The Middle Class Is Steadily Eroding. Just Ask the Business World.

[n2doc]

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

In Manhattan, the upscale clothing retailer Barneys will replace the bankrupt discounter Loehmann’s, whose Chelsea store closes in a few weeks. Across the country, Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are struggling, while fine-dining chains like Capital Grille are thriving. And at General Electric, the increase in demand for high-end dishwashers and refrigerators dwarfs sales growth of mass-market models.

As politicians and pundits in Washington continue to spar over whether economic inequality is in fact deepening, in corporate America there really is no debate at all. The post-recession reality is that the customer base for businesses that appeal to the middle class is shrinking as the top tier pulls even further away.

If there is any doubt, the speed at which companies are adapting to the new consumer landscape serves as very convincing evidence. Within top consulting firms and among Wall Street analysts, the shift is being described with a frankness more often associated with left-wing academics than business experts.

“Those consumers who have capital like real estate and stocks and are in the top 20 percent are feeling pretty good,” said John G. Maxwell, head of the global retail and consumer practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/the-middle-class-is-steadily-eroding-just-ask-the-business-world.html?

[jsr]

1. There has never been a better time to be 1% in America.

[daleanime]

3. And "their" future.....

looks even brighter.

[ananda]

2. I always wonder what will happen to the narrow group of moneyed elites ..

.. when the disposable income of the greater population dwindles to
almost nothing.

I keep thinking that they will have to separate themselves from the
rest of the world and run their own economy. They're probably
trying to do that already, but I don't know how long that could last.

[n2doc]

4. They are separating themselves

They have their own world of high end stores, cars, developments, resorts...

[jsr]

5. They also have great protection

called the police, controlled by their lapdogs and paid for by taxpayers.

[Scuba]

6. We can all work for pennies building yachts for our masters.

But just as some of the most richest men in the world are ditching their sea toys, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is still hanging on to his $200 million, 414-foot yacht Octopus, where George Soros reportedly just celebrated New Year’s "with two young brunettes." The yacht, which houses a crew of 60, two helicopters, seven boats, a submarine, and a remote controlled vehicle that crawls the ocean floor, costs the billionaire $20 million a year (or $384,000 a week) to keep up. And yet, in today’s New York Social Diary, David Patrick Columbia doesn’t seem to address the mindblowing cost of upkeep of the yacht as much as he does the yacht’s supposed illegal disposal of garbage.

http://observer.com/2009/01/yacht-update-paul-allen-spends-384k-a-week-on-his-other-billionaires-selling-theirs-off/


Only two helicopters?

[JHB]

12. "We"? You're being optimistic about who'd do the building...

Not this company...

Started in 1992, Hampton Yacht Building Company is one of the first companies from Taiwan to start yacht building in China. Jeff Chen, CEO of Hampton Yacht Group, has more than 25 years experience in the boat building industry. His family has been building the Formosa line of fine yachts in Taiwan for more than 45 years and has built more than 2000 boats over the years. Jeff Chen has spent the last 20 years filling key positions in the Hampton shipyard in Shanghai with the very best people from the top yards in Taiwan. Currently, Hampton's staff includes 200 skill workers; finish carpenters, designers, technical engineers, and naval architects.

It is this experience and expertise that we are bringing to bear on the Hampton line of fine yachts, which are designed for serious passage making. Refining the pilothouse design concept, Hampton Yachts now offers a new line of Pilothouse Yachts ranging from 55' to 75', Endurance L.R.C Ranging for 59' to 87', and a sedan motor yacht and aft cabin motor yachts ranging from 56' to 72'.

Hampton Yachts is a semi-custom yacht builder, allowing customers to input their ideas as to the layout of the interior arrangement, in addition to choosing from various woods, veneers, fabrics, and materials. We also have various standard layouts for the customer to choose from.

Utilizing the lower labor costs in China, we are able to include more details into each yacht. Compare our fine yachts with some of the world's premier yacht builders, and you will realize that Hampton's quality is second to none. With the increasing demand for Hampton yachts, and to better serve Hampton's customers in North America, Hampton Yachts USA, Inc. was established as the distributor and importer of Hampton yachts. Hampton Yachts currently has three dealers in the USA to better serve customers in each region of the country. The current Hampton dealers in the USA are: Anchor Yachts of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hampton Yacht Group of California, and Hampton Yacht Group of Seattle, Washington. Internationally, Hampton Yachts are sold and serviced by Victoria Yachts SRL in Italy and Leigh-Smith Cruiser Sales, the Australia / New Zealand area dealer.

Nor this one...

Shanghai Luck Yachts is a purpose built yacht manufacturing facility located on a tributary of the Huang Pu River, Shanghai China. With deep water access and close proximity to the Shanghai Shipping Ports, Shanghai Luck Yachts is placed extremely well to build and export vessels for clients all around the world.

Shanghai Luck Yachts is a combination of efforts of its key team members, bringing experience from various industries from the marine and manufacturing fields. The team comprises of Chinese, Taiwanese and Australian management to ensure that each and every boast is delivered as the client expected, on time and on budget.

Through the use of advanced manufacturing technology and materials, Shanghai Luck Yachts is able to offer world class yachts from our range of designs or for any OEM projects. Our industry partners and suppliers assist us with providing the best equipment from the world over to deliver a yacht that meets our clients’ high expectations.

All hulls in production feature Infusion Technology, with laminate analysis being performed prior to the process to ensure we meet the regulatory demands. This requires the use of the latest technology in laminate design and construction of exotic fabrics and resin which results in vessels which are lighter stronger and faster. This results in less fuel being used to achieve a given speed which has benefits for the vessel owner and for the environment.

Shanghai Luck Yachts manufactures vessels for both the pleasure and commercial markets here in China and for our International clients. The models range from 20' centre consoles for inshore fishing and cruising to small game fishing vessels at 30' to 40' Performance Sportsfhing vessels all the way up to 58' Sports Yachts destined for the international marinas and pristine waters of exotic countries.

Shanghai Luck Yachts is focused on delivering quality boats and yachts. It is from this drive and passion that we have been able to secure several key OEM clients from established boat building countries. At present Shanghai Luck Yachts manufactures for their Australian client Deep V and Mustang Pleasure Boats as well as two more well known Australian distributors. These relationships are pushing Shanghai Luck Yachts to the forefront of quality, price and style.

[egold2604]

7. Most of the money the 1% make comes from moving pieces of paper around

With manufacturing almost dead in the US, and the middle class making subsidence wages, eventually there will be very little money in circulation to buy goods. Walmart is concerned that the reduction in SNAP payments will affect their customer's ability to shop at Walmart. Short sighted Republicans have forgotten that one of their own, Henry Ford, realized that if he paid a living wage to his employees, they could buy his cars, and they did.

Says Law of Economics, states that Supply Creates its Own Demand. Actually, it is the creation of supply that put enough earning power in the economy to enable the workers to buy the supply.

However, the short sighted elites only look at their current dividend statements and don't look to the future. Eventually, it will all come crashing down.

Look at Spain and what happen to it as a result of all the gold that was plundered from the New World. Spain was a major manufacturing center prior to 1492. While they did not know why, their iron ore contained minerals like chromium that made their steel very strong. Spanish steel was used for weapons going back to Roman times. Toledo Spain was the armorer of the world. Fast forward to a century after the discovery of the New World. All the riches enabled the country to dump manufacturing and buy from other manufacturing centers. Eventually, the money ran out and Spain became impoverished.

I see a time when the money will run out in the US and you can push pieces of paper around just so much.

[Wolf Frankula]

13. Exactly. And What Did Spain Do with All that Money?

War. Wars to be number one in Europe. Wars to keep the Netherlands. Wars to make England stay Catholic. Wars to control Italy. Wars in Germany. The gold went for armaments, armies, navies, subsidies to foreign factions. When the money ran out, the armies crumbled.

And display. Churches, palaces, forts, operas, jewelry.

Sound familiar?

Wolf

[Armstead]

8. Sometimes I think the whole United States deserves to go to hell

Harsh I know. But why do we allow this crap to continue?

And make no mistake WE ALL are responsible -- either by sins of omission and/or commission.

(I include myself in that.)

[cer7711]

10. We're Already There

Sadly.

[closeupready]

9. Tariffs and higher taxes on the 1%. Not rocket science.

But of course, this would have a great impact on people like Feinstein, Clinton, Kerry, and many other Democrat gazillionaires, so these won't happen. Instead, they will seek to expand job-destroying trade pacts and reduce SS benefits, medicare coverage, etc. - if the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute push it, they will pass it.

[pampango]

11. Higher taxes, repeal Taft-Harley to strengthen unions, fund the safety net, regulate corporations.

Lots of countries already do these things and have strong middle classes. We don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[tclambert]

14. No, that's not true. The middle class is long gone already.

I realized it when I saw this graph:

[woo me with science]

15. "Eroding" makes it sound like a natural process.

The middle class has been deliberately, viciously destroyed.

[mindwalker_i]

16. Having notices Obama's shift since being a Senator or from his prez campaign

I've wondered whether he knows some stuff that we don't. Specifically, does he know that society is on the cliff-edge of rebellion as people rapidly approach the point of having nothing to lose? If that's the case, then I could see how he would want to try to keep that from happening - it will likely be highly unpleasant. Since "demestic spying" has been shown to not have stopped any terrorist attack, yet he and others still claim it is necessary, is spying being used to collect information essential to predicting where uprisings will start so they can be squashed early, either with police or with phychological warfare?

The problem is that this will not work indefinitely, especially as inequality continues to get worse. It's like having little pressure release valves added for each bubble in the early stages of an explosion: eventually, the explosion will happen. Maybe he's hoping to fix inequality or at least alleviate it enough to postponse the major explosion. That seems a little farfetched given that Obama is pushing TPP, which looks like a recipe to make inequality (a lot) worse.

I get the feeling that the country, and perhaps world, is set to become a very unpleasant place.

[toby jo]

17. These guys think in quarterly profit statements.

Do they get together and discuss the fact that they've absconded away the buying power of their marks, what now? Or is it just falling in on them, quarter by quarter?

Any philosophical oversight?

What are they gonna do with their little feudal system, now that they've got it back? Give away little duchys' to the good people who made it all possible? Start a war over who will be czar and have us duke it out for them in the name of some fucking flag?

Wonder if they'll hit a breaking point first. As in, 'woops, this isn't workable.'