A few random observations, charts and factoids to provide some context on what is going on in the world.
Who Would Have Thought?
Interesting data on straight vs. gay for college students by major.
I would have thought Finance (95%) and Fine Arts (27%) would both have had more heterosexuals.
Fashion at 71% straight must be skewed by many straight females offset by a number of gay males.
Nursing and Pre-Med overwhelmingly straight.
Most surprising number to me in this data is that only 42% of African or African American Studies majors are straight. Is this major dominated by Black women's basketball players?
However, this data overall would indicate that up to a third of all college students today are something other than straight.
This is the world we live in.
Who would have thought?
Speaking of colleges, consider the change in the number of entering freshman at southern schools coming from outside the South between 2004 and 2024.
The numbers will undoubtedly be higher this Fall.
This is one of the reasons I previously predicted that more and more colleges and universities in the Northeast and Midwest would face enrollment pressures over the next decade due to declining demographics, high costs and more students from these areas heading south.
Buyer and Sellers
There are 51% more sellers looking to sell their house than buyers looking to buy right now.
Compare that to four years ago when buyers outnumbered sellers by over 30%.
Here are the raw numbers according to RedFin.
1.46 million sellers have their homes on the market.
Only 947,000 active buyers.
All real estate markets are local but this is an indication that the market that was frozen due to high prices and higher interest rates is starting to crack.
The frozen market that masked the affordability issue due to low inventories is destabilizing.
The rapid appreciation in house prices the last few years and the increase in interest rates has driven more and more potential home buyers out of the market.
At the same time, more and more sellers are deciding that they have no choice but to sell due to age, relocations, job loss, divorce, retirement etc.
This is resulting in more sellers and less buyers in the housing market.
Expect home prices to decline in more and more markets as the forces of supply and demand drive price adjustments unless we see lower mortgage rates in the near future.
Chick-fil-A Looks Like It Would Win The Electoral College Vote
Those that know me know that I love Chick-fil-A.
I had my first experience with Chick-fil-A in 1972 at the 6th unit it had opened.
Chick-fil-A now covers the country and is far and away the top-rated fast food chain in the United States.
CFA has over 3,300 locations in 48 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Alaska and Vermont are the only two states in which CFA does not have a location.
CFA is the top-rated fast food choice in 34 different states according to this recent consumer survey.
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| Credit: https://x.com/BrilliantMaps/status/2088695001626608097/photo/1 |
The only surprise to me is how Daylight Donuts could be considered the top-rated fast food chain in Georgia where Chick-fil-A was founded.
CFA has 276 units in Georgia---the most it has in any one state.
I have never heard of Daylight Donut even though it has a location within 5 miles of my house.
Daylight Donuts has over 400 locations principally centered around its original location in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma,
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| Source: https://brilliantmaps.com/us-locations/daylight-donuts-locations-us/ |
Am I missing something with Daylight Donuts?
Food Stamps Are Snapping Down
When the Big Beautiful Bill passed last year and reinstated some work requirements in order to claim SNAP benefits we were told that this would lead to starving families and children.
The new requirements have been in effect for almost a year and it has definitely resulted in fewer people claiming food stamps.
This chart shows the effects by state.
Is it a coincidence that the largest percentage decrease is in Arizona with over a 50% drop in those claiming benefits?
Nationally, the number receiving SNAP benefits has declined 12.6%---from 42.2 million to 37.0 million.
Despite this, we are still running a $2 trillion deficit.
I still have yet to hear of masses of starving families or children.
The most obvious effect I have seen is that snack food and soda sales are down.
I have not seen any reports on donut sales.
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