Jonathan Mena Essays & Analysis
Independent writing

Jonathan
Mena.

Banking and finance professional based in Forney, TX. I write about cities, money, culture, and the gap between how things work and how they're supposed to.

Forney, TX
Writing
Financial Analysis  ·  NYSE: AMC  ·  May 2026
What Actually Saves AMC

AMC isn't a movie theater. It's a distribution hub with empty pallets and $4 billion in debt. Here is what actually fixes it.

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Equity Research  ·  NASDAQ: TSLA  ·  May 2026
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): It's Not If. It's When.

A plain-English short case on why Tesla trades at 393x earnings, why the robotaxi narrative is a decade of missed deadlines, and why fair value is $115–$130, not $428.

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Financial Analysis  ·  East Dallas  ·  May 2026
Town East Mall Was Almost Lost. Here Is What Should Happen Next.

A plain-English breakdown of why Mesquite's largest retail asset nearly went to foreclosure, why the current entertainment pivot only partially solves the problem, and what a real fix actually looks like.

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Personal Essay  ·  October 2025
Why I Write Essays

On a quiet trend in the Hispanic community that's been bothering me, and why someone in our community needs to be asking more questions.

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Personal Essay  ·  October 2025
The Courtesy of Individuality

At a Fiesta checkout line, a thought flashed through my mind that I didn't like. How collective judgment shapes individual behavior, and the prison we build trying to escape it.

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Economics  ·  October 2025
Why GDP Sucks as a Measure of a Nation's Success

GDP is one big, fat receipt. It goes up when a hurricane destroys a city. It goes down when a family cooks dinner at home. That is not a measure of success, and we should stop pretending it is.

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Personal Essay  ·  October 2025
Why Not to Start a StartUp

Most founders start businesses thinking they'll be free. You're not free. You're a servant to every promise you've ever made. And by proxy, why you should do it anyway.

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