can buy the wreckage for a song?), then nothing will change. We need someone in power to put their hands firmly on the throats of business and say, "No. You will not withhold profits from the people."
You know corporate executives are cutthroat and only speak languages of money and power. And sometimes, you need to speak to them in a language that they understand.
Take care,
Michael Ball
Kensington, MD
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As a 66 year old career corporate marketer educated sociologist this is dead on. Reminds me of our late sixties but we sold out. Not sure this young group is ever going back.
Renee Emmett
_________________________________
I feel similarly. After watching that Ted Koppel piece a while back, I was so depressed. Not mad, not 'incensed,' but exhausted and defeated. It's a goal to keep plugging away, to try and get to a more humane place in this country, citizen by citizen. God willing.
Chris Schmidt
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But what of Citizens United? Dark money organizations are buying elections now. Creating communes or kibbutzim is the only way, it seems. Many of my Millennial peers feel this way. This is the best option we've got. Screw the system, we'll make our own.
CANCEL STUDENT DEBT!!!
- M.C. Eshed
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Just left beaver creek. Where many of the lifts were not open. 35 years never saw larkspur closed until now . I am right of you but also thought DONT LOOK UP was great . Could have been been either party playing the bs game at the top. System is broken . If Biden is your savior we are all in trouble.
John Huie
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Even the Post Office has ceased drug testing for newbies…
Dave Smith
Healdsburg
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Thought you might be interested in reading this opinion piece from the Globe and Mail here in Canada. Terrifying to think about:
"The American polity is cracked, and might collapse. Canada must prepare - The U.S. is becoming increasingly ungovernable, and some experts believe it could descend into civil war. What should Canada do then?"
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-american-polity-is-cracked-and-might-collapse-canada-must-prepare/
Ken Kelley
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Your analysis of the ski resort worker shortage leaves out a crucial element that led to the current employment situation, government interference in the form of seasonal worker visas kept wages artificially low. Ski resorts used to be financial centers for communities and that included employment. However, instead of raising wages with profits, inflation etc resorts elected to keep wages suppressed with the government-provided handout of the H2 and H2b visas. This meant that residents no longer looked to the resort for employment and it made it difficult for new arrivals to establish roots or move beyond a ski bum level of subsistence. The wages are still artificially low and have not risen to what the demand would dictate because they are starting so far behind. For example: Does anyone think that $15/hour reflects what a ski patroller in the west should be getting with all the training and avalanche mitigation they do?
Tag Gross
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25$ isn't going to cut it for those 19-34 years old, the age group where that service worker base comes from
Home traders saddled up in 2020-2021 and turned their stimulus and bumped up unemployment benefits into playing with house money - bartenders are up 150k or more with the FAANGs and Tesla since March 2020
Until the equity bubble bursts,
Dennis Pelowski
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Housing. It's all about housing at Mammoth, Park City, Tahoe, etc. If they can't find an apt. an hour from the resort, it's 90 minutes away. And the resorts are hiring without housing so they show up and leave after a few weeks. Anything near the hill is $5-7k a month.
A friend ran for Park City Mayor in the last cycle and this was his number one item. As always, a long time local won the race who's only interest is in vanity projects like a film center.
Not to mention the transportation troubles at the resorts like PC, bumper to bumper on the road with a 10% ridership on buses.
Sad to see.
Lesley Bracker
_________________________________
I truly enjoy reading your newsletter every week.Thank you for expressing a valid point about how the workplace dynamic has changed within the last two years and how people are opting to stay home.It is true that many will not return to work and that companies across various fields are understaffed. I have several friends that are business owners and have complained that they simply cannot find employees that are "hungry" these days and are willing to put in the same amount of effort and hard work into their job. For many of these employers, it seems to be a common problem within the last two years. A lot of the younger kids in their 20's just want to stay home because they want to focus all of their energy on becoming "influencers" on their social media instead of going after starter jobs and growing at a company. I have personally been told this by a handful of them.They quickly learned that if they stick it, they have the potential to make money from ads on their Tik Tok and on their Youtube channels, etc. As a musician, I have nothing against either platform. I think that they are wonderful promotional tools and can be used to reach audiences. However, it seems that as an artist, it is simply just not enough to create great music with integrity and work hard as a live performer. Now, we need to evolve into Tik Tok experts or go through the sausage factory of singing competition shows in order to compete with the market and build a fan base. I often ask myself if Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, or Bob Dylan would have done American Idol or The Voice. In my humble opinion, artists are supposed to be system busters and disturb the peace rather than cooperate and comply with the streamlined process of being a vocal technician on a TV Show. Is rebellion not the entire essence of what Rock and Roll is and the very fabric that makes an artist? I understand that we must evolve, and use these platforms to our advantage, but true grit and artistry maybe the casualties that we may lose along the way… Just thinking out loud.
Best,
Ana Cristina Cash
_________________________________
Great email, Bob. Here's an article that parallels all of this:
"Western 'Zoom Towns' Take Aim at Short-Term Rentals"
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/12/23/western-zoom-towns-take-aim-at-short-term-rentals
Micah Hulscher
_________________________________
A lot of us locals saw the Stevens Pass mess coming.
Despite being an outdoorsy hub for the country, Washington State only has a handful of developed ski areas within 3 hours of a major city. And none of them have the real estate holdings/ski town/resort development that you'd find in Tahoe / Colorado / Sun Valley / WY or MT. They are all bare bones, day resorts with no room for expansion. Some have an RV lot. That's about it. Most don't even have enough parking spaces for full capacity.
It's clear that Vail's acquisition of Stevens was just a quick way to sell Epic passes to thousands of affluent Seattle outdoor enthusiasts. There were no other local resorts they could acquire... it was the no-brainer option to tap into our market. It worked, in spades. They sold a ton of passes to people who never would have acquired "a season pass" before. The problem is there's just not a lot a corporation like Vail can do to improve or develop anything to return their investment. All they can do is cut costs (which they're clearly doing) and encourage passholders to try their other resorts. First canary in the coal mine was the Stevens mountain bike park: Took years to develop, had lots of local goodwill (the only lift served bike park in the entire state), and they never even bothered to open it during the summer. That's a small segment of the outdoors market, but now we're seeing the full effect.
The other problem seldom mentioned when it comes to these mega passes: Ski bums used to take a shitty, near-minimum wage job to get free ski passes and cheap pro-form (at cost) gear. 20 years ago, a good pass at a ski resort cost a $1000+ / year, easily. Day passes were under $50. A season pass never paid off unless you skied 30+ days and/or worked for the resort. Now that day tickets are ridiculously pricey ($200+ at some resorts per day) and Epic passes are a paltry $600-ish and payable via installment plans over the summer, the math is totally off. Why make that winter commute to work at a Vail resort, get paid peanuts and be treated like crap when you can deliver a few weeks for Amazon or Uber Eats in the summer from the comfort of your own car and swing a pass? No loading chairs in the freezing cold or cleaning shitty bathroom stalls in some resort basement to earn your pass while getting minimum wage. It's no wonder they can't find anyone willing to work. They need to pay competitive rates and treat employees well, and they haven't been. The non-Epic and mom & pop ski areas in WA (which do all pay better, have a good reputation, and offer easier commutes for the locals) are nearly 100% operational, even with COVID.
It's clear we probably won't get any new ski resorts built in our country, esp. with climate change making it the shiitiest of long-term investments. I just hope they can figure out this mess - or sell Stevens off quickly - so Seattle-ites can enjoy it for the next 10-20 years (or however long there will be low-elevation snow in N. America) the way it used to be.
All of this is a mere microcosm to bigger issues plaguing our country, but I'm a Seattle skier not an economist, so this hits close to home.
Jason
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Jason Verlinde
The Fretboard Journal / The Truth About Vintage Amps podcast
_________________________________
Great piece! The country needs some Organizers.
All the best in 2022!
Craig Fuller
_________________________________
Do you know about the Rivian EDV that Bezos has invested so heavily in? He ordered 100,000. 10k/year for a decade. They are autonomous-ready.
Everyone at Amazon is merely a training paradigm for automation. The drivers are teaching the robots how to do their routes. In 20 years there will be no humans at Amazon.
Ever been to an Amazon facility? They are gigantic. Right now in Portland, two stages of a three-stage build are complete.
We really need to create a publicly owned union that controls all the robots and redistributes the money they make to the humans they displace. This is the only way to prevent violent anarchy in the near-future.
This is why I keep saying that America needs to convert itself into a Technocratic Social Democracy. I truly believe this eventual outcome is a certainty. Technology is going to erase capitalism.
I'm all for it. We are in a race against time. We need this cultural paradigm shift before the failed economic systems of old cause another violent civil war. We need to embrace MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) as a stepping stone to robot slavery. The huge question is who are the ethicists in control of the robot programming?
Kieron McKindle
_________________________________
It's 'minimum wage' not 'mandated wage'. Employers can pay as much as they want, they just can't pay less than the minimum. If they want to hire people, if they want a viable business, they may have to pay people more. Or they can buy some robots - that's actually not science fiction anymore.
Kind regards,
Rob Whittaker
_________________________________
Recent Washington Post Headline:
"One in three Americans surveyed believes violence against the government can be justified." Is this the logical next step? If so, God help us all.
Dr. Jack M. Casey
Affiliated Faculty
Communications Studies
Emerson College
Boston, Massachusetts
_________________________________
This email you sent touches a nerve… Out riding the lifts at Park City the subject of why so little is open came up from tourists multiple times today. As a Park City native I witnessed the switch from growing up in a ski town, to living in a ski town after the whole Vail takeover of PCMR and the subsequent diminishing value it has brought with it.
Before Vail: PMCR Lift operators were better trained and knew how to still operate fixed lift chairs for skiers/boarders so they could run full speed. PCMR was not afraid to tell beginning skiers where they needed to go. Meaning to avoid certain lifts before they had enough experience to ride lifts that served harder terrain. PCMR would open when there was enough snow - even if it were prior to Thanksgiving. PCMR would stay open as long as there was enough snow - even if it were post Easter.
PCMR brought in people on special visas to work the ski season by the droves - when housing was affordable for the season.
Things worked. Fun was had. Skiing/boarding was great.
After Vail: The first thing that happened was Vail attempted to trademark the name Park City. The people & businesses of the city fought back and Vail dropped that effort.
PCMR/Vail opens at thanksgiving (though this year there was no snow and it was too warm to make any). PCMR/Vail closes at Easter. While they've stated they'll stay open an extra week this year, that remains to be seen.
PCMR/Vail lifties are not as well trained anymore. It's painfully obvious in how they tend to run the fixed lift chairs. Rarely clearing them of snow and/or holding them as skiers sit down. They never, NEVER explain to an inexperienced rider that they should go learn at First Time (a beginners lift in Park City). Often they can be seen in the lift cabin staring at their cell phone, not paying attention to lift operations.
The resort still brings in people on visas to work resort jobs, but housing is in real short supply now and super pricey so they don't seem to get the same influx they used to.
As a reference to what you wrote: some developer bought the house next to mine that had been there for 70 years then tore it down. Couldn't get an easement he wanted and sold it to another developer who had zero history of the area. The city allowed him to split it into two half sized lots and is erecting two cheap, cut corners, multi-million dollar homes (my sister is an award winning architect who saw some of the construction and mentioned it would get red tagged in CA and have to be redone. However, Park City's building department is looking the other way and allowing it to happen - I want to feel bad for the people who buy these expensive junk homes, but I won't). There is no way these things will get rented to resort workers and chances are they will sit empty for most of the year like many of the other homes around me in Park City. Yet somehow we're still crowded.
PCMR/Vail has roughly half the mountain open and was charging $230/day for a pass this past week and a half. Normal price is roughly $170/day for the full mountain. So Vail is gouging their customers. In a way I can understand why people that pay this much want to parade around town and the mountain acting like kings and queens.
PCMR/Vail recently started "requiring" masks on gondolas. However, much like last year, the reality is very different. There are signs saying as such, though the lifties don't care to enforce it and Vail won't pull someone's pass for fear of losing a customer. So people get in the gondolas, sans mask and proudly announce they're unvaccinated. It's insanity. Then they have the gall to ask where the locals, like myself (wearing an N95 to protect me from them), prefer to ski on the mountain. My answer is usually to point them somewhere I won't be on the mountain.
The crowds at PCMR/Vail were horrendous with a less than half open mountain in the last month. Lift line times that rivaled the old era prior to high-speed chairs (30+ minutes). But now with high-speed chairs and a half open mountain, now it's 30 minute lines and all those people that high-speed chairs can put on the runs as well. Like fish in a barrel type situation on the mountain with people who aren't looking where they're going.
At PCMR/Vail very few people adhere to, or possibly even know, the skiers/boarders code. Which means people stop anywhere they please on a run to grab a selfie or wait for a friend. Yet if you get to close to someone in an attempt to avoid hitting them when they do something stupid, they get real pissy. Is it any wonder why so many of these people need helmets to ride now?
It's extremely sad to see the downward spiral of the town and the resort in real time since 2015. It went from being reasonably affordable to outright laughable. Part of the problem is the AirBnB garbage. The town council would like to curb it, however, the state has hamstrung cities from being able to do anything. Plus it now includes phony shell corps spending millions on little ski shacks and renting them out privately for stupid sums of money.
The real charm of what brought people here, has left in the last 7 years. No more affordable spots to live for seasonal workers. Insane traffic on streets not designed to handle it. And general diminishing quality of life that, as you mentioned, isn't the same any more.
I wonder how long Vail can continue to promote the charade of PCMR and winter sports in general. Especially if they refuse to pay people appropriately to work and stay focused. Currently the only thing Vail corp is getting right - the price of the Epic Pass.
Jody Whitesides
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I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There. | by indi.ca | GEN
https://gen.medium.com/i-lived-through-collapse-america-is-already-there-ba1e4b54c5fc
moi-meme
(Please click through and read the story at the above link. It posits that democracy has already ended in the U.S., we're waiting for a catclysmic event, but it probably won't come. The writer talks about being in Sri Lanka during its civil war. He points out that life goes on, you may not feel it, but the institutions are being gutted while you're partying.)
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