Author: Julia Mehalko

American consumers are fed up. As prices of goods continue to rise, consumers are calling out brands that utilize “trickflation” in order to get people to spend more money. Social media users have recently revealed these tricky tactics. However, Americans aren’t the only ones who are seemingly having such an issue with companies using trickflation to deceive buyers. A New Deceitful Tactic Source: Franki Chamaki/Unsplash Social media users on TikTok and Reddit have coined a new deceitful term: “trickflation.” Trickflation is the technique of changing up a product’s appearance to make it look bigger, then charging more for this item.…

The Silicon Valley billionaires who are planning to build a “California Forever” utopian community have won a lawsuit against local farmers. This legal win has resulted in the tech billionaires securing $510 million in damages. This legal movie is just the latest development in an ongoing land dispute in Solano County, California. The “California Forever” Project Source: Wilson Ye/Unsplash In the last few years, billionaires have begun to buy up land in Solano County, California in an attempt to create what they call a utopian society. This project, called the “California Forever” project, is being funded by the wealthy of…

In the modern era, many brands have publicly come out to support social justice issues. While some consumers have supported these brands, others have called them out for becoming “woke.” These so-called woke brands have even occasionally fallen in popularity because of their takes on social issues. Disney Source: Jayme McColgan/Unsplash For a while now, Disney has been the target of more conservative-leaning people who believe that the company is trying to push a woke agenda. That criticism has only fueled more backlash against Disney by these detractors for various reasons. Disney’s ongoing quest to create more diverse films —…

A new study reveals that residents in Alaska, California, and Texas are most likely to support their states seceding from the United States. While Republicans are more likely to agree with secession than Democrats, many liberals in certain states do support secession. This new poll shows how different areas of the country view the idea of secession. Though this idea may be thought highly of in some states, others don’t agree with it at all. The Most Popular States for Secession Source: Alexis Mette/Unsplash A new YouGov poll shows that the most popular states for the idea of secession are…

Economist Claudia Sahm, the creator of one of the most precise recession predictors, has revealed why she’s slightly nervous about some warning signs she’s seeing in the economy. Sahm believes that the Federal Reserve isn’t doing what it should be doing — taking off basis points in upcoming weeks. Instead, she has stated that the Fed is simply dragging its feet and refusing to act.  The Sahm Rule Source: Olivier Collet/Unsplash Sahm, a former Fed worker, is the creator of the Sahm rule, one of the most accurate recession predictors ever invented. The Sahm rule is also touted as one…

The government of South Carolina has found $1.8 billion just sitting in a state bank account. Nobody knows who this money belongs to, nor where the money came from, or where the money is supposed to eventually go. This shocking find has resulted in many state officials scrambling to find out what to do with it — and how to manage the public outrage over the state’s constant mishandling of money. A Mystery Bank Account Source: Farragutful/Wikimedia Commons For the past decade, this mysterious bank account has collected $1.8 billion. Interestingly, some officials were aware of it, while others weren’t…

American senior citizens on Medicare are being targeted by a “phantom billing” scam that could end up costing them thousands. This scam, which has been around for a while, has greatly increased in recent years. Unfortunately, many seniors don’t even realize they’ve been a victim of this scam — until the deception is already done. What Is Phantom Billing? Source: National Cancer Institute/Unsplash Phantom billing is what happens when someone files false charges to Medicare. These fraudulent charges can be made by various medical professionals, such as doctors, medical companies, or other healthcare providers. This phantom billing is done without…

New data from 2022 has revealed that many people are fleeing Florida — for various reasons. While many people are still flocking to live in the Sunshine State, Florida is seeing droves of residents deciding to start over in other states. Those who have recently left Florida have chosen a few different states to move to. In many ways, this data has proven to be quite surprising to analysts. Census Data Source: Sergio Arteaga/Unsplash According to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 500,000 residents of Florida left the state to go live elsewhere. This mass departure seems…

Many fast food chains in California have already begun to lay off workers as they anticipate the state’s new minimum wage law taking effect in April. On April 1, most fast food industry workers will make $20 an hour. This increase in the state’s minimum wage comes after Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Act into law last September.  A $20 Minimum Wage Source: Kenny Eliason/Unsplash In the last few years, labor unions and policymakers in California have fought to increase the minimum wage that fast food industry workers make. Eventually, this led to the formation of the Fast…

Altria Group, the company that owns and produces Marlboro cigarettes, is selling its shares in Anheuser-Busch InBev. AB InBev is the parent company of Bud Light. Altria Group has announced its intent to sell, stating that it will sell about $2.3 billion of its AB InBev shares. This announcement comes about one year after Bud Light experienced a huge backlash from American consumers over its so-called woke partnerships. Selling Shares Source: Eden, Janine and Jim/Wikimedia Commons Altria Group currently has about 197 million shares in AB InBev. The group will not be selling all of its shares or stakes in…