The mainstream media continues to proclaim that we are in an “economic recovery,” yet at the same time there are many indications things are getting worse. Incomes are declining, taxes are going up, government dependence is high, and employment rates have been falling.
The top 10% of all income earners in the U.S. are doing very well but most U.S. consumers are either flat broke or in debt. The large disposable incomes that retail chains depend upon are simply not there anymore.
Consequently, retail chains all over the United States are closing up stores.. Even Wal-Mart is having a bad time. A recent internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to Bloomberg described February sales as a “total disaster.”
Best Buy Forecast store closings: 200 to 250
Sears Holding Corp. Forecast store closings: Kmart 175 to 225, Sears 100 to 125
J.C. Penney Forecast store closings: 300 to 350
Office Depot Forecast store closings: 125 to 150
Barnes & Noble Forecast store closings: 190 to 240, per company comments
Gamestop Forecast store closings: 500 to 600
OfficeMax Forecast store closings: 150 to 175
RadioShack Forecast store closings: 450 to 550
Perhaps it is time that we faced the truth. The middle Class is shrinking, incomes are declining and there are not nearly as many jobs as there used to be. The only work that has increased is part-time, and that’s only because it allows employers to reduce costs through a diminished benefit package, or none at all.
When you look at the numbers it is undeniable what’s happening to America. As long as the stock market does okay, our leaders doesn’t seem too concerned about the suffering that everyone else is going through. They are not doing anything to fix our problems, and often enough they just make things worse.
Title: Retail Apocalypse: Why Are Major Retail Chains All Over America
Collapsing?
Author’s Name: Michael Snyder
Source: Information Clearing House, February 18, 2013
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34003.htm
Student Researcher: Emma Irving, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Judith Friscia, Sonoma State University