LA’s New Mayor Declares ‘State Of Emergency’ Over Homelessness
After making it a central part of her campaign, Los Angeles’ new mayor Karen Bass declared homelessness a ‘state of emergency’ in the city.
The declaration “will recognize the severity of Los Angeles’ crisis and break new ground to maximize the ability to urgently move people inside,” according to a statement from Bass’ office, on the same day she visited the city’s Emergency Operations Center, ABC News reports.
I just declared a state of emergency on homelessness to unlock every tool and authority at our disposal to bring unhoused Angelenos inside.
This is a matter of life and death and that’s exactly how my administration will treat it.
According to a three-day study conducted earlier this year, just under 42,000 people experienced homelessness in the city of LA, according to the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
At least 69,144 people experienced homelessness in the same-named county – a 4.1% increase over 2020, and a 1.7% rise in the city itself.
Local COVID-era policies like eviction moratoriums and rentals assistance, as well as federal assistance have helped people stay housed throughout the pandemic, according to LAHSA.
However, many of those policies have since ended or are about to end, and it’s left unhoused and people facing housing insecurity without a safety net, LAHSA reports. -ABC News
As a House representative, Bass was instrumental in funding millions for long-term shelter solutions for homeless residents, job training and career development programs. She also backed substance abuse programs.
“These investments to combat homelessness, improve community safety and assist families with the increasing costs of living in our congressional district are coming at a crucial time,” she said in a March statement. “Now that we have these new allocated funds on the federal level, we have to ensure that they reach our communities as soon as possible.”
During her campaign, Bass vowed to “House 15,000 people by the end of year one, dramatically reduce street homelessness, end street encampments,” and “lead on mental health and substance abuse treatment.”
Zelensky Aide Accuses Musk Of Censoring Ukraine War On Twitter
A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Elon Musk of hiding reporting on the Ukraine war from Twitter trends.
Spokesman Mikhail Podoliak blasted the billionaire Twitter CEO for censoring vital Ukraine information. “‘War in Ukraine’ disappearance from Twitter trends. Radical curtailment of tweets mentioning ru-aggression coverage. Users aren’t allowed to register or log into accounts with Ukrainian phone number,” Podoliak wrote Tuesday on Twitter, tagging Musk.
“War in Ukraine” disappearance from Twitter trends. Radical curtailment of tweets mentioning ru-aggression coverage. Users aren’t allowed to register or log into accounts with Ukrainian phone number. @elonmusk, I wonder if will we ever see “Twitter Files” about Fall/Winter 2022?
The Ukrainian presidency’s office spokesman additionally took a swipe at the ongoing “Twitter files” release, saying he doesn’t expect the issue he’s raising to be covered there. “Elon Musk, I wonder if we will ever see ‘Twitter Files’ about Fall/Winter 2022?” Podoliak questioned.
The suggestion was that Musk is seeking to tilt coverage in terms of content that appears on Twitter against anything highlighting “ru-“(Russian)”aggression” – as he wrote in the tweet.
Some recent local Ukrainian media reports have claimed that users within the country or anyone possessing a Ukrainian phone number can no longer register or log in to Twitter.
Based on prior official Twitter statements, but not directly addressing the Ukrainian charge, its trending topics are “determined by an algorithm and, by default, are tailored for you based on who you follow, your interests, and your location.” This “identifies topics that are popular now, rather than topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis,” according to Twitter.
Ukrainian leadership has been angered at Musk ever since he grew bolder in criticizing the open-ended US military and financial support to the Ukrainian government, expressing fears of stumbling into a nuclear-armed WWIII scenario. This despite his previously providing Starlink to the war-ravaged country.
He sparked outrage among Ukraine-supporters with his early October “Russia-Ukraine Peace” Twitter poll and related threads wherein he called out Washington and its rush to confront Russia in Ukraine.
At that time, Zelensky had even weighed in, condemning Musk. Musk had also engaged some of his irate followers who pointed out that he risked angering many Ukrainians. Musk responded, “You are assuming that I wish to be popular. I don’t care. I do care that millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome” – in reference the potential for nuclear war between superpowers over Ukraine. He has since also pledged to clean up the bot accounts, which each side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has said artificially tilts what gets presented to users.
Three of China’s shipyards won almost a third of this year’s orders to make new LNG carriers, Reuters said on Monday.
China’s shipyards—only one of which has experience building new LNG tankers—are getting a significant piece of the pie for new LNG carriers, which hit a record this year at 163 orders. The orders that China’s shipyards are seeing tripled this year, to 45, and some of China’s shipmakers that only recently became certified to build the LNG tankers, are even seeing foreign orders for the first time ever.
China’s LNG tanker orders this year are valued at nearly $10 billion—about five times the order value of last year, Clarksons Research showed, cited by Reuters.
South Korean shipyards usually get a large share of the LNG tanker orders, but they are already at capacity as they try to service Qatar’s North Field expansion. This has created a backlog for South Korean shipyards, and has increased costs to build LNG tankers. The end result is that even foreign buyers who look favorably on South Korea’s ability to design and build LNG tankers free from problems are now giving a serious look at China—even for companies that have zero experience with the intricacies of LNG shipbuilding.
“As more Chinese gas traders engage local shipyards, they will be forced to climb the learning curve and eventually grow the whole industry,” Li Yao, founder of Beijing-based consultancy SIA Energy, told Reuters.
As of late November, Chinese shipyards had orders for 66 LNG tankers, bringing its total to 21% of all global LNG tanker orders, worth some $60 billion.
LNG tankers are notoriously difficult to build, and typically take more than two years to complete.
The LNG boom comes as 20 million tonnes of gas per year is set to ship from the United States.
Airlines Lobbying Congress To Allow Just One Pilot In The Cockpit
Airlines, in their infinite mission to balance costs, profits, and keeping planes full of passengers alive between two points, might be going a little too far in their latest attempt to cut back.
According to CBS News, the industry has been quietly lobbing Congress to allow them to use just one pilot in the cockpit instead of two, as is currently required by part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
The airlines claim it would quickly solve staffing issues caused by the ongoing pilot shortage, and say that technology has improved to the point where it would be perfectly safe to do so.
There’s language in a new bill now introduced in Congress — the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill — asking the Federal Aviation Administration to reconsider part 121 and to allow the use of a single pilot operation, first in cargo aircraft.
Not surprisingly, airline pilots are loudly protesting this idea, claiming that it would diminish a safety discipline and culture that has been responsible for the safest 25 years in commercial aviation in the history of aviation. Pilots unions argue it’s all about the airlines saving money and could compromise safety. -CBS News
Unions have pointed to several examples of emergency situations in which two pilots were necessary – such as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” when pilots Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles worked together to glide a US Airways flight down to New York’s Hudson river after it hit a flock of Canadian geese on takeoff, saving all 150 passengers and crew.
Meanwhile, 10 days ago an American Eagle flight from Chicago to Columbus had an emergency when one of the two pilots became incapacitated. The co-pilot was able to gain control of the plane, declare an emergency, and safely land back in O’Hare.
Musk Taking Legal Action Against Kid Who Tracks His Plane After “Crazy Stalker” Attack
Update (2025ET):
We finally know why the @ElonJet Twitter account was suspended. Musk tweeted:
“Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood.”
Musk then said, “legal action is being taken against Sweeney [the kid who runs @ElonJet] & organizations who supported harm to my family.”
Musk also said, “any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info,” adding “posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.”
Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood.
Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family.
The college kid who created the @ElonJet Twitter account before Elon Musk bought the social media platform has had the account “suspended.”
Last Friday, Jack Sweeney pointed out @ElonJet was “search banned,” though he mentioned the account had been “search banned for months before Elon’s takeover. “
It’s true ElonJet is search banned. But I’m not sure who to blame, it’s been search banned for months now way before Elon’a takeover. https://t.co/kYpSdFS6Tw
But now it appears the account that shared publicly-available information about Musk’s private jet locations and had over half a million followers has been “suspended.”
On Wednesday morning, Twitter users are chatting away about the suspension. Here’s what some had to say:
Hey folks (@RonFilipkowski@DWUhlfelderLaw ), not only has Elon suspended @ElonJet, he’s now prevented Flight Aware from publicly tracking his airplane. I guess it’s good to be rich.
This should be publicly available information. I’m sure someone can figure out how. pic.twitter.com/VQ2xCmBHra
Nearly a year ago, we told readers about Sweeney and how Musk requested the college kid to take down the account because of security risks.
At the time, Sweeney told Musk the price to take down @ElonJet would be a “Model 3.” Musk rejected the offer and told the kid: “I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase.”
As we’ve told readers, tracking the private jets of CEOs is nothing new in the hedge fund industry. There are services that some traders pay upwards of $100k to retrieve flight data of the movements of deal-makers.
We also said Sweeney would have better luck selling his technology to a hedge fund or even Quandl, a flight-tracking company, rather than letting it stay on Twitter. Now the account has been nuked.
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 2017, Tiffany Fong started several e-commerce businesses, earning passive income while traveling the world. She recently spoke with The Epoch Times about how she lost a lot of money investing in cryptocurrencies, which prompted her to become involved in exposing scandals in the crypto sector such as the FTX debacle.
Fong’s introduction to cryptos began early on, when a family member gifted her several Bitcoins in 2011. Still in high school at the time, Fong did not think much of the gift.
By the end of 2011, Bitcoin was worth a mere $4.25. Fong still owns some of the tokens today. The price of Bitcoin peaked at over $68,000 in November last year. Since then, it has fallen dramatically, and is now trading at a little more than $17,000.
During the crypto bull market of 2017, Fong became more interested in the asset class and its underlying philosophy: freedom from state-issued currencies and the ability to transact with whomever one chooses. After a couple years of crypto-hiatus, Fong began investing more heavily during the bull run of 2021.
Expanding on her initial Bitcoin holdings, Fong became interested in the decentralized lending platform Celsius. The project’s founder, Alex Mashinsky, would frequently make the rounds on financial media to tout the returns that Celsius users were earning, promising annual returns as high as 18 percent.
These returns were achievable for a time, but nothing lasts forever.
Rising interest rates and a crypto bear market quickly exposed the Celsius network as insolvent, forcing a withdrawal freeze in June and bankruptcy filing in July. Fong personally lost $250,000 she had stored on the platform, she said.
Motivated by her loss, Fong embarked on a mission to uncover what happened. With only a couple hundred followers at the time, she took to YouTube and Twitter to share her investigations.
After seeing her work on social media, several Celsius employees sent her confidential recordings of Mashinsky speaking at internal meetings. Fong then secured a notable milestone in her journalistic career by publishing the leaked recordings with The New York Times.
Bankman-Fried
Fong’s entry into crypto reporting caught the attention of then-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who began following her work to stay updated on the Celsius situation. The two messaged on Twitter and occasionally kept in touch, according to Fong.
This relationship would prove fortuitous for Fong’s continued coverage of the crypto space.
In early November, as FTX underwent a Celsius-like series of events, freezing customer assets and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Fong reached out to Bankman-Fried. His reputation tarnished and his company in ruins, she did not expect a response from the fallen founder.
Nevertheless, he granted Fong an interview that would reveal numerous unknowns about the collapsed exchange and provide an interesting look into Bankman-Fried’s character. During their conversation, the FTX founder claimed that he donated equal amounts to both political parties and confessed to lying about Bahamian regulators’ involvement in key FTX decisions.
Fong told The Epoch Times that she was uncertain whether she could trust the answers provided by Bankman-Fried. “There were some questions I asked him where I did feel he was very clearly being evasive,” she said, later adding that his elusive behavior was intriguing in itself.
During their November conversation, Fong asked Bankman-Fried about the alleged “back door,” which would have allowed client funds to be siphoned from FTX to its sister company, Alameda Research. He claimed that he is not well-versed in computer programming and, therefore, could not create such a tool, which Fong said she found to be an intentionally imprecise answer.
At the time of the interview, Fong believed the founder was genuinely remorseful, but mentioned her faith has faded over time. “My views have changed the more he’s talked,” she said, referring to Bankman-Fried’s subsequent appearances in mainstream media, including the New York Times’s DealBook Summit, his sit-down with Good Morning America, and his numerous discussions on Twitter Spaces.
“On our last call, he did mention that he would be ramping up communication soon, but I did not expect it to this degree,” Fong said, surprised by the scope of Bankman-Fried’s public relations campaign.
“It was fun being the first stop on [Bankman-Fried’s] apology tour,” Fong jokingly wrote in a tweet on Dec. 7.
Independent Journalist
Fong’s success as an independent reporter and brief experience working with legacy media has given her insights into the advantages of the former over the latter.
US Weighs Opening Venezuela Asylum Program To Nicaraguans, Haitians, Cubans
The Biden administration is considering a major expansion of an asylum program that originally targeted Venezuelans, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night. Specifically, the program would widen to encompass migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.
With an eye on decreasing illegal southern border crossings, the program lets migrants from Venezuela apply for asylum from overseas and then fly to the United States. Under the proposal, that privilege would be extended to three more countries.
The news comes on the heels of jarring images from El Paso on Sunday night, as an estimated 1,500 migrants poured across the Rio Grande in a matter of hours. Mostly from Nicaragua, the throng assembled in long lines on the American side to take their turn surrendering to border authorities.
Referring to President Biden, one Nicaraguan man told Reuters, “He is the only president who will help us, we know he will open the door for us.”
BREAKING: A huge migrant caravan of over 1,000 people crossed illegally into El Paso, TX last night, making it the largest single group we have ever seen. The city of El Paso reports Border Patrol now has over 5,000 in custody & has released hundreds to city streets. @FoxNewspic.twitter.com/ewUQX757Lt
U.S. authorities have posted a record-high 2 million arrests at the border over the past year, and the numbers are straining both government and private resources along the frontier.
My latest dispatch from El Paso: It’s not LA, Seattle, or any other city with a homeless problem. Released migrants are staying and sleeping on the cold streets of El Paso because there is no room at local shelters due to the spike in illegal crossings: https://t.co/xNClxaQJjnpic.twitter.com/xBfQvROotH
Even if the proposed asylum-policy expansion manages to put a dent in illegal border crossings, the ease of applying from home would conceivably cause a big spike in the total number of asylum-seekers.
Border officials are bracing for the Dec. 21 expiration of Title 42, a Covid-19-era Trump policy that lets the Border Patrol summarily turn away migrants at the border — including those who were seeking asylum. The policy’s purported intent was to prevent transmission of the virus. In November, a federal judge ruled the policy is illegal.
That means the brisk business at the border is about to surge even higher. While considering it an unlikely worst-case scenario, officials are now planning for 20,000 migrants a day crossing into the country after Title 42 vanishes on Dec. 21.
The Journal reports that the administration is reportedly debating potential immigration deterrence measures. One proposal: Restoring a Trump policy — the “transit ban” — that rejected asylum requests from migrants who passed through another country en route to the U.S. without asking that other country for asylum first.
Meanwhile, Venezuela isn’t accepting its citizens who are deported from the United States. Biden administration officials are talking to their Mexican counterparts, with hopes the country will keep taking such deportees off America’s hands.
Scathing reviews are pouring into the American Girl website and Amazon, and social media users are blasting the popular doll brand for a 2022 book that advises young girls on pronouns, switching genders, and using puberty blockers.
Part of the criticism surrounds circumventing unsupportive parents.
Others, however, have applauded the book for providing guidance on the topics, sending it to No. 1 on Amazon in the category of Popular Adolescent Psychology.
“A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image: How to Love Yourself, Live Life to the Fullest, and Celebrate All Kinds of Bodies” rapidly drew attention from around the world after a Dec. 6 report in the London-based Daily Mail.
The $12.99 book was released in February without fanfare.
Amazon users suggest it’s written for ages 8–11; American Girl recommends it for girls in 4th grade through 6th grade.
The 96-page paperback by Mel Hammond depicts girls with different body types and skin colors on the cover. It further signals inclusiveness by showing a girl in a wheelchair and another with blue hair.
Hammond also wrote, “Love the Earth: Understanding Climate Change, Speaking Up for Solutions and Living an Earth-Friendly Life” for American Girl.
The 36-year-old company is best known for its lifelike dolls that can be customized by skin tone, eye color, and hair color and style.
The 18-inch dolls that stand on their own often are purchased to look like a child’s twin.
The company sells an expansive line of matching clothing for child and doll, and a library of books for girls on a wide variety of topics. It was purchased by toy giant Mattel—the owner of the Barbie brand of toys—in 1998 for a reported $700 million.
Early in “Body Image,” the author assures young girls that many different body types exist.
Halfway through the book, the Gender Joy chapter takes a hard-left turn.
It prominently features an illustration of an androgynous child wearing pronoun buttons in front of a transgender flag. The chapter defines terms like transgender and nonbinary, and suggests ways girls can express their gender through haircuts and clothing.
“When a baby is born, a doctor looks at the baby’s body parts to assign its sex—whether the baby is female or male,” the chapter explains. “But for some, that assigned sex doesn’t match who they know they are inside.”
Being transgender is not an illness or something to be ashamed of, the author reassures. The text advises girls to talk with a trusted adult, such as a parent or counselor, if they are questioning their gender identity.
“That person can connect you with a specially trained doctor, who can help you and your family decide what’s best for your body,” the book explains. And girls might want to experiment with wearing clothing and using preferred pronouns that make “you feel most like the true you.”
“Parts of your body might make you feel uncomfortable, and you might want to change the way you look,” the book says. “That’s totally OK!”
“If you haven’t gone through puberty yet, the doctor might offer medicine to delay your body’s changes, giving you more time to think about your gender identity,” the book advises.
Puberty blockers are hormone treatments that, in girls, can halt breast growth, cause facial hair to grow, and deepen the voice. While transgender supporters call them reversible, the impact on fertility is unknown.
Some in the medical field have raised grave concerns recently about the use of puberty blockers in children, citing side effects such as, at least temporarily, stopping growth in height, halting development of sex drive, interfering with fertility, and halting the healthy accumulation of calcium in bones.
The book encourages girls who’ve experienced puberty already to see a doctor if they’re questioning their gender. Studies show transgender and nonbinary kids who get help from doctors have better mental health than those who don’t, the chapter claims.
Proponents of children transitioning often use that argument to encourage it.
One 2022 study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that transgender patients, 13 to 20 years, who received puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones had significantly lower depression and suicidal thoughts.
Critics, however, say that the lucrative and growing transgender industry suppresses studies showing the opposite is true. The result is the irrevocable harm of children, they say.
A 2021 article published by the BJM, an international medical care advocacy group, found that children 12-15 with severe gender dysphoria had no significant effect on their psychological function, suicidal thoughts, or body image when using puberty-blocking drugs.
The American Girl “Body Image” book suggests parents don’t need to be included in these life-altering decisions. It advises young girls to seek out help from transgender groups, if necessary.
“If you don’t have an adult you trust, there are organizations across the country that can help you. Turn to the Resources on Page 95 for more information,” the chapter suggests.
Resources for those questioning their gender identity include website addresses for The Trevor Project, Human Rights Campaign, and GLSEN for gender-inclusive schools.
The Trevor Project is an LGBT advocacy group offering counseling and a chat feature for youths. The Human Rights Campaign pushes LGBT rights.
Promoting Critical Race Theory
The Gender Joy chapter also introduces children to the term “intersectionality” and provides a worksheet with blanks for listing characteristics, such as gender, race, and age.
Intersectionality is a concept used in Critical Race Theory (CRT) to point out a person’s overlapping belonging to multiple victim groups that subject them to discrimination.
CRT suggests a person with greater intersectionality is deserving of more preferential treatment as repayment for that oppression.
The book highlights the fictional character Ivy—a 10-year-old who is deaf, transgender, and Jewish—as a way of explaining intersectionality to young readers.
Biden Mulls A Dozen Foreign Mining Projects After Blocking Domestic Ventures
While the Biden administration continues to put America last when it comes to – well, most things, they sure are great at handing money to foreign governments.
In the latest example, the administration is considering funding 12 critical mineral mining projects overseas under the guise of fighting climate change, Axios reported Monday.
According to Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Joe Fernandez, “around a dozen” overseas projects are under consideration, including mining, mineral processing and recycling, which would allow the administration to secure ‘critical minerals’ required to manufacture green energy technologies – such as ones the Biden team have blocked in both Minnesota and Alaska over ‘environmental concerns.’
In January, the Biden Department of the Interior revoked two permits for Twin Metals mines in Minnesota which would have produced copper, nickel and cobalt, claiming that they would contaminate nearby watershed. All three of those metals are essential for wind turbine and battery production.
“Joe Biden continues to put foreign jobs over American jobs,” said Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), top Republican on the Natural Resources Energy and Mineral Subcommittee in a statement to the Daily Caller. “This activist Administration is pushing an energy transition, which requires minerals.”
The federal Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation, which is bankrolling a nickel mine in Brazil, will provide the funds to aid overseas mining developments, Axios reported. The Biden administration will use the Mineral Security Partnership, a global partnership that seeks to expedite the procurement of critical minerals, and will work with Canada, the U.K., the European Union and other allies to fund foreign mines.
On Dec. 2, The Environmental Protection Agency recommended preventing operators of Southwestern Alaska’s Pebble Mine from disposing of waste material in the nearby Bristol Bay, a regulation that would prevent the mine from opening. Over a 20-year period, the mine could extract about 1.5 billion tons of copper, molybdenum as well as other critical minerals that are needed to create solar panels and geothermal energy facilities, according to a report published by Northern Dynasty Minerals, the mine’s owner. -DC
“We have an abundance in the United States, including in the Duluth Complex in my district which alone contains 95% of America’s nickel, 88% of our cobalt, and more than a third of our copper,” Stauber said. “For political reasons, the Biden Administration won’t allow domestic mining.”
“On behalf of the American worker, I will hold this Administration accountable,” Stauber continued.
A new poll suggests that more than half of Canadians surveyed are worried about having enough money to put food on the table, while 86 percent of people are worried the country will face an economic recession in 2023.
Food inflation is reported at higher than 10 percent, and the most recent Canada Food Price Report released Dec. 5 says the cost of groceries will increase another 5 to 7 percent on average next year. These are the highest increases in food prices in the last 12 years that the report has been produced.
“This year’s report predicts that a family of four, including a man (age 31–50), woman (age 31–50), boy (age 14–18), and girl (age 9–13) will pay up to $14,767.36 for food, an increase of up to $966.08 from the total annual cost in 2021,” said the report.
Food price increases in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and Saskatchewan will likely be higher than the national average in 2022, while price increases in the remaining provinces will be lower.
Gas Costs
Besides food prices, Canadians are also worried about putting gas in their cars and trucks. Sixty-one percent of 1,005 adult Canadians surveyed Nov. 11–15 in the Ipsos poll commissioned by Global News said they were worried they may not be able to afford fuel for their vehicles.
Seventy-one percent were worried that interest rates will rise too fast, while 42 percent said they were worried about losing their jobs if the economy did not rebound.
Fifty-two percent of Canadians surveyed said they were worried they would be short of money to buy Christmas gifts, and 48 percent said they were worried about overspending during the holidays. Eighty-one percent of those surveyed were worried inflation was making everyday items less affordable.
A similar poll was carried out in October, and in just one month’s time, concern over almost all of these day-to-day economic concerns increased. For example, in October, less than half (48 percent) of those polled were worried about affording gasoline, and that rose 13 percent to 61 percent just one month later.
“Consistent with October 2022, women are significantly more likely than men to express concern over the majority of these items, including the potential for a recession (92 percent vs. 80 percent of men); economic troubles impacting retirement (72 percent vs. 62 percent of men); interest rates rising quicker than they can adjust (76 percent vs. 67 percent of men); getting in over their head with holiday spending (52 percent vs. 43 percent of men); and not having enough money to buy holiday gifts (56 percent vs. 48 percent),” said the poll.
Cutting Back
Younger people, at 68 percent of those polled, were more likely to feel concerned about affording the holidays and buying gifts, as were 65 percent of parents surveyed.
Ipsos has been tracking the extent that Canadians may be changing their spending habits and cutting back on non-essential items to cope with high inflation. Fifty-two percent of Canadians say they have reduced eating out.
Almost half, 46 percent, of those polled report reducing entertainment, 44 percent are buying less new clothing, and 31 percent are reducing their travel in Canada. Another 28 percent are reducing their travel outside the country.
Half of Canadians are looking at flyers and shopping for sales, while another 31 percent are using coupons to save money.
