Spending Growth Comes from the Wealthy, Not the Middle

Since the end of the recession in 2009, inflation-adjusted spending by the top 5% of U.S. earners has risen 17%, compared with just a 1% average rise for everyone else in the country, according to The New York Times. As a consequence, companies in many sectors, from retail to restaurants to appliance makers, are catering to the affluent, despite the large numbers of people in the middle of the income spectrum. The Times quotes John G. Maxwell of PricewaterhouseCoopers as saying it’s better for businesses to aim at high- or low-income demographics; “You don’t want to be stuck in the middle.”