Yeah I know typically we’re all here for a laugh, but I genuinely can’t bring myself to make light of stuff like this.

There are millions of men in the world whose lives would likely be revolutionised if they had someone they felt this secure and safe with.

But our modern society doesn’t reward (and in most cases, actively punishes) emotional vulnerability in men, so instead many of us either lean into toxic masculinity or drown in our depression. Sometimes both.

I’m fortunate enough that I do in fact have someone in my life who I could be this vulnerable with, should I be so inclined, but I also acutely remember the days when this was exactly what I craved in life and thought I would never have, and the suffocating feeling of isolation as a result.

I hope things change.

Oh I know. I was just trying to shed a bit of light on whether this company’s decision was an attempt to take advantage and screw people over, or a genuine survival measure.

The root cause is ultimately the tariffs that will be imposed by the US government.

In reality the decision will be more nuanced, and this company will likely raise prices wherever it can whilst also securing long-term stock at current prices to both avoid the tariffs and increase margins to recover the capital quicker.

But yeah. It’s all down to the government’s tariffs.

Without having more detail I can’t speak with certainty, but, general principles of inventory management and cash flow discourage having a surplus of stock, as that ties up a significant amount of working capital in the costs of storing and handling it all - you risk not being able to pay your liabilities because you’ve sunk all your funds into inventory that hasn’t yet sold and generated more revenue.

Companies often have longer term contracts with specific prices agreed that can’t always be easily changed. Those contacts could quite easily become unprofitable if there are sudden increases to the direct costs of fulfilling them. So, rather than trying to fuck customers, this company is likely trying to stock-up at current market prices to ride-out the first year of tariffs, but in doing so, needs a large injection of working capital to cover the expenditure (hence cancelling bonuses), and also puts itself in a very vulnerable position where cash flow is concerned by tying up that capital in inventory - any further sudden and unexpected costs could lead to the business folding.

I’ve had this since my teens. Some days, weeks, even months are harder than others, but no matter what I always feel like an attention-seeking fraud for not being “serious” about suicide, like others who actually try it

I cope through humour, mostly. I affectionately refer to the train station near me as my “get out of jail free card”, for when things get too much and I eventually succumb. It’ somehow helps to know I’m kidding, but also not kidding. Though I’ve thought and planned enough to know if I did ever really do it, that’s probably not what I’d do.

But yeah. I find all I can do is take each day as it comes.