For those in the serious precision shooting world. A solid aftermarket chassis is a must. Many manufacturers’ standard stock is well-made, but they rarely offer the adjustment capabilities of a precision chassis. The chassis world has exploded with high-tech options that allow shooters to customize their shooting experience. Unfortunately, many of these look very technical and skeletonized. Much to my great pleasure, though, the firearms world is once again embracing wood for its gun furniture. This has even happened in the precision world. One of the best examples of that is the Furiosa Ultra from Woox.

Furiosa Ultra – Precision Shooting in Style

The Furiosa Ultra is the answer to requests from PRS shooters wanting the ultimate classical wood stock and chassis system from WOOX. A full 3″ longer than the flagship Furiosa, Furiosa Ultra widens the barrel channel to accommodate barrels up to 1.20″ in diameter, adds a full-length Arca rail, and incorporates the WOOX Suspense weight system.

 Integrated into the fore end of the Furiosa Ultra, the suspension system allows for up to six 2.5-ounce weights to be arranged to achieve proper balance. Two weights are included (additional weights sold separately). The vented fore end features port and starboard M-LOK panels to maximize accessorizing capability.

Remodeled for Competition

 The striking shoulder stock of the Furiosa has been remodeled in the Furiosa Ultra for competition with a vertical grip and matching bag rider. Thumb rests are molded into the chassis, milled from aircraft-grade aluminum. Micro-adjustable cheek riser and LOP, microcell 2-way adjustable butt pad, and a 3.5″ bag rider create a custom fit and stable platform delivering exceptional accuracy.

Furiosa Ultra

The Woox Furiosa Ultra is a perfect example of how precision need not be relegated to sterile features. The stock is more than functional; it’s also great-looking. If you are ready to move into a chassis but want to do so in style, consider the Woox Furiosa Ultra.

For more information, visit Woox.

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Flux Defense has announced the launch of the Antimatter Scopeswitch 2.0, the latest evolution in scope control technology. Designed for armed professionals, hunters, and competitive shooters alike, the Scopeswitch 2.0 offers a seamless way to control magnification while maintaining full engagement with your target.

https://youtu.be/QXiZHS8HPUM?si=6ALb9shG6X34rbNi

Scopeswitch 2.0- Adding Speed to Your Optic

“Every product here at Flux Defense has a pure focus: making it faster, lighter, and stronger. Most users rarely utilize the full range of zoom capabilities on their LPVOs. They set their scope to the needed power, use a red dot for close targets, and adjust magnification for longer ranges. The Scopeswitch 2.0 allows you to achieve a faster, more positive ID of your target and greatly enhances situational awareness. It lets you smoothly and quickly zoom in and out without breaking your grip or losing your focus.”— Arrius Sorbonne, Co-owner of Flux Defense.

The Scopeswitch 2.0 has several solid features, such as an innovative handguard. This allows users to adjust magnification without taking their eye off the target. This is ideal for high-pressure scenarios, rapid target transitions, and dynamic hunting environments. It is also constructed from rugged 7075 T6 aircraft-grade aluminum and 4140 nitrided steel lugs, ensuring maximum strength with minimal weight.

Optimized Height

The height has been optimized. The 1.93-inch optical centerline supports upright shooting postures, plate carrier compatibility, and passive aiming with night vision devices.

The Scopeswitch 2.0 is compatible with rifles as short as 10.5 inches, though longer barrels are recommended for optimal velocity with 5.56 rounds. The device is perfect for a wide range of tactical and sporting applications. It is also designed to work with scopes featuring low-resistance zoom rings. Users are advised to test their optics for smooth operation before purchase.

Scopeswitch 2.0

The 2.0 version has some significant differences from the original model. They moved to a larger shop and have since streamlined production. Scopeswitch 2.0 price is $349.99. They also beefed up the cable clamp bolts to handle accidental over-torquing during installation. Scopeswitch now includes their new Ergo-C-clamp slider with topo texture. Also ships with the deeper original slider. Flux Defense also offers accessories, including an optional pic rail riser that gives you back valuable top “rail estate” for clip-on thermal and NVG devices, as well as a backup throw lever.

For more information, visit Flux Defense.

WHY OUR ARTICLES/REVIEWS DO NOT HAVE AFFILIATE LINKS

Affiliate links create a financial incentive for writers to promote certain products, which can lead to biased recommendations. This blurs the line between genuine advice and marketing, reducing trust in the content.

The post Flux Defense Antimatter Scopeswitch 2.0 appeared first on Athlon Outdoors Exclusive Firearm Updates, Reviews & News.

This article was originally published by Ryan McMacken at The Mises Institute. 

Unless members of Congress intervene to prevent it, the food stamp program—also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—will be suspended beginning November 1. If the federal partial “shutdown” ends before then, the program will likely send out the usual billions of dollars to the nation’s 41 million recipients on schedule.

Needless to say, lobbyists and activists who favor the food stamp program have been working furiously to make sure that the program is not interrupted.

Much of the narrative around food stamps has focused on the fact that millions of low-income households receive more than eight billion dollars in food stamps per month in the United States. The narrative usually works well given that total spending on food stamps has risen significantly in recent years with total inflation-adjusted spending up by nearly 100 percent since 2008, and up by six percent over the past twelve months.

[Read More: “41 Million (One in Eight) US Residents Are on Food Stamps“ by Ryan McMaken]

While the media narrative has focused on low-income recipients, it often ignores the role of corporate and industry lobbyists who work to increase food stamp spending and to ensure the program remains permanent. Farmers, “Big Ag,” grocery retailers, beverage companies, and other industry players are very active in lobbying members of Congress to ensure that food-stamp dollars keep flowing.

This should not surprise us when we consider that food stamps subsidize food and drive up demand for the sorts of products manufactured and sold by a variety of food-related industries.

Consequently, food stamp programs enjoy support from a well-funded alliance of industry lobbyists and “anti-poverty” pressure groups that ceaselessly push for ever larger amounts of tax-dollar funds to be spent on food stamps.

Food Stamps Are Subsidies and Push Up Food Prices 

To understand why private industry groups are such big fans of food stamps, it’s important to recognize how SNAP spending is a wealth transfer from non-SNAP recipients to both SNAP users and to industry groups.

SNAP funds can be used only for food. So, when taxpayer dollars are converted into SNAP funds, this takes dollars that could have been spent on anything and channels those funds into food-only purchases. Moreover, empirical evidence shows that SNAP recipients do not treat SNAP funds as fungible with money in general, and the funds are thus part of a “separate mental account.” Consequently, SNAP spending constitutes “extra” spending above and beyond what would have been spent on food without the subsidy.1

This leads to rising prices in the food and food-services industry because “nutrition programs expand the size of the food and agricultural sector through demand-side effects and act to raise agricultural prices.”2

Other empirical studies have also confirmed that SNAP spending does indeed raise prices and, therefore, constitutes a wealth transfer to SNAP recipients, food producers, and food retailers. Taxpayers and non-SNAP households, of course, are the ones left holding the bag. As Justin H. Leung and Hee Kwon Seo showed in a June 2022 empirical study of food stamps, the program does indeed benefit SNAP recipients the most, but “increased SNAP benefits also benefit producers at the expense of non-SNAP consumers.”

It is clear that by funneling wealth and spending power into a food-only benefits program, demand for food is artificially inflated, and with rising demand comes rising prices. This functions in a way similar to student loans, which have also led to relentless upward pressure in prices in that sector.

Food Stamps as Corporate Welfare

So, it’s easy to see why food-related industry groups would oppose any cuts to the SNAP program. The connection to private industry, however, is nothing new.

The food stamp program is now, and always has been, administered through the Department of Agriculture, and not through the usual home of welfare agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services. This is SNAP is as much a corporate subsidy program as it is a welfare program.

Programs similar to the modern food stamp program were founded during the Great Depression to induce low-income households to purchase “surplus commodities.” The early food stamp programs were justified on the grounds that they helped to stabilize prices by funneling additional dollars to farmers who might otherwise endure sizable decreases in prices for foodstuffs that had been “overproduced.”3 As with many programs that were developed during the New Deal, a goal of food stamps was to increase prices.

The program was discontinued after the Second World War, but the idea was reintroduced by the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. As with earlier iterations of the program, the new food stamp program—which continues today—was sold in part as a means of subsidizing farmers and other agricultural sectors. Moreover, the program was pushed as a component of the so-called war on poverty.

Ever since, the food stamp program has enjoyed support from special interests and pressure groups that advocate for more federal spending on both low-income households and food-related industries. In a 2019 article for The MIT Press Reader, Andrew Fisher writes:

Throughout the 1960s and until recent times, food stamps have enjoyed strong support from the agriculture industry. As retailers and processors displaced farmers in capturing an ever-greater share of the food dollar, their importance as stakeholders for the program grew. In the 2018 Farm Bill, banks, refrigeration equipment manufacturers and even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce join food retailers, beverage companies, and manufacturers as key stakeholders in the SNAP program. These players have evolved into much more important participants in the program than farm groups, as evidenced by the amount of money they spend on lobbying.

Fisher also notes that total lobbying activity by food-related industries exceeded $171 million in 2018:

Source: MIT Press.

Corporate lobbying to protect SNAP spending has been on display in recent years in reaction to efforts to exclude soft drinks and sugary snacks from SNAP programs. For example, in 2018, when the Trump administration tried to limit SNAP spending in this way, a coalition of private sector groups quickly opposed the measure. In an article for the journal Society, the authors describe how a coalition of the American Beverage Association (ABA), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), and the National Grocers Association (NGA) all launched a lobbying campaign against any restrictions on SNAP spending.

To this end, industry groups have long allied themselves with the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) which lobbies for more SNAP spending as an “anti-poverty” interest group. Industry groups such as the ABA have become substantial funders of FRAC, and this has helped industry lobbyists gain greater access to Democrats while FRAC has used its ties to corporate lobbyists as a means of influencing Republicans. The pro-SNAP approach is thus bipartisan:

When seeking to influence Congress on SNAP, the beverage industry works through Democrats as well as Republicans, particularly those representing minority districts…

The beverage industry first began appearing on FRAC’s list of funders in 2013, and at FRAC’s 2014 annual benefit dinner a number of industry donors were honored, including Coke, Pepsi, and the ABA. FRAC’s 2017 annual benefit dinner in Washington, D.C., with 300 guests, acknowledged contributions from PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company, the American Beverage Association, and FMI.4

Not surprisingly, recent FRAC materials opposing any restrictions on SNAP spending tend to emphasize the cost to retailers. For example, an October 1, 2025 policy paper from FRAC states how SNAP restrictions would negatively impact members of the “National Grocers Association (NGA), FMI — The Food Industry Association, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).”

Although much of the lobbying is couched in terms of helping poor people, the overall argument made by both FRAC and industry lobbyists is that food retailers should not have to go through the inconvenience of distinguishing between SNAP-compliant foods and non-SNAP-compliant foods.

FRAC and the food lobbyists don’t mention, of course, that merchants who participate in SNAP already have to do this. Grocery stores already carry a wide variety of products that are not SNAP-compliant, including prepared foods and non-food items such as flower arrangements and auto parts.

Clearly, the real purpose of the FRAC/Food Industry position is simply to maximize the number of goods that are eligible for SNAP and thus to increase spending on goods provided by food producers and retailers.

Small retailers—such as corner stores and bodegas—often whine the most about any limits on SNAP spending, stating that merchants cannot absorb the administrative costs of accepting SNAP dollars.

Rarely mentioned, of course, is that participation in SNAP is not mandatory. Small retailers—and indeed, large retailers too—could simply choose not to participate in SNAP programs and avoid all the hassle of excluding soft drinks and sugary snacks from real food. In truth, of course, these retailers want access to the artificially inflated spending levels that come with the food-stamp subsidy. This is why retailers to prominently advertise that they accept food stamps.

The motivations of the beverage industry are even more transparent. We already know that soft drinks are among the most popular purchases among SNAP recipients. Without the SNAP subsidy, spending on soft drinks would likely fall substantially, and with it, soft-drink prices.

Taxpayers then pay twice. They pay the taxes to subsidize food producers, and then the taxpayers also pay higher prices at the grocery store. Consequently, the SNAP program is a way for Pepsico and the Coca-Cola company—as well as countless other food-industry players—to legally rip off the American taxpayer.

I have been hearing from a lot of people about the month of November. Many are convinced that things are going to get really crazy next month, and I think that it is quite likely that they are correct. Of course things are already starting to get crazy all over the globe and we haven’t even gotten to the month of November yet. One of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history just made landfall, renewed fighting has erupted in the Middle East, the streets of Rio de Janeiro have been transformed into a war zone, and the bird flu is absolutely ripping across Germany. Unfortunately, what we are experiencing now may just be a prelude to what is coming next month.

On Monday, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.

The Daily Mail is referring to it as the “storm of the century”…

Hurricane Melissa made landfall across the Caribbean Monday afternoon as the terrifying storm is set to be the worst in history.

The Category 5 hurricane, which has been described as the ‘storm of the century’ that is now stronger than Katrina, is expected to unleash destruction across Jamaica with intense flooding and 185mph winds.

This storm suddenly became one of the strongest hurricanes that we have ever seen.

If a “Category 6” actually existed, it would have been classified as a Category 6 storm.

Personally, I think that it is time to update the scale.

If you can believe it, up to 40 inches of rain is expected to fall in some areas…

The National Hurricane Center is warning that up to 40 inches of rain could fall in southern Hispaniola and Jamaica through Wednesday.

That torrential rainfall is likely to trigger catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides in Jamaica and Haiti, especially in hilly and mountainous terrain, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In eastern Cuba, up to 25 inches of rain could fall through Wednesday, with potentially catastrophic flash flooding and landslides. And in the southeast Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, up to 10 inches of rain could fall through Wednesday night, with flash flooding expected.

In my entire lifetime, I have never been anywhere that has received that much rain.

I can’t even imagine what that would look like.

The good news is that Hurricane Melissa is not expected to hit the United States.

Let us hope that our meteorologists are correct about that.

Elsewhere, the very fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears to be collapsing.

Renewed fighting erupted on Tuesday, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his forces to carry out “powerful strikes”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he has ordered the army to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, and Hamas responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage, putting new pressure on the tenuous U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Associated Press reporters and witnesses heard tank fire and saw explosions in various parts of Gaza, including in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah.

The order from Netanyahu follows heightened tensions, as Israel reported Hamas firing on its forces in southern Gaza and after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war.

If the ceasefire is not restored soon, things could quickly spiral out of control.

At this stage, Israeli leaders are already considering several drastic military options…

An Israeli official told CNN that among the options being considered are expanding the so-called yellow line – Israel’s withdrawal line in Gaza – reoccupying additional territory, or retaking the Netzarim corridor, which cuts across Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to bomb targets in southern Lebanon…

Despite a US-backed ceasefire having officially been in place for over a year in Lebanon, Israel has been steadily ratcheting its aerial attacks in southern Lebanon, against what it says are Hezbollah and terror targets, resulting in scores of casualties.

The latest attack came on Monday, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) having confirmed an airstrike in the al-Biyad area of southern Lebanon, which killed two Hezbollah operatives.

One of the Hezbollah operatives that the IDF took out was named Abbas Hassan Karky.

According to the IDF, he was involved in “efforts to rebuild Hezbollah’s combat capabilities”…

ELIMINATED: Abbas Hassan Karky, the logistics commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front headquarters, was struck & eliminated in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon.

Abbas led recent efforts to rebuild Hezbollah’s combat capabilities: Managing the transfer and storage of weapons and assisting in the reestablishment of terrorist infrastructure that had been dismantled during the war, south of the Litani River.

To me, it appears that the war in the Middle East is far from over.

In fact, I think that it is quite likely that we could see a major “surprise” in the weeks ahead.

Before I move on to my next topic, there is one more thing that I wanted to mention.

All of a sudden, Turkey is making a major push “to gain international recognition of its sovereignty over the Golan Heights”…

Syria, backed by Turkey and several Arab countries, has launched a diplomatic campaign to gain international recognition of its sovereignty over the Golan Heights and to return the territory to its control. The move runs counter to ongoing security negotiations between Syria and Israel.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights by law in 1981 and considers it fully sovereign Israeli territory. That sovereignty was recognized by President Donald Trump during his first term, through a 2019 presidential proclamation. As a gesture of appreciation, the Israeli government announced the establishment of the community Trump Heights.

Why is Syria choosing to do this at this time?

Could this spark a conflict between Israel and Syria’s new regime?

We shall see.

On the other side of the planet, the U.S. military just bombed four more narco-trafficking vessels…

The U.S. military on Monday struck four more vessels that were allegedly trafficking narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 and leaving one survivor, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X.

The four vessels were hit in three different strikes, Hegseth said. The strikes bring the total death toll in President Trump’s campaign against alleged traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific to more than 50.

“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote. “Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed.”

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been killed by illegal drugs that have come pouring into this country from elsewhere.

So something had to be done.

But if all of this is leading up to full-blown war with Venezuela and/or Colombia, that won’t be good at all.

In Brazil, a government operation that is targeting narco-traffickers has turned the streets of Rio de Janeiro into a war zone…

Dozens are dead, including four police officers, following a major narcoterrorism operation targeting organized crime in Rio de Janeiro. The government operation comes less than two weeks before globalists gather for the COP30 global warming conference in Belem, Brazil.

“We stand firm confronting narcoterrorism,” Governor Claudio Castro wrote on X. He said 2,500 security personnel and 32 armored trucks were a part of the operation across the Alemao and Penha favela regions.

If you think that the term “war zone” is an exaggeration, just watch this video.

I can’t remember ever seeing anything quite like this in Brazil.

Hopefully order will be restored rapidly.

In the Philippines, Taal Volcano has suddenly roared to life…

Over the course of 24 hours spanning October 25 and 26, 2025, Taal Volcano reminded the Philippines—and the world—why it’s considered one of the most unpredictable volcanoes on the planet. Residents of Batangas Province woke to the sight of towering ash plumes and the faint smell of sulfur. At least four short-lived eruptions, classified as minor phreatic and phreatomagmatic events, rocked the northeastern portion of Taal’s Main Crater. These eruptions sent dense columns of ash and steam shooting 1,200 to 2,100 meters into the sky, casting a gray pall over nearby communities in Laurel and Agoncillo.

This is a really big volcano, and a full-blown eruption could cause a tremendous amount of destruction.

So let’s watch this one closely.

Over in Europe, they are dealing with a different sort of a crisis.

The bird flu has been ripping across the continent in recent weeks, and Germany has been getting hit particularly hard…

Over half a million hens, ducks, geese and turkeys have been culled in Germany since the start of September as a virulent strain of bird flu sweeps the country.

According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), the German government agency responsible for monitoring animal pestilence, there have been 30 registered outbreaks in poultry batteries and another 73 among wild birds.

“And we’re expecting more,” a spokesperson told the dpa news agency, explaining that another 23 suspected cases are currently being investigated.

Egg prices are likely to spike once again in the months ahead.

That would be a best-case scenario.

In a worst-case scenario, the bird flu would mutate into a form that can spread easily among humans and millions would die.

Last week, I wrote about how a team of researchers in the United States and South Korea has come up with a version of the bird flu that has a 100 percent death rate in mammals.

They are assuring us that this new version of the bird flu will never get out, but as we have seen, it is way too easy for accidents to happen.

In fact, a truck that was carrying rhesus monkeys that were infected with “hepatitis C, herpes and COVID” just overturned in Mississippi…

A truck hauling “aggressive” rhesus monkeys carrying hepatitis C, herpes and COVID overturned Tuesday in Mississippi, allowing them to escape.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said most of the escaped animals had been destroyed or remained in their cages, but one was still on the loose.

“The monkeys are approximately 40 (pounds), they are aggressive to humans and they require PPE to handle,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said on Facebook.

If you live in Mississippi and you see a diseased rhesus monkey running around in your neighborhood, it would probably be wise to avoid it.

One of these days, there will be an “accident” that they are not able to contain.

And that day may be coming a lot sooner than many people think.

Our ability to create deadly diseases is far greater than our ability to control them, and we will eventually pay a very great price for our reckless behavior.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post A Lot Of Really Crazy Things Are Starting To Happen And We Haven’t Even Gotten To The Month Of November Yet appeared first on End Of The American Dream.

It appears that this government shutdown could go on for a while, and that is not good news for the U.S. economy at all. On day 28 of the shutdown, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a bill to end the shutdown for the 13th consecutive time. They can keep holding more votes, but the outcome will remain the same. We are potentially just days away from a scenario in which approximately 42 million Americans will lose their food stamp benefits, and that could result in widespread chaos all over the nation. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy as a whole continues to move in the wrong direction very rapidly.

At this point, dissatisfaction with the economy has become so pervasive that even CNN is talking about it…

A collective angst is taking root. Maybe you feel it watching the news, scrolling social media, standing in line at the grocery checkout. Something’s off, and maybe it’s been that way for a while, but it hasn’t always been this tense, right?

I am sure that you can feel it too.

People are on edge.

Thousands of stores have been closing all over the nation, the cost of just about everything keeps going up, and shocking mass layoffs are being conducted from coast to coast.  The following are 9 signs that the U.S. economy is shutting down all around us…

#1 When the economy is booming, delivery companies are usually thriving and hiring lots of new people.  So it is a really bad sign that UPS has chosen to eliminate 48,000 workers…

United Parcel Service has cut 48,000 management and operations positions, the company disclosed Tuesday when it reported earnings.

Of those roles, 14,000 were management positions and 34,000 were jobs in operations. The reductions came through layoffs and buyouts, the company said.

#2 14,000 Amazon employees have been let go in “the first wave” of mass layoffs that are ultimately expected to reduce the number of workers by 30,000…

On Tuesday, Amazon confirmed plans to cut about 14,000 corporate jobs as the online retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence.

It’s the first wave in a mass layoff that’s expected to slash 30,000 Amazon positions, or 10 percent of the corporate staff.

‘Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well,’ Beth Galetti, an HR lead at Amazon, wrote in a public note.

#3 Target has announced that approximately 1,000 highly paid corporate workers will be hitting the bricks…

Target is cutting about 1,000 corporate positions and eliminating 800 open roles in an effort to speed up business decision-making and drive growth under its new chief executive, Michael Fiddelke.

Fiddelke, who will succeed Brian Cornell as CEO in February, has been focused on ways to speed up the way corporate teams work, turning the company into a leaner and faster organization to drive innovation. This includes eliminating layers of management.

About 80% of the roles being cut are based in the U.S., with the majority concentrated in the Minneapolis area, where the company is headquartered, and in leadership positions.

#4 Chegg has fallen on really hard times, and so it will be slashing 45 percent of its entire workforce…

Chegg Inc., a Santa Clara-based online learning platform, said Monday it will cut about 45% of its workforce – roughly 388 employees – as it confronts what it calls “the new realities of AI and reduced traffic from Google to content publishers.”

In its official statement, the company said the restructuring plan reflects “a significant decline in Chegg’s traffic and revenue,” which it has attributed to shifts in generative AI and changing search patterns.

#5 Brighter days were supposed to be ahead for Paramount, but we have just learned that about 1,000 jobs are now on the chopping block…

Paramount will slash roughly 1,000 jobs on Wednesday, Fox News Digital has confirmed.

A headcount reduction has been expected since Paramount Global and Skydance merged earlier this year, putting CEO David Ellison in charge of the newly formed Paramount, a Skydance Corporation. Sources familiar with the situation said that “approximately” 1,000 positions will be cut as layoffs begin.

#6 The job cuts that are happening at Nestle are particularly brutal.  The new CEO has decided to give the axe to 16,000 loyal employees…

Nestle will cut 16,000 jobs, new CEO Philipp Navratil said on Thursday, as the world’s largest packaged food company seeks to cut costs and win back investor confidence.

The jobs being cut represent 5.8% of Nestle’s around 277,000 employees. Navratil said Nestle had raised its cost savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.77 billion) from 2.5 billion francs by the end of 2027.

#7 Have you ever heard of a candy company filing for bankruptcy right before Halloween?  Yes, that actually just happened…

A hugely popular candy company has filed for bankruptcy just days before Halloween — the biggest candy-buying week of the year.

Candy Warehouse, an online store that sells more than 6,000 types of sweets in bulk to families as well as other businesses, filed for bankruptcy protection on October 24.

The timing is especially striking, coming right before a holiday that’s all about candy.

#8 It is not a good time to be in the baby business.  Carter’s is telling us that it now plans to permanently close approximately 150 stores in North America…

Carter’s, the Atlanta-based baby clothing chain behind brands like OshKosh B’gosh, Otter Avenue, and Skip Hop, says it will shut down about 150 stores across North America.

That’s up from its earlier plan to close 100 underperforming locations.

#9 The Westminster Mall was once “the second-highest grossing retail site in the US”, but now it is being shut down forever…

In 1986, it was the second-highest grossing retail site in the US, according to the Times. Chains like Macy’s, Sears, JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Old Navy, and Spencer’s all had a shop in the mall.

Its over 1 million square foot floor plan spanned two levels and even featured a carousel. It was developed on an old goldfish farm.

But, after 51 years, developers are ending most of the store’s leases and turning the property’s 100-acres into a 3,000-unit housing project.

The primary reason why so many retailers are going belly up is because most U.S. consumers are tapped out.

In fact, almost half of the average paycheck in the United States “is spent within 48 hours of payday”…

• Nearly half (48%) of the average American paycheck is spent within 48 hours of payday, with over a third gone in just 12 hours
• Millennials spend the fastest, burning through 40% of their earnings within the first 12 hours, which is more than any other generation
• Gen Z workers paid $275 in overdraft and late fees over the past year, compared to just $27 for baby boomers, a ten-to-one gap
• Among stressed workers, 62% say being paid daily or as they work would improve their financial wellness and cut stress by an average of 57%

We are a nation that is teetering on the brink, and it isn’t going to take much to push us over the edge.

So let us hope that the government shutdown is resolved soon.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is going to happen.

In just a few weeks, things could look very different than they do now.

There is so much anger percolating under the surface, and we are rapidly approaching a boiling point.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post As The Government Shutdown Drags On, Here Are 9 Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Shutting Down All Around Us appeared first on The Economic Collapse.