Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden
The US economy is a 70% retail and service economy, which means it is entirely reliant on continued growth in domestic consumption in order to maintain all other elements of the system. With manufacturing only a small part of overall employment (8%) and agriculture also limited (10%), our country is overly dependent on spending habits and ultimately consumer debt. If we produced more goods domestically and exported more overseas then stagflation might not be as big a concern. However, as it stands now the stability of the entire machine rests on people’s faith in the economy and their willingness to continue spending in the hopes that a return to normalcy is “right around the corner.” Continue reading “A Storm Of Indicators Show The US Consumer Is Tapped Out”