Info in Bits & Pieces

REAL ESTATE:
Price Drops Coming, Brace for More
Real estate prices have declined over the past several months with more price reduction to come. The median home price has dropped by 7% since peaking in June 2022. But sales volume is down by over 24% since last year. “We expect a drop of 15% to 20% over the next year (2023)…” per Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at the Pantheon Macroeconomics.
https://ussanews.com/2022/11/29/homeowners-should-brace-for-property-price-drop/

New Visa Card Features Personal Carbon Emissions Tracker
Vancity, a Canadian credit union, launches this new credit card technology to report users’ carbon emissions.
https://yournews.com/2022/11/25/2460187/new-visa-card-features-personal-carbon-emissions-tracker/

CDC: 1 in 9 Students in Middle and High School Use Tobacco
Their survey suggests that 16.5% of high school student and 4.5% of middle school students use tobacco. More than 3 million youth in grades 6 through 12 use some type of tobacco. See much more on the CDC website.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm

Christians in England and Wales Drop. The number of people identifying as Christian has fallen to less than half of the population for the first time in history, according to data released from the 2021 census in the UK.

There is a bad moon rising in the economic sphere, which affects everyone. See link below:

Clue: it is not good. Society is injured by encouraging evil men. Chaos created by a shooter who kills and injures at random is like voters who elect a fool to fill a vital office or agree to place unvetted aliens on the public dole. It hurts everyone concerned. You can be very sure of the outcome.

NEWS:
1 in 7 Seniors Skipped Meals Due to Inflation Burden: Survey
by Petr Svab, December 4, 2022
Seniors have been severely affected by inflation. Most had to cut back on spending, and many needed to take “drastic” measures, such as skipping meals, according to a recent survey. Inflation has been exceptionally high this year, rising to a four-decade high of 9 percent in June before cooling down to 7.7 percent in October. Daily necessities such as food, shelter, and energy have soared in price.
https://www.ntd.com/1-in-7-seniors-skipped-bmeals-due-to-inflation-burden-survey_886242.html

$119 MILLION or a 0.0377% INCREASE
How thrilling that the Los Angela Police Commission has approved a $119 million budget increase for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, adding to its current $3.15 billion budget, which is only a 0.0377% increase. I hope your salary or wage increase was more than this.

$323 MILLION
Finland buys $323.3 million in missiles and weapons from the U.S.

$9 BILLION
U.S. shoppers spent a record $9.12 billion online on Black Friday, as consumers weathered the squeeze from high inflation and grabbed steep discounts on everything from smartphones to toys.

40 PERCENT
More than 40% of U.S. small business owners say they couldn’t pay rent on time or in full for November, the highest this year, according to an Alignable survey.

56.8 PERCENT of Americans do not trust the integrity of U.S. elections, according to a survey conducted by the Trafalgar Group for Convention of States.

QUOTE:
The lack of judgment in governmental affairs creates a form of government ruled by one person with absolute power (depotism).
~~~ Ferdinand Hitzig (1807-1875)
Sounds a little too familiar to our current situation in D.C.

QUOTE:
“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”
~~~ Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life

QUOTE:
“Be an Encourager: When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem, enhance their self-confidence, make them work harder, lift their spirits and make them successful in their endeavors. Encouragement goes straight to the heart and is always available. Be an encourager. Always.”
~~~ Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

QUOTE:
“Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up.”
~~~ John C. Maxwell

QUOTE:
”When power comes into the hands of men who are not acquainted with it or are crooked, that new precedent is transferred from the guilty, who deserve such treatment, to the innocent, who do not.”
~~~ Caesar, 63 B.C., in a debate with Marcus Cato

QUOTE:
”The political contest between parents and people who make an independent living, on the one hand, and the administrative state and all its mighty forces on the other, is the key political contest of our time.”
~~~ Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College

TRUTH:
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
~~~ Jesus, King of kings (John 16:33)