THE AMERICAN CONSUMER ECONOMY IS STRUGGLING …
By FITSNEWS || U.S. retail sales slipped unexpectedly in September as the consumer economy ended the third quarter on a disappointing note.
Sales dipped by 0.3 percent (after a debt-fueled 0.6 percent increase in August) according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Really? The new iPhones didn’t do it?
“Nothing screams recovery like the US consumer slamming the spending (brakes) just as the holiday season begins to unwind,” the website Zero Hedge reported.
What conclusion should we draw from this data? Easy: It doesn’t take a polar vortex to slow down spending when people don’t have money to spend.
Here’s the inconvenient truth about the American economy: A record 92.6 million working age citizens are not part of the workforce – and those who are in the workforce are hamstrung by stagnant wages. Add it all up and there’s not a lot of disposable income available the sort of purchases that keep the nation’s economic engine humming.
No wonder we just got lapped by China …
5 comments
Inflation is out of hand. With 200k on my ’02 Chevy and both kids out of school I decided to price a new truck. After a brief look around the web (Edmunds mostly) I decided to purchase a modest duplex for the same price as a mid-level F250. It should rent for $400 per side and the taxes are less.
Retail slump. The reason our economy has not cratered is the fact Uncle Sam pumps some 20 billion a month into the economy through food stamps, SSI disability, SS, Medicaid, Medicare, and unemployment. If retail sales are down, it reflects a generational shift in spending habits. Boomers on one hand spend less while Millennials are spending even lesser? Millennials are being hammered yet they have not unified politically to get theirs. Really, if Millennials do not show up at the polls, run for office can they expect anything coming their way if they do not demand it?
Big Mac Index (economist magazine) says the Happy Meal is now twice what it was before 2005 … Oh Bummer.
If Obama gets credit for high gas prices, does he get credit for low gas prices too?
If Obama gets credit for high gas prices, does he get credit for low gas prices too?