Stellantis is a multinational automaker contracted for the electric version of the Jeep Cherokee.  Citing high costs to produce electric vehicles, on Friday Stellantis announced a decision to idle the Belvedere, Illinois plant starting on Feb. 28, 2023, and notified 1,350 workers of the layoffs.

(Via Fox) […] “This difficult but necessary action will result in indefinite layoffs, which are expected to exceed six months and may constitute a job loss under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. As a result, WARN notices have been issued to both hourly and salaried employees,” it said. “The company will make every effort to place indefinitely laid off employees in open full-time positions as they become available.”

Today The Daily Mail is reporting that production of the electric Jeep will take place in Mexico.

Hundreds of workers are expected to be laid off when automaker Stellantis closes an assembly plant in northern Illinois early next year, citing the challenge of rising costs of electric vehicle production.

The company, which employs about 1,350 workers at the plant in Belvidere, Illinois, said the action will result in indefinite layoffs and it may not resume operations as it considers other options. 

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For his weekly monologue today, U.K pundit Neil Oliver looks at the climate change agenda, energy policy, and the constructs of how the new green agenda manifest to create new ways for people to die.

We aren’t allowed the energy available from a century of gas beneath our feet here in Britain – because it’s not Green. But we’re paying top dollar for nine billion cubic litres – twice as much as last year’s order – of gas fracked out of the ground in the US. WATCH:

[Transcript] -Winter arrived last week – and with it a dose of reality. All that talk about wrapping up warm in the house, putting on an extra jumper, hot water bottles, full-size onesies – it’s dangerous nonsense. It might be fine for a while if you’re a healthy adult – but it’s a tragedy in slow motion for babies, young children, the elderly, the sick.

And it’s only the second week in December. It’s a long time until Spring.

Even if layering up and donning a hat were enough to keep a body going, once cold properly gets a grip of a house, it too starts to die in its own way.

The creep of dampness that takes its own toll on house and health alike. Frozen pipes – followed by burst pipes – and not enough plumbers to go round. People who can’t afford to heat their homes are likely struggling with spiking food bills as well.

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Apparently, Dept of Energy Nuclear Waste official Sam Brinton is facing grand larceny charges from Las Vegas in connection to another luggage theft incident.

Following a previous case in Missouri, it appears non-binary Ms/Mr. Brinton is a serial thief of women’s garments from airports.

(New York Post) – The rainbow atomic symbol T-shirt should have been a clue.

Sam Brinton, the allegedly sticky-fingered Biden administration nuclear official, was captured on security footage making off with a woman’s bag worth more than $3,670 from a Las Vegas airport on July 6, KLAS News reported.

A surveillance snap from Harry Reid International Airport shows a stern-faced Brinton wearing the white T-shirt with the colorful symbol, a black backpack, and black jeans, rolling the suitcase in question through the airport.

The distinctive tee — which Brinton sported in a selfie posted to Instagram that same day — led the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to issue a warrant for Brinton’s arrest on grand larceny charges, according to a detective’s declaration.

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It is always worth a reminder when reviewing anything from Blackrock, that the institutional investment firm has strong ties to almost every sphere of White House policy.

Today Blackrock is warning of severe economic conditions looming, the unspoken origin traces to the collective western economic shift in energy policy, aka “Build Back Better.”

As noted in the Blackrock warning, under the auspices of inflation control, central banks can try and shrink economic activity – but they are limited.  Organically, economies will free fall once the full weight of BBB energy policy accumulates.

(Business Insider) – […] A worldwide recession is just around the corner as central banks boost borrowing costs aggressively to tame inflation — and this time, it will ignite more market turbulence than ever before, according to BlackRock.

The global economy has already exited a four-decade era of stable growth and inflation to enter a period of heightened instability — and the new regime of increased unpredictability is here to stay, according to the world’s biggest asset manager.

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Carbon trading is the economic platform to generate government income.  That income then drives the carbon control financial mechanisms that will be deployed to the people.  At the end of the financial lane, we arrive at a world with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).  The digital money provides instant control over spending and carbon resource allocation.

For many years the carbon allowances for individuals were esoteric goals as presented by those who assemble at various global COP meetings, Davos and the World Economic Forum.  However, with rapid advances in the energy control process, a result of the pandemic and Build Back Better exit, the control officers are now quantifying the specifics for the individual citizen. [pdf Here]

In short, we are now getting down to the brass tacks.  Your resource allocation is part of the “consumption intervention” consideration, where the amount of carbon emission your consumption drives is what determines the goal for your future allocation.

[From the Abstract] – There is a growing consensus, based on compelling evidence, that the world is facing a climate crisis and rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a necessity. Historically, decision-makers and academics have discussed a range of options that can reduce our carbon footprint over the long-term. However, recent evidence demonstrates that choosing between one option and another is no longer compatible with rapid and significant emission reductions.

Increasingly, all options are required, and this involves multiple actors exploring how they can respond to the current climate crisis; including national government, cities, business and civil society. (read more)

As you can see above, the goal is to remove meat and dairy products completely.

In the next chart, you can see your allocation for “net clothing and textiles“:

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A slight drop in the overall national pretending index is noted today; actually, more like a twitch toward the reality side of the meter.

CTH has been outlining the supply side inflation issue in the highly consumable goods sector, specifically the foods sector, for almost two years now.  Mainstream and financial pundits have denied its existence.

According to the Friedman view of traditional economics, only monetary policy drives inflation.  However, Friedman never lived in -nor fathomed- an era when the collective western governments would intentionally shrink the economy in order to save the planet via climate change.

The intentional diminishment of energy production is the #1 source of increasing consumer prices.  Inflation is not an issue of high demand for the subsequent goods produced.  Raising interest rates diminishes demand for durable goods but has zero impact on the increasingly higher prices of intentionally scare resources like oil, coal and natural gas.

While maintaining the pretending due to the alignment with multinational and corporate interests, the Wall Street Journal starts admitting today that prices are not likely to drop, regardless of commodity prices.  Even with abundant harvests, strong grain & soybean production, abundant pork and beef commodities, the costs associated with the production of food products will stop any downward price pressure.

(WSJ) Global prices for commodities such as wheat and sugar have fallen back to where they were a year ago, but consumers are still likely to feel the pinch at the checkout.

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There’s a disconnect in the Main Street data that is perplexing from the standpoint of traditional economic and labor analysis.

There have been significant layoffs in the labor market as the result of diminished consumer spending activity. However, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) is reporting a hotter than expected 263,000 new jobs in November [DATA HERE].

There were declines in jobs within the retail sector [-30,000 in Nov, -62,000 since August] and declines in warehousing and transportation [-15, 000 in November, -30,000 since July], which would indicate the outcome of lowered consumer spending on goods, or at least a change in consumer spending priorities.

Simultaneously, there were significant increases in jobs for leisure and hospitality [+88,000 in Nov], with the majority of those gains in food service and drinking.  However, that sector is still lower than the pre-pandemic by -980,000 jobs.  Also note people are not attending events with high ticket costs, the performing arts and spectator sports segment dropped 7,000 jobs [Table B-1]

Overall, if you were to look at the macro level jobs report, anything attached to the traditional spending of durable goods (retail stores) is declining.  However, the jobs related to the service or life experience are growing.  Oddly, and perhaps creepily, this dynamic falls in line with the ‘you will own nothing and be happy‘ cliche’ that has been oft spoken about the new post pandemic ‘Build Back Better‘ economy as espoused by the World Economic Forum.

Job gains in the infrastructure of life such as, building and construction, as well as the labor sector associated with skilled domestic service trades like plumbing, electricians, maintenance, etc are continuing to hold stable.  The major shift in the labor market surrounds the buying of durable goods which has disappeared along with the disappearance of discretionary income.   Which brings us to the wage portion of the BLS report.

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West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore lead the way earlier this year in removing Wall Street financial firms from holding state funds due to ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ or ‘ESG’ climate change ideology driving investment decisions.

West Virginia had been the tip of the spear since early 2021 {link} removing Blackrock in January of 2022, and even removed banking contracts from multiple investment firms during the battle and asked other states to join in the effort {link}.

Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced the DeSantis administration would be following the lead from West Virginia.

[FLORIDA] – […] State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced Thursday that Florida will immediately freeze about $1.43 billion in long-term securities and about $600 million in short-term overnight investments managed by BlackRock because of the firm’s use of “Environmental, Social, and Governance” standards — known as ESG.

Patronis in a prepared statement said he doesn’t “trust BlackRock’s ability to deliver” and “BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is on a campaign to change the world.”

“Whether stakeholder capitalism, or ESG standards, are being pushed by BlackRock for ideological reasons, or to develop social credit ratings, the effect is to avoid dealing with the messiness of democracy,” Patronis said.

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Hire weird and sketchy clowns and don’t be surprised when the office turns into a circus.  Dept of Energy Nuclear Waste official Sam Brinton made headlines months ago for being an odd duck hired into a senior DoE position.

His resume’ included teaching a “Kink 101” workshop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and his qualifications included several degrees from MIT and a non-binary gender fluid identity.  However, stories are now surfacing of Mr/Ms Brinton stealing luggage containing women’s clothing from the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) International Airport.

(New York Post) – […] Brinton — who serves as the DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition — allegedly took a Vera Bradley suitcase worth $2,325 from the luggage carousel at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport (MSP) on Sept. 16, according to a criminal complaint filed on Oct. 26 in Minnesota state court and obtained by Fox News Digital. Brinton had traveled from Washington, DC, to MSP that day.

After the suitcase’s owner alerted police, officers reviewed video surveillance of the carousel and identified Brinton taking the luggage before removing its tag identifying the owner, the court filings stated. Law enforcement observed Brinton using the luggage during at least two other trips to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9. (read more)

A good accounting of the entire sequence of events is also AVAILABLE HERE.

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In the 2024 GOPe roadmap for 2024, analytically and strategically South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem would be anticipated as the second-to-last entrant, followed by a carefully introduced Governor Ron DeSantis.

The most likely establishment framework would be for the prior entrants, Nikki Haley, Liz Cheney, Tim Scott and the two Mikes  Pence/Pompeo to do the maximum negative attack damage against President Trump prior to the dynamic duo arrival.  Flow through the ’24 primaries and Trump, DeSantis and Noem would be the last three standing before the wunderkinds team up after Nevada for the final assault.  Standing where we are today, something like that seems most likely. It tracks.

With that in mind, and reminding ourselves that Noem has already pre-seeded with the customary and proverbial book launch, it is worthwhile paying close attention to how Team Koch and Kristi Noem organize their staging.  In this interview, which reflects her very good and pragmatic position as a sponge for base voters, Mrs. Noem outlines her current views on the state of all things political, and, similar to Team DeSantis, stays high-road and reserves her jabs for Biden.

However, perhaps the most interesting aspect to the pragmatic position is Noem’s willingness to politely distance herself from the RNC mainstream by saying it’s time for new leadership at the chair.  At 06:35 of the interview segment below, Noem does a good job of strategically and diplomatically calling for Ronna McDaniel to be replaced. WATCH:

Sharp, very sharp.  Governor Noem is formidable, dare I say strategic, and Wall Street stealthy in her pragmatism.  She knows where the third rail of anti-MAGA is located and has a solid skillset around how to avoid it. When she enters, she will scoop up Haley’s fractured team – hence a later entry should be predicted.

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