☕ Hidden taxes

We know what you’re having for dinner tonight... February 14, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [RAD Diversified]( Good morning. Awful news out of Michigan State University. Last night, a gunman killed three people and injured five more after opening fire in two campus buildings. The suspect, a 43-year-old man, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours later, police said. Michigan State has canceled all campus activities for 48 hours. Today also marks five years since 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. —Max Knoblauch, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 11,891.79 +1.48% S&P 4,137.29 +1.14% Dow 34,245.93 +1.11% 10-Year 3.705% -3.2 bps Bitcoin $21,677.96 -0.66% Palantir $8.89 +16.82% AH *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks started the week off [strong]( yesterday, with investors betting that today’s government data drop will show inflation continuing to come down (so things could swing the other way if…it doesn’t). Palantir’s stock soared in extended trading hours after the company reported its first profitable quarter ever and said it expects a profitable year.  RETAIL [TikTok made you buy it. Can TikTok make you stop?]( [a phone with lipstick on it and speech bubbles coming out if saying "Too expensive" and "Don't buy this product"]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Paper Boat Creative/Getty Images Whether it’s a jar that separates your pickles from the pickle juice or a stainless steel cup with a straw in it, odds are that TikTok has led you to buy something you’ve since realized you don’t need. Recently, though, backlash against overconsumption has taken hold on the app in the form of a new trend: [deinfluencing](. A far cry from the days when the For You Page made it seem like you were weird for not buying and gutting an old school bus and putting laminate flooring in there, the rising trend of deinfluencing encourages users to not spend their money on viral products. Basically a natural response to an app flooded with influencers, the videos are created by anyone from remorseful buyers to tired dermatologists explaining why a given product isn’t worth the hype or the cash. The “deinfluencing” hashtag features ~155 million videos and has been growing steadily in recent months—exploding in late January, when a popular TikTok beauty influencer was accused of wearing fake eyelashes in a sponsored video advertising L’Oréal mascara. If the trend holds, it could spell the end of the easy money era for the influencer marketing economy, which hit $16.4 billion in 2022. Influencer fatigue If the influencer economy rose out of a desire for more authenticity in advertising, the deinfluencing trend has risen out of an awareness that a commercial isn’t more trustworthy just because it was shot in a living room. According to market research firm GWI, the number of Gen Zers interested in influencers has dropped 12% since 2020. Deinfluencing also reflects a tightening economy in which people are less interested in frivolous spending and more interested in spending nights in, eating tinned fish by candlelight. This isn’t brand new: The tide of anti-consumerism has risen and fallen in the age of social commerce. Deinfluencing certainly calls to mind the YouTube “anti-hauls” of the pre-TikTok internet—a trend that arose in response to lavish product hauls and unboxings.—MK �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH RAD DIVERSIFIED [The best-kept secret in real estate]( [RAD Diversified]( Real estate is a lot of work. There’s always a new guru pitching new courses and teaching old tactics that may have worked once upon a time. [Inner Circle]( is different. Do they provide education? Sure. Do they fix, flip, and hold? Yes. So what’s different about Inner Circle? It’s done for you. In this partnership, the company does all the work. The only thing you have to do is invest in properties. Inner Circle finds the properties. Inner Circle fixes the properties. Inner Circle manages the properties. Inner Circle sells the properties. You then reap your return. Join the CEO and co-founder of Inner Circle and ask him anything live on Feb. 20 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. [Sign up today](. WORLD Tour de headlines [A gif from The X Files]The X Files/20th Television via Giphy UFO update: It’s not aliens. The US government still hasn’t shared a lot of details about the three objects it shot out of the sky in the days after it felled a suspected Chinese spy balloon, but yesterday the White House press secretary stated that there’s “no indication” of anything [extraterrestrial](. That denial came a day after the commander of NORAD refused to rule out the possibility. Meanwhile, China said the US has sent spy balloons into its territory more than ten times since the start of 2022 (the US, like China, denies sending balloons). Teenage girls are struggling. The CDC’s chief medical officer said yesterday that [teen girls]( are “engulfed in a growing wave of sadness, violence, and trauma,” after the agency released a [report]( showing that 57% of teenage girls felt “persistently sad or hopeless” in 2021. That’s the highest rate in a decade and almost twice what was reported by teenage boys. Additional findings: About 30% of teen girls had seriously considered suicide, up from 19% ten years earlier, and 18% also reported that they experienced sexual violence. Crypto crackdown continues. In the latest setback for the crypto industry, New York financial regulators ordered Paxos to [stop issuing]( Binance’s branded stablecoin. Paxos is also facing potential litigation from the SEC, with the agency likely to contend that the stablecoin, a type of crypto that aims to maintain a consistent value, is a security and therefore subject to securities law—something Paxos denies. The SEC has used a similar argument to go after other crypto firms, including Gemini, Genesis, and Kraken. ECONOMY [The hidden tax on women’s underwear]( [Men's underwear checkmark background, women's underwear dollar sign background]( Photo Illustration: Dianna “Mick” McDougall, Source: Getty Images The US government has women paying more for underwear than men. Proving that policy wonks can embrace the Valentine’s Day spirit, former US trade official Ed Gresser recently [compared]( the tariffs for men’s and women’s undergarments. He found that buyers of the latter get taxed more: - The average tariff on women’s underwear is 15.5%, and just 11.5% for men’s, adding an estimated $1.10 and 75 cents, respectively, to the price of an average pair. But the disparities don’t end there: Imports of high-end silk underwear are taxed less than those of cheaper cotton and polyester undergarments, reflecting trade policies that favor luxury buyers. The origins of the pink knickers tax The tariff gap originates from industry lobbying in the 1930s and ’40s, [according]( to Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell. At the time, domestic producers were concerned about foreign competition for goods that required more labor-intensive production (women’s undies tend to have more intricate designs) and those targeting price-sensitive consumers. Zoom out: The problem is bigger than just underwear. According to Gresser, apparel tariffs account for 75% of the total cost imposed on US consumers by import taxes, and two-thirds of that comes from women’s clothes.—SK �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH MOTIVOSITY [Motivosity]( Your moment to lead. 77% of companies have seen an increase in reported employee burnout. So what should managers do? Leverage an employee experience software that’s built with people in mind: Motivosity. As a solution for employee recognition, rewards, development, and insights, Motivosity can help build a connected culture for your biz. [Start with a demo](. FOOD & BEV [We know what you’re having for dinner tonight]( [Illustration of spaghetti and meatballs between two cups of wine.]( Hannah Minn Valentine’s Day isn’t just about candy companies getting away with injecting inedible orange cream into chocolate squares. It’s also about making last-minute plans to eat as much pasta as possible. According to Yelp data, Italian restaurants make up the biggest portion of reservations (14%) in US major cities on the holiday. And your pasta-eating partner likely didn’t plan as far ahead as they told you. Most Yelp customers (61.7%) make their V Day reservations the week of, and 19.2% are day-of reservation-makers. - If you’re dining out in Miami, FL, you and your fellow diners are likely pretty spur of the moment: 23% of reservations there are made the day of Valentine’s Day, the highest of all metros. - Meanwhile, in Austin, TX, 43% of bookings were made over a week ago. Eleventh-hour planning: A lot of couples are still hoping to slide into that prime 7:30pm Olive Garden spot tonight. Resy told Morning Brew that users have set four times as many notifications to alert them about open reservations for today than the daily average.—MM �  �  �  GRAB BAG Key performance indicators [An empty restaurant]Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images Stat: The surge in remote work is costing Manhattan $12 billion [per year]( as workers spend around 30% fewer days in the office, according to Bloomberg. Turns out those sad desk salads add up: The average NYC worker is spending $4,661 less per year on meals, shopping, and other entertainment near their offices than they did back in the pre-pandemic days of making small talk with your coworkers. Quote: “With this gift, my goal was to help bridge the worlds of on-chain art and contemporary art, which until now have existed separately.” An anonymous NFT collector who goes by Cozomo de’ Medici (and who may or may not be Snoop Dogg) has [donated]( 22 digital artworks to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. LACMA says the pieces by 13 artists from around the world will be the first blockchain art collection for an American museum. And while most NFTs aren’t worth what they once were, the museum is siding with those who say they’re more than just fancy JPEGs. Read: The benefits (or not) of sharing your layoff news on LinkedIn. ([Vox]() NEWS What else is brewing - [Amazon’s]( self-driving car subsidiary, Zoox, took passengers on public roads for the first time. - [Ford]( will work with its Chinese supplier to build a new $3.5 billion electrical vehicle battery plant in Michigan, which is expected to open in 2026. - [The Hanover State Opera]( suspended its ballet director for smearing dog poop on a newspaper critic’s face over a bad review. - [The European Union]( will “narrowly” avoid a recession this year, the European Commission said in its latest forecast. - [Mars Wrigley]( has been fined by US safety regulators after two workers fell into a vat of chocolate at a Pennsylvania factory. RECS Journey from “Be Mine” to “Bae”: How the phrases on [candy hearts]( evolved over time. In case of emergency: This is the [safest seat]( on an airplane. Go small: Watch the [world’s tiniest 3D printer]( make minuscule objects. Learn about our future robot overlords: A UC Berkeley prof’s [recommended reading list]( on AI. Love is in the air: Want to make consumers fall in love with your brand? [This guide from Retail Brew]( will help you tap into the strategies of DTC empires like Casper and Mejuri—experts at driving customer engagement and loyalty. Pitch perfect: Leaders from Dell for Startups in collaboration with Intel join Morning Brew to discuss what makes a [standout startup pitch](. Learn from industry pros by [RSVPing to our virtual event](.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES The puzzle section Brew Mini: Neal sliced through today’s puzzle like it was the Eagles defense, completing it in 22 seconds. Can you beat that time? [Play it here](. Candy bar trivia Rule No. 1 of trivia writing is you must pose a question about candy on Valentine’s Day. So here it goes: Can you identify the following candy bars from their cross-sections? [Cross-sections of candy bars]Scandybars.tumblr.com AROUND THE BREW [Inspiration for success]( [Inspiration for success]( Hey, retail pros, need a dose of inspiration? [Watch on-demand content]( from Retail Brew’s biggest event yet to glean insights and strategies from industry leaders. Make your 2023 goals stick with our brand-new Excel trackers. They’ve got what you need to hold yourself accountable and create good habits, from budgeting to being healthy. [Make an impact this year](. [The Brief, a one-day summit](, is coming back to NYC and we’re upping the ante. Get ready to network and hear from top marketing leaders. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. 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