This is not good news for our fragile economic recovery. If the only people who have money aren’t spending it and consumer spending is the main driver of the recovery, then this is another danger sign of a possible double dip recession.
This is why the Senate has to pass Unemployment Insurance extensions and why we need to look at another economic stimulus.
I’ve said it before, until we get people working again, across the economic spectrum, by creating jobs, we are still in trouble.
You can’t just count on the Rich to drive the economy– anywhere but into the ground.
The Bush Years proved that…
The economic recovery has been helped in large part by the spending of the most affluent. Now, even the rich appear to be tightening their belts.
Late last year, the highest-income households started spending more confidently, while other consumers held back. But their confidence has since ebbed, according to retail sales reports and some economic analysis.
“One of the reasons that the recovery has lost momentum is that high-end consumers have become more jittery and more cautious,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.
Link to full story:
via The Rich Catch Everyone Else’s Cutback Fever – NYTimes.com.
Lost in the 21st Century 