Grocery Store Closures, Unemployment, and Evictions Are Signs of an Impending Economic Crash
November 27, 2020 in News, Video by RBN Staff
Source: Need To Know | Jeremiah Babe and the Center Square
Youtube personality Jeremiah Babe, a Palm Springs real estate agent, warns people to prepare storing food and water. Some grocery stores in south east New Mexico were shuttered by the state after workers tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. This has resulted in people waiting for hours in lines to get food. He said 16.5-million people will no longer receive CARES Act benefits and he warned of an increase in homelessness. He said there will be a rental apocalypse, 52% of young Americans are living with their parents, student loan debt is more than $1-trillion, Americans hold $1-trillion in credit-card debt, four-million homes are in delayed foreclosure, 11-million people are in rental moratorium that could lead to eviction, 45-million people are unemployed, and an enormous housing crash will occur when the bubble bursts. -GEG
A dozen grocery stores around the state have been forced to close for two weeks because of a public health order issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham at a time when the state’s residents are suffering from record high unemployment and food insecurity, critics say.
The order requires businesses with four or more rapid responses of COVID-19 cases reported within in a 14-day period to close for two weeks.
More than 25 essential businesses were shut down as of Monday afternoon, including a number of grocery stores and major retailers.
The closures include two Walmarts in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe, an Albertson’s in Roswell, a Smiths Food & Drug Center in Albuquerque and New Mexico Food Distribution Center in Albuquerque.
The state’s environment department has published a complete list of businesses that have been closed due to employees testing positive for COVID-19, as well as a watch list, and FAQ about the watch list.
Access to purchase food is now limited because of another order issued by the governor requiring capacity limitations at all stores. New Mexicans are now waiting outside, standing in line for up to two hours, local news reports indicate, which the governor’s office has disputed.
The governor’s office said, “The state is not forcing anyone to stand in a crowded line, as you suggest,” in response to requests for comment from KOB4 News TV.
But John Block at PInon Post says the governor’s office claims are “untrue and easily disprovable.” He posted photos of New Mexicans waiting in long lines outside of grocery stores with dates and time stamps. The photos were taken between Nov. 13 and Nov. 23.
“Upon the news that limits of 75 people inside each store, retailers pre-emptively began limiting capacities to begin compliance with the mandate,” Block said.
The governor’s office issued a statement to KOB4 News TV, saying, “There is no community in the state of New Mexico where COVID-19 closures have closed off all food and water or medicine options for any community or group of people. Every single community where the virus is forcing closures has alternate stores, alternate resources. Moreover, stores are only ordered closed for the protection of public safety when the store’s staff members have an abundance of COVID-19 infections among them – surely you and everyone in New Mexico can agree that not one of us would like to be shopping among staff that are contagious.”
But Larry Behrens, Western States Director for Power The Future, disagrees. He told The Center Square, “Our state currently suffers from high unemployment brought on by the same governor who passed a controversial energy law that will kill jobs and raise electric rates. The fact she will keep cashing her taxpayer-funded paycheck while her constituents stand in line for food should surprise no one.”