In a new white paper presented by Advertising Age, the magazine cum datasource for any advertising, marketing, or executive information you might be looking for, Ad Age announces the death of the middle class.
You heard me.
According to the white paper, true affluence can only be felt at incomes above $200,000, and that those below that income level will no longer have the money to purchase the "affordable luxury goods" that flooded the market in the 1990's until the recent economic downturn.
Simply put, as the discrepency between the rich and the poor has become more and more stark, a small plutocracy of wealthy elites drives a larger and larger share of total consumer spending.
...
Inflation adjusted incomes of most American workers have remained more of less static since the 1970's, the rich (and the very rich) have seen their incomes grow exponentially. The top 1% alone control nearly 40% of the wealth.
The Introduction, which is the only section available for free (the complete whitepaper is available by subscription only, and costs $249 to purchase, and I don't have $250 to invest in a Daily Kos diary) quotes Columbia University sociology professor Shamus Rahman Khan. "We're at levels of income inequality that we haven't seen since the end of the gilded age. We're about as unequal as we've ever been."
Americans still like to believe they will one day join the ranks of these rich, discerning consumers. but as income disparity has widened, it has become clear that a smaller percentage will actually achieve that goal.
Emphasis mine.
In an accompanying article, no doubt written to drive sales of the white paper, author Jack Ness details how advertising (and consequently sales) have dropped for mass market brands such as Avon, but continue to rise for luxury brands such as Estee Lauder.
Advertising Age has layed out, in pure business terms, what has happened to our economy. There's no politics here, no party platform. The rich have gotten richer, and the poor have gotten poorer. To prepare advertisers for this new reality, Ad Age and their partners have performed their usual market segmentation magic to identify the affluent households which will have money to spend.
This is disturbing enough, but the fact that Ad Age has already written off the middle class as being even worthy of being advertised to, is shocking. Are we ready to write off the middle class that created the greatest, most affluent, most open, most free society this planet has ever achieved?
Are you ready to give up on the middle class?