Two incomes are no longer enough for an average family to purchase a home. This represents an accelerated decline in Americans' standard of living where middle class citizens were once able to afford a home with just one breadwinner.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Once Upon a Time In the 1950s, a Family could own a home, car, and send the kids to college with one income. What’s happened? <a href="https://t.co/MQbGvua46H">pic.twitter.com/MQbGvua46H</a>— meta (@metaimmutable) <a href="https://twitter.com/metaimmutable/status/1712501515523330165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>20% down not enough<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/real-estate/housing-affordability-gets-crushed-as-qualifying-income-to-buy-home-doubles-to-over-100000-post-5517439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to a report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), a couple's combined income now needs to reach at least $107,000 to qualify for a standard mortgage with a 20% down payment:<blockquote>A new housing industry report shows that home affordability is plumbing staggering new lows, with the qualifying annual income for a median-priced home more than doubling from where it was in 2020 to a whopping $107,000.The stark figure was revealed in the Monthly Housing Affordability Index, released on Oct. 25 by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).The report shows that, in 2020, the qualifying annual income (based on a 20 percent down payment and a 25 percent qualifying ratio for monthly housing expense to gross monthly income) to buy a median family home was $49,680.That's less than half of what it was in August 2023, the latest month of available data, according to NAR.A separate Oct. 17 report from real estate data provider Redfin painted much the same (though slightly gloomier) picture, estimating that a homebuyer today must earn $114,627 to afford the median-priced U.S. home.That's the highest annual income needed to afford a home on record.</blockquote>Real estate risingHousing costs skyrocketed an extraordinary 29% post-COVID to approximately $350,000 for an average home, <a href="https://www.thezebra.com/resources/home/average-home-price-in-us-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to The Zebra:<blockquote>At the beginning of 2022, the average home price in the U.S. reached $348,079 — a record high set by low supply and increasing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. . . . The national average home price in the U.S. climbed 29% since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.</blockquote><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/real-estate/housing-affordability-gets-crushed-as-qualifying-income-to-buy-home-doubles-to-over-100000-post-5517439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to NAR and Redfin, home costs are considerably higher now:<blockquote>Redfin estimates that, in August, the typical U.S. home sold for around $420,000, while NAR data puts that figure at $413,500—roughly the same ballpark.</blockquote>Income not keeping upThe Census Bureau <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> household incomes in 2022 to be less than $75,000.<blockquote>Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2021 estimate of $76,330.</blockquote>Not enoughThat $74,580 median income leaves the average household far short of the $107,000 income needed to qualify for a standard mortgage. The only option for most middle class families, then, is to save money each year they rent a home until they can afford to put far more than 20% down on a home. That would reduce the monthly mortgage payment. This is, of course, easier said than done with rising rents and other costs increasing while earnings are flat.By intent?The extensive Wikipedia entry for the World Economic Forum (WEF) does not contain even one mention of the words socialist or communist. Yet, the organization has been openly advocating for an end to private property. As one netizen posted, “You’ll own nothing and be happy” isn’t a conspiracy theory It’s literally from the WEF”<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“You’ll own nothing and be happy” isn’t a conspiracy theory It’s literally from the WEF <a href="https://t.co/4ANfPvALjB">pic.twitter.com/4ANfPvALjB</a>— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1617277386583846912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>When it comes to living arrangements, it certainly appears that WEF policy is winning out, with home ownership becoming an increasingly distant dream. Scott Santens points out on his X account, though, that homes should actually be getting more affordable.&nbsp;Historically, wages rose together with worker productivity. That was the case until the 1970s, after which the boon for increased productivity went almost exclusively to the top 1% of wage earners.&nbsp;<blockquote>[I]n the 1950s we hadn't even invented integrated circuits yet, and yet someone with a high school degree could get married, start a family, buy a nice house, and live comfortably on one income, and that income was stable. Now with robots we have to WORK HARDER?</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It's crazy how back in the 1950s we hadn't even invented integrated circuits yet, and yet someone with a high school degree could get married, start a family, buy a nice house, and live comfortably on one income, and that income was stable. Now with robots we have to WORK HARDER? <a href="https://t.co/v8uHY0uWzC">pic.twitter.com/v8uHY0uWzC</a>— Scott Santens (@scottsantens) <a href="https://twitter.com/scottsantens/status/1131649393537507328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>GlobalismWhy did the extraordinary technological advancements since the 1950s not lead to an exceedingly higher standard of living today. How did the opposite prevail?&nbsp;John Birch Society founder Robert Welch predicted decades ago that, without a change in direction, globalist leaders would bringing about a general economic decline, featuring “wild inflation," through ten gradual steps he <a href="https://youtu.be/AZU0c8DAIU4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outlined</a> in an address to society members.<blockquote>A part of that [globalist] plan, of course, is to induce the gradual surrender of American sovereignty, piece by piece and step by step, to various international organizations of which the United Nations is the outstanding, but far from the only, example. Here are the aims for the United States:<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Greatly expanded government spending for every conceivable means of getting rid of ever larger sums of American money as wastefully as possible;</li><li>To higher and then much higher taxes;</li><li>An increasingly unbalanced budget despite the higher taxes;</li><li>Wild inflation of our currency;</li><li>Government controls of prices, wages and materials, supposedly to combat inflation;</li><li>Greatly increased socialistic controls over every operation of our economy and every activity of our daily lives - this is to be accompanied naturally and automatically by a correspondingly huge increase in the size of our bureaucracy and in both the cost and reach of our domestic government;</li><li>Far more centralization of power in Washington and the practical elimination of our state lines - there is a many-faceted drive at way to have our state lines eventually mean no more within the nation than our county lines do now within the states;</li><li>The steady advance of federal aid to and control over our educational system leading to complete federalization of our public education;</li><li>A constant hammering into the American consciousness of the horror of modern warfare, the beauties and the absolute necessity of peace - peace always on communists terms, of course; and&nbsp;</li><li>The consequent willingness of the American people to allow the steps of appeasement by our government which amount to a piecemeal surrender of the rest of the free world and of the United States itself. [Emphasis added].</li></ol></blockquote>Welch then implored his audience, in colorful language, to wake up.<blockquote>So brush the insiders' dust out of your eyes, my friends, and the Communists soapsuds out of your brain, and ask yourselves:“In all honesty, what on earth is wrong with the United States simply minding its own business or with having its foreign policy function primarily for the safety and benefit of the American people, which is exactly what we had done for the first hundred and forty years of our existence as a nation, to the incredible advantage of ourselves and everybody else, everybody, that is, except a numerically small clique of power lusting conspirators who had somehow inflicted themselves on a gullible world.”&nbsp;</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Robert Welch (JBS) | On the Communist Plot to Destroy America (1958) @DigitalSoldiers1 <a href="https://t.co/xI347kl3pr">pic.twitter.com/xI347kl3pr</a>— Melissa Utley (@UtleyUtley92) <a href="https://twitter.com/UtleyUtley92/status/1447886854385176581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>You'll rentWelch's economic warnings appear to have been justified. <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/real-estate/housing-affordability-gets-crushed-as-qualifying-income-to-buy-home-doubles-to-over-100000-post-5517439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to The Epoch Times, prospective homebuyers now face a “one-two punch” of high interest rates and a shortage of supply.<blockquote>"U.S. housing affordability is worse today than the peak of the last housing bubble. The median American household would need to spend 44.6 percent of their income to afford the median priced home, a record high," market analyst Charlie Bilello said in a post on X. . . .Sky-high mortgage rates and rising home prices due to short supply have delivered a one-two punch to prospective homebuyers.“In a homebuyer’s ideal world, rising mortgage rates would push demand and home prices down enough to make up for high interest payments. But that’s not what’s happening now: Although new listings are ticking up slightly, inventory is still near record lows as homeowners hang onto their low mortgage rates—and that’s propping up prices,” Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao said in a statement.</blockquote>And those interest rates are directly related to the “wild inflation” of which Welch warned.<blockquote>Back in 2020, the benchmark interest rate set by the Federal Reserve was near zero. But soaring inflation would prompt the Fed to embark on its fastest pace of raising rates in decades, with the Fed funds rate now sitting at between 5.25 and 5.5 percent.The Fed funds rate has an indirect impact on mortgage rates, which have soared from around 3 percent in 2021 to around 8 percent now. [Emphasis added].</blockquote>Please see our additional coverage of globalist policies:<ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/our-revolution-is-a-phase-of-world-revolution-it-is-not-limited-to-reconquering-palestine">‘Our revolution is a phase of world revolution: it is not limited to reconquering Palestine’</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/speaker-mc-carthy-addresses-secret-society-at-bohemian-grove">Speaker McCarthy addresses secret, men-only idol worshiping society at Bohemian Grove</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/globalists-cremate-care-for-gaza-refugees">Globalists cremate care for Gaza refugees</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/cheney-admits-hiding-leadership-of-globalist-group-from-voters">WATCH: Cheney laughs about hiding leadership of globalist group from voters</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/everybody-knows-corruption-in-america-and-around-the-world">‘Everybody Knows: Corruption in America’ and around the world</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/entire-nations-bribing-eu-officials-scandal-expanding">Entire nations caught bribing EU officials in expanding 'Qatargate' scandal</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/disinfo-black-ops-sting-exposes-active-disinformation-ring">'Disinfo black ops' sting exposes active disinformation ring</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/why-biden-is-pressuring-israel-on-judicial-reform">Biden sides with socialists; pressures Israel to protect activist judges</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/state-department-pressing-foreign-nations-to-concede-to-marxist-revolutionaries">State Department pressing allies to concede to Marxist revolutionaries</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/hopes-for-independent-kurdistan-dashed">State Dep't against family reunification, open borders ... in Kurdistan</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/citizens-driving-through-illinois-may-be-arrested-at-gunpoint-by-illegal-aliens-with-police-badges">Citizens driving through Illinois may soon be arrested at gunpoint by illegal aliens with police badges</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-exactly-happened-on-9-11-tucker-carlson">‘What exactly happened on 9-11’: Tucker Carlson</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fact-check-can-irs-seize-bank-records-without-notice">Fact Check: Can the IRS secretly seize bank records?</a></li></ol>

iStock-1369079622.jpg

US News

Qualifying income for home purchase doubles to over $100,000

You'll own no house, and you'll be unhappy with rising rent

<h2>Move over book burning, hello de-platforming?</h2>Closed out of your Facebook or Instagram account? Maybe your website suddenly disappeared, or your YouTube channel was demonetized or deleted? Perhaps you lost access to thousands of hours of posts and videos you produced, and your years of work were gone in an instant? That's de-platforming; the modern version of book burning, a “punishment” for going against the mainstream narrative. And, the censorship doesn't stop with social media, it includes PayPal accounts and more.<h3>Getting up again</h3>How do individuals who went afoul of the globalists, who didn't keep quiet and let others do their thinking for them, respond when they find themselves de-platformed by social media companies and other services? Here's what London Real's Brian Rose, Americas Frontline Doctor founder Dr. Simone Gold, and independent researcher James Roguski did to pick themselves up and continue their work despite the heavy-handed censorship they experienced.Brian RoseWhen London Real YouTuber Brian Rose publicly began trying to understand COVID-19 and its countermeasures, he soon found his entire life seemingly deleted from the internet by the social media giants.&nbsp;Not only did he lose all his years of work, amounting to thousands of videos which he had uploaded to the internet. He also lost access to his Paypal account, and more, because in his search for the truth about the pandemic; his counter-narrative interviews with David Icke were too dangerous for the globalists to allow. &nbsp;In his below documentary, Rose&nbsp;recounts his experiences and how he ultimately started a channel of his own. He explains that he was wholly unprepared for what happened on May 3, 2020, even though he knew that many would want to stop the interview (@about 3:36):<blockquote>Over the past few weeks, our entire world has been transformed. Everything we took for granted has now been taken away and our freedoms have been replaced with fear. All those rights we fought centuries for have been handed over without a second thought.&nbsp;We all process fear in different ways. I cope by immersing myself in my work and today my job is to ask questions. One million people will be watching and they all want answers.&nbsp;Countless others are trying to stop this from happening. At any moment they can walk through that door or lock this broadcast. I'm scared but I don't know what else to do. I prepared my whole life for a moment like This. But nothing would prepare me for what happened next. . .</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WATCH THE MOVIE THAT YouTube DOES NOT Want YOU TO SEE (and SHARE IT Far And Wide ) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LondonReal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LondonReal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeWillNotBeSilenced?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeWillNotBeSilenced</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopCensorship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StopCensorship</a> <a href="https://t.co/txcVpjPDWz">https://t.co/txcVpjPDWz</a>— Brian Rose, Founder &amp; Host of London Real (@LondonRealTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonRealTV/status/1796285778517221575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>&nbsp;Dr. Simone GoldDr. Simone Gold, founder of <a href="https://www.aflds.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">America's Frontline Doctors</a>, was one of the first doctors to understand that how she was being told to treat COVID patients wasn't normal. Very alarmed at what was taking place she, along with other doctors, held the “<a href="https://www.whitecoatsummit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">White Coat Summit</a>” on July 27, 2020, as well as a press conference on the Supreme Court steps. As she tweeted below, the press conference went viral, garnering millions of views before Big Tech and Big Media took the video down.She concluded by explaining their purpose and the result:<blockquote>Our fight was to show America the propaganda vs the truth, and then we were censored.</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our press conference in front of the Supreme Court on July 27th, 2020 was a turning point in the fight against COVID Tyranny. After 20 million views in 8 hours, Big Tech colluded to wipe the video from online platforms. We knew in this moment that we would win the fight. <a href="https://t.co/9CP0Ogpnfp">pic.twitter.com/9CP0Ogpnfp</a>— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1610416861723729921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Dr. Gold continues to <a href="https://aflds.org/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advance</a> the mission of America's Frontline Doctors, to protect medical freedom and civil liberties.'James RoguskiIndependent researcher James Roguski who, <a href="http://jamesroguski.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to his website, has been calling out lies and propaganda for decades, found years of work gone when the company that hosted most of his websites terminated his account for what they said were “terms of service” violations. It did not deter him from continuing his work, either.<blockquote>They deleted many of my websites, but they ignited my passion to burn even brighter. I now have most of my work on Substack.&nbsp;</blockquote>Roguski is interested in building a holistic alternative to the WHO and <a href="https://jamesroguski.substack.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recruits</a> others to join him.<blockquote>The old system is crumbling, and I intend to help speed its demise, but we must build its replacement quickly.If you are fed up with the government, hospital, medical, pharmaceutical, media, industrial complex and would like to help , then feel free to contact me directly anytime.</blockquote>&nbsp;The information contained in this article is for educational and information purposes only and is not intended as health, medical, financial or legal advice. Always consult a physician, lawyer or other qualified professional regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition, health objectives, or legal issues.&nbsp;Related articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/covid-sceptics-won-out-globalists-fear-an-increasingly-disbelieving-public" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'COVID skeptics won out' — Globalists fear an increasingly disbelieving public</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/colorado-governor-signs-off-on-bill-establishing-state-ministry-of-truth-students-atarget-of-new-law">Colorado governor signs off on bill establishing state 'ministry of truth'? Students a target of new law</a></li></ul>

account suspended.jpg

Censorship

Globalism

How three individuals got up again after being de-platformed

Who's afraid of Big Bad Tech? 

A British vigilante group known as the “Blade Runners” is receiving widespread support from British taxpayers as it continues to destroy climate surveillance cameras across London.<h2>The ULEZ mandate</h2>By order of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the city is peppered with ultra-low emission zones (ULEZs), areas accessible only to low-emission vehicles. Cars that do not meet the city’s environmental standards are charged £12.50 ($16) for entering the ULEZ. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras positioned around the zones read license plates and check them against the vehicles’ make and model in real time. If a vehicle does not meet the environmental threshold, a fine is levied against the car owner.&nbsp;The ULEZ climate mandate has drawn heavy&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/london-hundreds-protest-against-climate-mandates">protests</a> from residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/british-veteran-launches-hunger-strike-as-unrest-grows-over-climate-mandates">hunger strikes</a> and refusals to pay fines. Taxpayers have also taken to disabling the ANPR surveillance cameras which Transport for London (TfL), the city’s transportation department, said will be used both for climate and law enforcement.<h2>Taxpayers cheer the ‘Blade Runners’</h2>Since the climate restrictions were expanded last year, the Blade Runners have taken to disabling and destroying hundreds of cameras. Between April and September 2023, Metropolitan Police recorded 200 reports of cameras being stolen and 595 reports of cameras being vandalized.TfL began placing black boxes around ULEZ camera wirings to protect them from being cut, but taxpayers found other ways to disable the cameras — like removing them completely.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"> MUST SEE: Blade Runners topple THREE ULEZ cameras in a coordinated strike… The people are fighting back! <a href="https://t.co/Yvr2Xr7Lun">pic.twitter.com/Yvr2Xr7Lun</a>— David Morgan #StayFree (@david_r_morgan) <a href="https://twitter.com/david_r_morgan/status/1802726912050995623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In response, the city&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/london-taxpayers-attack-surveillance-vans-in-continued-revolt">deployed</a> mobile surveillance vans mounted with ANPR cameras across London in the hopes of evading attacks, but Blade Runners soon began targeting those as well. Some surveillance vans have been spotted covered in graffiti with their tires slashed, while others have been completely covered in tarp.Last month, 21 cameras were destroyed in the hours after Sadiq Khan was re-elected mayor of London, the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13538797/Moment-Blade-Runner-uses-power-tool-cut-ULEZ-camera-traffic-light-latest-attack-Sadiq-Khans-hated-scheme.html">reported</a>. Last weekend, Blade Runners used power tools to topple a ULEZ camera and traffic lights to the delight of some fellow taxpayers. In a video that was posted to social media, passing cars can be heard honking in support.The video received over 37,000 likes. Comments on the post were largely supportive, with users writing that, “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty,” and “Fair play to them, it's a complete scam that does nothing.”Blade Runner Matt Hardy told the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;that the Blade Runners are “people pissed off about the tyranny reigning over us and getting out and doing things about it – real votes, real boys here.”<h2>‘These cameras are not about the climate. They are about control’</h2>British actor and influencer Laurence Fox said this week he was just given back his electronic devices by police after being arrested earlier this year for cheering on the Blade Runners:<blockquote>These cameras are not about the climate. They are about control. They are the primary infrastructure for all sorts of things that ideologues like the midget dictator [Sadiq Khan] would like to impose upon us.I can now finally say the word ‘Bladerunners’ again. One of the ridiculous restrictions on free speech imposed by the police.It’s a dreadful shame to see so many of these cameras dying suddenly. I’m not at all thrilled about it. Just because I am smiling like a Cheshire Cat, it doesn’t mean that I am over the moon that these scameras continue to topple in high winds.&nbsp;Vive la résistance!</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">POLICE UPDATE Following 6 coppers bursting into my house earlier this year to arrest me for saying how pleased I was that the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULEZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ULEZ</a> scam was meeting such robust resistance, this morning the <a href="https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@metpoliceuk</a> were ordered by the magistrate to hand back all my devices, including my…— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1803030521095622912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div> &nbsp;

ulez sign camera.jpg

Pushback_Resistance

Climate Change

‘Pissed off about the tyranny reigning over us’

British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

Fisker is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the electric vehicle (EV) company announced Tuesday.<h2>‘Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry’</h2>“Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding, bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto industry and making good on our promises to deliver the most sustainable vehicle in the world,” a spokesperson <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/cghen8gr8e1n/6W19OiEBJDVIFVEmo4feHA/df902c5cb2b067251a300efb0b35f611/Fisker-Filing-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a>.The California-based company added it is not the only EV maker that has been struggling to stay in business.“We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Fisker Ocean SUVs in customers’ hands in both North American [sic] and Europe. But like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”Fisker’s collapse is the latest indication that the EV industry is folding due to sinking demand. Other EV industry players are also cutting their losses as they jump ship.<h2>Hertz</h2>In March, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motorfinanceonline.com/news/hertz-ceo-resigns-amid-ev-investment-setback/#:~:text=Scherr's%20departure%20coincides%20with%20Hertz's,electric%20vehicle%20(EV)%20rentals">resigned</a> after his bet on EVs cost the car rental giant its biggest quarterly loss since 2020. Hertz had been praised by the Biden administration for its ambition to convert 25% of its fleet to EVs by the end of this year. In January, however, the company announced it would instead be selling its 20,000 EVs — including Teslas — at heavily discounted prices and replacing them with gas-powered cars.<h2>Mercedes-Benz</h2>Mercedes-Benz also recently had to give up its ambition to only sell electric cars by 2030. Instead, EVs are expected to make up only 50% of the German carmaker’s sales over the next decade.<h2>Apple</h2>In February, Apple abandoned its multi-billion dollar effort to create an electric car. Despite being a decade in the works and employing 2,000 people, Project Titan was axed due to falling consumer demand.<h2>Aston Martin</h2>A lack of consumer demand is also partly to blame for Aston Martin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13138123/Aston-Martin-puts-brakes-new-electric-supercar-2026-bosses-say-drivers-want-engines-throaty-roar.html">placing</a> its battery-operated “supercar” on hold until 2026.“Demand, certainly at an Aston Martin price point, is not what we thought it was going to be two years ago,” said Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll.&nbsp;<h2>Ford</h2>In December, Ford slashed production of its flagship EV at its assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan by half. The automaker cut the monthly production quote for the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck from 3,200 units to 1,600 units per month.<h2>Biden administration continues to force EV production</h2>Nevertheless, the Biden administration in March issued new climate mandates aimed at forcing more EV production. The new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contain tight emissions standards that will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-electric-vehicles-emissions-limits-climate-biden-e6d581324af51294048df24269b5d20a">require</a> 56% of new vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2032, with an additional 13% required to be hybrids.

car market decline.jpg

Biden administration continues to force EV production

Electric car company files bankruptcy as EV market folds

For the last two years, British authorities have been testing AI-powered emotion recognition cameras on travelers in train stations, according to recently disclosed documents.<h2>What can the cameras see?</h2>In each of eight train stations around the UK, five to seven cameras or sensors scan the passing crowds. Using AI software from Amazon, the cameras use object recognition algorithms to spot criminal activity, trespassing, weapons, wet floors, overcrowding, and overstuffed trash cans.&nbsp;They can also alert authorities when passengers engage in “unusual behavior,” such as shouting, running, smoking, or skateboarding.&nbsp;A combination of existing cameras and newly installed smart cameras are being used for the surveillance project. All are equipped with Amazon’s Rekognition surveillance system.<h2>Emotional recognition</h2>Through a combination of facial and behavioral analyses, the Rekognition software allows officials to also <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-ai-cameras-emotions-uk-train-passengers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">analyze visitors’ emotions</a>. Internal documents note that the cameras can detect whether a passenger is “happy, sad [or] angry.” They can also recognize passenger satisfaction, which “could be utilized to maximum advertising and retail revenue.”<h2>Anti-social behavior</h2>Authorities can also detect passengers who exhibit “anti-social behaviour,” which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/asb/asb/antisocial-behaviour/what-is-antisocial-behaviour/">according</a> to London’s Metropolitan Police Service means “behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person.”<h2>Social distancing, face masks, and demographics</h2>Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24757655-usecases_dpas_review_managed_stations?responsive=1&amp;title=1">use cases</a> for the surveillance cameras include detecting whether passengers are keeping to social distancing rules and wearing face masks. The cameras can also scan for demographics by identifying people’s age profiles and “socio-economic classification,” which the documents note can create “revenue opportunities for better targeted advertising and product placement.”<h2>‘Quite a concerning step’</h2>The documents were obtained by Big Brother Watch, a civil rights and government watchdog group, in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Network Rail, a body within the Department of Transportation which manages most of the country’s train network, has been overseeing the surveillance project.&nbsp;“The rollout and normalization of AI surveillance in these public spaces, without much consultation and conversation, is quite a concerning step,” Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-ai-cameras-emotions-uk-train-passengers/">told</a> Wired.As of now, the surveillance systems do not use facial recognition technology, which analyzes faces and matches them against facial images stored in certain databases.

You'll own no house, and you'll be unhappy with rising rent

Qualifying income for home purchase doubles to over $100,000

Related Articles

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests

FBI intimidated nurse who exposed hospital’s child mutilation practices, report reveals

Just 2 in 10 Biden supporters think marriage and kids are important for society. Why?

Couples sue Vermont for requiring gender ideology in foster care

Latest Articles

Who's afraid of Big Bad Tech?

British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

Electric car company files bankruptcy as EV market folds

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations