53% of Millennial And Gen Z Consumers Are Resorting to ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Services And Racking up Enormous Debt
Recent data from analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that 53 percent of millennials (ages 30 to 44) and Gen Z (ages 18 to 29) consumers are now using “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services as a financial lifeline for their daily essentials to adapt to inflation.
BNPL providers like Afterpay Limited and Klarna Bank AB have witnessed a sudden shift in BNPL trends among their younger users over the past few years.
In 2021 and 2022, millennial and Gen Z consumers often used Afterpay to purchase “apparel and accessories.” However, in 2023, “apparel and accessories” fell behind the categories of “arts, travel and entertainment,” “home and garden” and “hardware.” Afterpay has also seen double- and triple-digit surges among the youngest users in spending from 2022 to 2023, including for contact lenses (465 percent), garbage bags (182 percent) and first-aid antiseptics (98 percent).
(Related: Gen Y and Z Brits resorting to “buy now, pay later” schemes to manage finances.)
Meanwhile, young Klarna users began using its BNPL services for groceries while waiting for a paycheck to buy all essentials without sacrificing anything.
Benjamin Espinoza, a 27-year-old video editor from San Antonio, Texas, represents a growing demographic of Gen Z relying on BNPL services for their essential needs. Espinoza, who made less than $7,000 last year, recently used Klarna to spread out his $40 grocery bill.
BNPL spending, which initially started as a tool for one-time purchases, continues to fuel its popularity among consumers facing economic uncertainties. This significant increase lies beyond the convenience of splitting transactions into manageable payments. Instead, it lies in their accessibility and ease of integration into different shopping platforms.
Fear of credit card debt and its high interest rate fuels BNPL surge
Nela Richardson, the chief economist of the ADP Research Institute, cites three main reasons for the popularity of BNPL services. Firstly, the high demand due to the late stages of the pandemic. Secondly, the government relief that supported it is almost over. Lastly, credit card interest rates have gone over 20 percent with the Federal Reserve increasing rates.
In other words, the fear of spiraling deeper into credit card debt, often exacerbated by exorbitant interest rates exceeding 20 percent, has fueled a notable surge in the adoption of BNPL services among consumers.
For instance, for 27-year-old Texas mom Savannah Thrower and others like her, BNPL services present a viable alternative to traditional credit cards. Thrower said BNPL services offer a way to manage expenses without the looming threat of hefty interest charges. She acknowledged the allure of credit cards but recognized their potential for overspending. So, she opts for BNPL services like Afterpay and PayPal to break down her purchases into manageable, interest-free installments.
The fear of falling into the same financial pitfalls witnessed during the aftermath of the 2010 financial crisis resonates strongly with the millennial generation. This explains why there are only 35 percent of traditional credit card holders among millennial and Gen Z consumers.
Matt Gross, senior director of communications at Affirm, noted that many millennials are turning to BNPL to avoid the burden of credit card debt, given their memories of the recession’s impact on consumer bankruptcies, which peaked at 1.5 million in 2010.
“There is a whole generation of millennials like me who saw what happened in the wake of the financial crisis, and they don’t want to fall into that trap again,” he said.
Watch this video discussing the increasing popularity of BNPL loans.
Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi
Ukraine Tortures Russian Prisoners of War in 2023-2024 – UN
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian prisoners of war have been tortured in Ukraine between December 2023 and February 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.
The employees of the OHCHR visited 44 Russian prisoners of war in Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Lvov, Nikolayev, Sumy, Vinnitsa and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine from December 2023 to February 2024.
“While these Russian POWs did not make any allegations of torture occurring at these facilities, they provided credible accounts of torture or ill-treatment in transit places after their immediate evacuation from the battlefield,” the OHCHR said in a report on Tuesday.
Ukrainian authorities do not sufficiently prosecute those responsible for torture, violence against civilians and prisoners of war, the OHCHR said.
“OHCHR has documented arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and the use of torture and ill treatment, including sexual violence, by Ukrainian authorities during the detention of conflict-related civilian detainees and Russian POWs, as well as the summary execution of at least 25 Russian servicemen hors de combat (all in 2022 and early 2023),” the report said, adding that “Ukrainian authorities have launched at least five criminal investigations into allegations of violations committed by their own security forces, involving 22 victims.”
These results show a lack of progress in the investigation and prosecution of such violations, the OHCHR said.
The Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine is subjected to discriminatory treatment in comparison to other linguistic minorities that speak EU languages, the OHCHR stressed.
OHCHR examined the law adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine on December 8, which amends a number of legislative acts related to the rights of national minorities.
“While the law is a significant step forward in improving the rights of national minorities, it maintains a discriminatory differential treatment between, on the one hand, national minorities speaking an official language of the EU, and on the other hand, national minorities whose languages are not official languages of the EU, such as Russian, Armenian or Romani. Although the first category of national minorities saw their rights broadened, as described above, national minorities whose language is not an EU language will not be able to enjoy the same rights,” the OHCHR highlighted.
Ukrainian authorities continued intimidating the priests and worshipers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from December 2023 to February 2024, the OHCHR pointrd out..
“Clergymen and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) continued to experience intimidation during the reporting period. OHCHR recorded six cases across five regions where groups of people forcefully broke into UOC churches, justifying their actions with decisions from local authorities to register new religious communities of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) at the same address as existing UOC communities,” the OHCHR said.
Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi
Putin: Talk of Russia Attacking NATO Is ‘Utter Nonsense’
Moscow is not looking for a confrontation with America’s satellites in Eastern Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. He said that NATO has been creeping towards Russia, not the other way around: “The claims […]
The post Putin: Talk of Russia Attacking NATO Is ‘Utter Nonsense’ appeared first on The People’s Voice.
Common Ingredient Used in Baked Goods And Processed Foods Linked to Lower Sperm Counts
One ingredient often used to make various baked goods and processed foods may cause DNA damage, oxidative stress and decreased testosterone levels and sperm counts in male mammals: sodium aluminum phosphate.
Respected author and journalist Naomi Wolf discussed in an article the widespread use of sodium aluminum phosphate on common food products such as baking powders, pancake mixes, frozen pizzas and processed cheeses.
She also discussed several peer-reviewed studies that were linked to broader trends in reproductive health and masculinity, warning that sodium aluminum phosphate affected blood testosterone linked to libido, and sperm counts associated with fertility.
(Related: Studies show ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS put millions of people in the U.K. at risk of cardiovascular disease.)
Sodium aluminum phosphate is an additive often used in food products as an emulsifying agent, leavening acid and stabilizer. It is a white, odorless solid that is slightly soluble in water.
Sodium aluminum phosphate is used to make a variety of commercially baked goods like biscuits, cakes and muffins. It is also used for baking powders and self-rising flours and in processed cheeses to improve their texture and melting properties.
Sodium aluminum phosphate is also used in school lunches and fast food items, like hamburger buns and pizza dough, said Wolf.
Wolf warned that people are often exposed to sodium aluminum phosphate, especially if they consume food products like processed baked goods like burgers and frozen pizza.
She also called for sodium aluminum phosphate to be “taken out of our food supply.”
Sodium aluminum phosphate is “hazardous”
Chemicals company Innophos sells sodium aluminum phosphate under the brand name Actif-8. The product’s brand safety data sheet has classified sodium aluminum phosphate as a “hazardous substance or preparation” that can cause serious eye damage and skin and respiratory irritation.
The safety data sheet also warned that users must avoid breathing dust, fumes, gas, mist, vapors, or sodium aluminum phosphate spray and to wash “thoroughly after handling.”
The Innophos safety data sheet also advised users to wear protective gloves and eye or face protection when handling sodium aluminum phosphate.
If inhaled, Innophos warned that sodium aluminum phosphate “may cause upper respiratory tract irritation.” Additionally, ingesting large quantities of the toxic additive may cause negative side effects such as abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
However, despite these warnings, Wolf explained that sodium aluminum phosphate is still often used to make various food products without safety precautions for consumers.
“People who handle this product have to suit up and ventilate and avoid eye and skin and lung irritation, yet it is also used to make food that children are eating, warned Wolf.
She also discussed a summary of peer-reviewed scientific literature on aluminum reproductive toxicity by Robert A. Yokel, published in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology. According to the review, aluminum exposure may cause “adverse reproductive outcomes in male and female mammals.”
Yokel’s analysis also suggested that “male reproductive endpoints were significantly affected after exposure to lower levels of [aluminum] than females.” Increased aluminum intake resulted in higher concentrations of the metal in the fetus, placenta and testes in both male and female mice and rats.
The proposed mechanism for aluminum’s reproductive toxicity was linked to “oxidative stress as the initiating event, followed by increased DNA damage, impaired spermatogenesis and reduced testosterone levels and sperm count.”
Christopher Exley, a researcher on aluminum toxicity and the author of “Imagine You Are An Aluminum Atom: Discussions With Mr. Aluminum,” praised Wolf’s efforts to bring the toxic effectsof sodium aluminum phosphate to a wider audience.
Exley cautioned that humanity is now “in the [aluminum]” age and that it is becoming harder to avoid sodium aluminum phosphate exposure. He also warned that the additive “has a significant impact upon human health — including the male reproductive system.”
Exley, who is a leading expert on aluminum toxicity, has studied the effects of aluminum exposure on human health with his team at Keele University in the United Kingdom. Exley and his research team have also looked into the additive’s potential link to autism.
In a 2014 study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, Exley and his fellow researchers provided “unequivocal evidence of high concentrations of aluminum in human semen.” The research team also warned about “concerning implications for spermatogenesis and sperm count.”
In 2017, Exley published research that showed how two months of aluminum exposure at human dietary levels negatively affected spermatogenesis and sperm quality in rats.
Ingesting aluminum linked to “observed declines in masculinity”
According to Wolf, the studied effects of ingesting aluminum correspond to observed declines in masculinity, muscle mass and libido among younger men.
She also warned that some environmental factors, like aluminum exposure, could help explain increased rates of depression, disinterest in sex and weight gain among men. Wolf also warned that sodium aluminum phosphate may cause brain inflammation, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
She also said that other potential sources of aluminum exposure include antacids, cookware, vaccines and geoengineering projects that “spray aluminum particles into the atmosphere.”
Wolf was “horrified” to find proof of a “chemical war on men” that is targeting traditional masculinity, along with “the ability to strengthen a physical relationship” and in turn a family, or to fight in a “hot war.”
Wolf also criticized the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of food additives like sodium aluminum phosphate, particularly the agency’s “extraordinarily corrupt and negligent” handling of Pfizer’s Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine trials.
According to Wolf, the FDA has not recalled lead-contaminated cinnamon applesauce products, instead claiming that manufacturers and distributors must make sure that their products are not contaminated with harmful chemicals.
She advised consumers to have a more proactive approach to avoid aluminum-containing food additives. Wolf said that shoppers should always check ingredient labels and remove products with aluminum from their pantries.
Go to Ingredients.news for similar stories about other dangerous food additives.
Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi
Goading Ukraine to Fight to the Last Man: Kremlin Names Europe’s Dominating Policy
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The approach of provoking Kiev to “fight until the last Ukrainian” dominates in Europe, nothing has changed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
“We see different points of view, with different nuances, in the European political establishment. They have different attitudes towards the topic of the Ukrainian conflict and the need to continue to increase the degree of involvement of European capitals in this conflict … At the same time, this does not change the dominant approach in Europe about the need to provoke and encourage Ukraine to fight until the last Ukrainian,” Peskov told reporters.
Good personal relations between leaders solved difficult issues in the past, but now European leaders have no such will, Kremlin spokesman said.
“Good constructive relations on a personal level can always help resolve interstate issues. This has been repeatedly proven by both former chancellor Schroeder and Russian president Putin. At the time when Schroeder was at the head of his country, this helped resolve the most difficult issues and ensure forward movement in the development of bilateral relations. Unfortunately, now we do not see such political will among current politicians and do not hear such words from them,” Peskov told reporters.
In an interview with tdpa news agency earlier this week, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin may play a role in the negotiation process on the conflict in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron currently has the most radical position on the conflict in Ukraine when compared to other European leaders, Peskov added.
“But at the same time, we see that in this case, President Macron probably takes the most radical position, as he is the initiator of the discussion about the need to send foreign military contingents to Ukraine, we are closely monitoring this whole story,” Peskov told reporters.
Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s about a possibility of peace talks on Ukraine, that Moscow is monitoring such details, but this does not change the whole picture.
“All of them are united by the declared political will to support Ukraine to the extent possible until the very end. We are monitoring all these details most carefully, it does not change the essence of what is happening, Germany is already pretty involved in the conflict,” Peskov told reporters, adding that Russian advisers are not partaking in this discussions.
Earlier in the day, Scholz said that several countries and Ukraine are discussing the possibility of initiatives that could lead to a peace process in the Ukrainian conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agenda does not include a trip to Belgorod for now, Peskov added.
“No, a trip to Belgorod is not in the president’s plans for now,” the spokesman told reporters.
Vladimir Putin has an invitation to visit Vietnam, but the date of the trip has not been determined yet, Dmitry Peskov said.
“The president has a valid invitation to visit Vietnam, and the date of such a trip will be agreed upon. They have not yet been agreed upon. Work will continue through diplomatic channels,” Peskov told reporters.
The Vietnamnet news agency has reported that Putin has accepted the invitation to visit Vietnam in the near future.
Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi
Berlin To Build 16 New Migrant Container Villages
Local mayors in Berlin are breaking ranks against a state Senate decision to build 16 new container facilities to house over 6,000 asylum seekers across the German capital, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is quick to point out that the ruling government in Berlin is supposedly led by supposedly conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).
“The CDU is pursuing a migration policy against its own people: in CDU-governed Berlin alone, the Senate wants to build a total of 16 new asylum accommodations with more than 6,000 places. No wonder, because CDU Mayor Wegner has approved a stop to deportations. With the CDU, you get a policy of mass migration in all federal states. You get crime, parallel societies, asylum abuse and neglect,” wrote the party in a statement.
Berlin’s state legislature recently approved plans to construct container villages in several locations where local politicians have already sounded the alarm over saturated public services.
Up to 6,130 new arrivals will be housed in the accommodation to be built by 2026, suggesting state lawmakers have no intention of tackling the spiraling asylum applications gripping the nation, but local mayors are at least putting up some resistance to the plans.
“The districts already doing the most will be put under additional strain,” said Lichtenberg Mayor Martin Schaefer, the CDU politician whose district will play host to four of the new container villages.
Speaking to the Berliner Zeitung, Schaefer expressed his concern that infrastructure and public services are not being enhanced at the same speed as the increasing population and, as such, the proposed locations are “not suitable for [asylum] accommodation.”
“Without schools, daycare centers, midwives, doctors, and social, integrative offers, living together cannot be successful. This only encourages radical forces and damages social cohesion,” he told the local newspaper.
Migrant container village instead of school
One of the container villages in Schaefer’s district will reportedly be built on a site previously earmarked for a school, the construction of which will now be canceled. “I can no longer justify this to anyone in my district,” the local mayor said.
Emine Demirbüken-Wegner, another CDU district mayor representing the north-east borough of Reinickendorf, revealed she had found out about state plans to install more asylum accommodations in her constituency from the press, claiming that an “uncoordinated advance at the state level was not even communicated with the districts in advance.”
Reinickendorf already encompasses Berlin Tegel Airport, home to the largest asylum village in the German capital, with emergency accommodation housing over 13,000 migrants.
Demirbüken-Wegner also raised the saturation of public services in the area and lamented the decision to impose a greater burden on local residents.
“The district office is of the opinion that the existing locations cannot be expanded further for reasons of social infrastructure, the lack of daycare places and youth facilities, and the noticeable overload of the intercultural population mix,” she said.
However, concerns have fallen upon deaf ears in the Berlin Senate, with plans approved to increase the Tegel container village by another 1,000 migrants.
The German capital spent almost 3 percent of its budget on migrants last year, totaling €1.1 billion, official figures show, while the government told residents it had no funding for the renovation of schools or the improvement of transport infrastructure.
The party is pointing to the pre-migration policies pursued by CDU mayor Wegner in Berlin as foreshadowing to what will occur if the CDU gains power at the federal level.
“Only with the AfD will the current asylum law finally be implemented, only with us will the CDU asylum chaos be ended. Anyone who does not have the right to asylum is not allowed to come to Germany. And anyone who stays here illegally must have consistently deported them. However, nothing will change with the CDU, which repeatedly feigns criticism of mass migration, only to then do the complete opposite,” wrote the party.
In December, a Freedom of Information request by the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary party in the Berlin Senate revealed the state government was spending €1.5 million per day to house migrants in just 12 buildings, consisting of 10 hotels and 2 migrant arrival centers, in the city.
Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi