Housing Crisis...Or Millennials Don't Want to be Homeowners?, US & EU vs. China (in Space), Teen Arsonists Leave 13,000 Homeless in Greece (The Five for 06/18/21)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
One quick note before we dive in…FundFly, a startup I’m a part of to help solve the student loans crisis (covered in #1) is running a contest to give away $599 towards your student debt. Sign up to win here, and maybe you’ll get to skip a payment or two because FundFly paid it for you.
We’ll email you when our crowdsourcing platform launches, a few other updates, and will never sell or give away your information.
[one]
In the middle of the current housing crisis, are Millennials not buying houses because:
A). the houses are too expensive?
B). They don’t want to?
or
C). Too much student loan debt?
Three stories, three perspectives.
From Fox News:
The New York City risk and investment management titan BlackRock is among several high-powered firms pushing working families out of the housing market and into rentals, therefore depriving them of capital and the opportunity to build credit and equity.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, BlackRock – led by billionaire Laurence Fink – is purchasing entire neighborhoods and converting single-family homes into rentals; while in cities like Houston, investors like Fink account for one-quarter of the home purchasers.
On "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Chronicles journalist and associate editor Pedro Gonzalez said that BlackRock's actions are leading 40% of American renters to believe they will never be able to purchase a home.
B). “Permanent Renters By Choice”
The Wall Street Journal reports on this new trend:
That is one reason traditional home builders are increasingly entering the built-to-rent market; strong demand for the product from multiple demographic groups is another. Lennar Corp. , one of the nation’s largest home builders, announced in March the formation of Upward America Venture, initially capitalized with an equity commitment of $1.25 billion by Centerbridge Partners, along with Allianz Real Estate and other institutional investors. The venture will acquire single-family homes for rent in high-growth markets in the U.S. and is positioned to acquire over $4 billion of new single-family homes and townhomes from Lennar and other home builders.
C. Or…Millennials are just too broke to buy.
Now, as older millennials start families of their own, they are suffering through the aftermath. Not only are many still paying off their student debt, but they are also planning for their retirement as well as their children's education.
It's forcing them to make difficult decisions about their financial priorities: Due to student loan payments, for instance, 23% of older millennials have limited their retirement contributions, according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults ages 33 to 40. The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CNBC Make It, also found that 27% delayed buying a home and 24% cut back on building an emergency savings.
One of the oddest things about the home ownership crisis is who’s defending BlackRock. Far left site Vox has come out in defense of Wall Street on this one, possibly to take the contrarian view to JD Vance, of Hillbilly Elegy fame.
[two]
The U.S. and E.U. have announced a plan to counter China’s aggression, around the world (and even in space).
The Daily Wire reports:
The United States and the European Union are planning to create a joint technology and trade initiative in order to counter the rise of China’s influence on the global stage.
In the face of China’s massive investment in fields such as artificial intelligence, the Technology and Trade Council will “devise new standards for emerging technology, promote democratic values online and help the U.S. and EU collaborate on cutting-edge research.”
According to CNBC, the Council will have three “overarching” goals: “establish new global trade standards for emerging technology, promote democratic values online and find ways for the United States and the EU to collaborate on cutting-edge research and development.” Other “specific goals” of the council include coordinating “standards on new technology like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology,” making “supply chains more resilient and less dependent on China,” the pursuit of “reforms at the World Trade Organization,” and coordinating the “regulation of tech platforms.”
[three]
Amazon’s new grocery store in Bellvue, WA
2020 Primary Presidential Candidate (and current NYC Mayoral…frontrunner?) Andrew Yang ran on the platform that America needed to prepare for mass job loss due to the next wave of AI/Automation. He was largely ignored (in part because the DNC turned his mic off), but the world Yang spoke about is getting here quite quickly.
CNET reports on Amazon’s new “cashierless” grocery store in suburban Seattle:
Amazon is opening its first full-size grocery store with its cashierless checkout tech in Washington state, the retail giant announced Tuesday. The new Amazon Fresh store will feature its "Just Walk Out" technology, which means you don't have to go through a checkout register to pay for your items.
The store will open June 17 at the marketplace at Factoria Square Mall in Bellevue, Washington. It'll also have Amazon package pickup and returns, Alexa kiosks and the Amazon One payment system, as well as traditional checkout registers if you want to pay for your groceries in the usual way.
Upon entering an Amazon Fresh store -- there are already over a dozen around the US -- you can scan a QR code displayed on your phone screen with your Amazon account details. The store will track what you pick up from the shelves, then let you walk right out the door and bill your account once you've left.The new store will also allow for customers to use Amazon One to scan their palm or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account to enter the store.
Note: I don’t often insert this much commentary…but do not trust Amazon with your palm print. The company has a terrible track record with their disregard for customer privacy.
[four]
More than 13,000 were left homeless after four Afghan teens in Greece burned down the refugee camp they were living in last year. This week, all four teens received a 10 year prison sentence.
The Afghans were convicted of arson, endangering human life and destruction of property nine months after blazes gutted the camp, then Europe’s biggest holding centre and infamous for living conditions described as squalid and inhumane.
The four, among more than 13,000 asylum seekers in Moria at the time, are expected to return to Avlona, a prison for young offenders, outside Athens where they were detained pending trial.
In an earlier hearing in March, two other Afghan youths were sentenced to five-year jail terms.
The fires did not cause casualties but for days afterwards thousands of men, women and children were forced to live rough in Lesbos until the construction of an emergency temporary settlement close to Mytilene, the island’s port capital.
Authorities believe the blazes were intentionally ignited by camp occupants after lockdown measures were imposed following the discovery of Covid-19 cases in the facilities.
Critics of the sentences claim 10 years is too much for minors.
Dude…they made THIRTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE HOMELESS.
Show me a country where that crime would result in less than 10 years?
[five]
California, the first state to lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19, is officially re-opened as of today.
California lifted most of its Covid-19 restrictions Tuesday as part of a grand reopening in which the state will end capacity limits, physical distancing and -- at least for those vaccinated -- mask requirements.
The new health order went into effect Tuesday and allows vaccinated people to go without a face covering in most situations, putting the state in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Masks are still required on public transportation, in hospitals and jails, as well as at schools, child care centers and K-12, pending updated guidance from the CDC.
California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board initially said masks would still be required unless everyone in the same room had been vaccinated. However, last week, the board reversed itself and said fully vaccinated workers do not need to wear masks or physically distance, regardless of others' vaccination status.
[epilogue]
Johnny Cash stands at the feet of his kill with “The Moose Whisperer” Herman Whalen.
In October, 1961 Johnny Cash’s country music career was in decline. Years after his first hit “I Walk the Line,” the singer was strung out of pills and facing a declining reputation after a series of concerts ruined by lingering laryngitis and going years without a bonafide hit.
He retreated to Newfoundland, Canada to clear his head and regroup while on a Moose hunt arranged by Canadian concert promoter Jonathon Holiff. A true Arkansas native, Cash downed a 500 lb Moose in a single shot, which yielded 300 lbs of meat. During the trip, Cash and Holiff sat down and sketched out a comeback plan to return the dwindling country star to “Carnegie Hall within one year.”
A year later, Johnny played Carnegie Hall on May 10, 1962. Holiff continued to manage Cash through some his most important albums, including Bitter Tears (Ballads of the American Indian), Orange Blossom Special and the legendary At Folsom Prison.
The other fascinating part of this story is that Cash gifted the hunting knife (on his belt in the photo above) to guide Herman Whalen (also pictured). Whalen used the blade every Moose season for decades, before handing it down. To this day, the knife of Johnny Cash is still used every Moose season in Newfoundland, Canada by the eldest Whalen son.
Until the next one,
-sth