Status: Occurring
Prediction: The 99%ers Are Coming
“For years, the U.S. did a fine job of pacifying even the marginally employed with Nintendo Wii’s and salty, delicious fries. The calorically challenged do not look like revolutionaries, but years of unemployment and class separation can take a toll. With rising global demand for food, energy, and other resources, the wealthy can absorb price hikes. The unemployed and underemployed cannot. Extended bouts of underemployment can strain public benefits, increase crime, and degrade quality of life.
If you paid over $20 for this book (or borrowed it from a wealthy friend), you might think these are not your problems. After all, you have a good job, clearly enjoy great literature, and nobody with food stamps can get within miles of your favorite Whole Foods. You are not as insulated as you think. There are some very real risks of creating two wildly separate classes of citizens.“
Econovation, 2011 , p.36-37
What Happened
Middle class income has fallen further behind upper-tier incomes, giving rise to the perfect environment for the 99% movement with Occupy Wall Street and Bernie Sanders gaining much traction as the job market hollows out in the middle. Innovators and businesses should and have started to care about the 99% movement as the disappearing American middle class is threatening brands and big money, causing reactions from big companies such as Amazon and Walmart.
Links
- Middle class incomes fall further behind upper-tier incomes
- The Diminishing Middle — And Why That Widens The Gap Between Us
- The Disappearing Middle Class Is Threatening American Mega Brands
- The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats
- The Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Amazon’s And Walmart’s Latest Moves Confirm The Death Of The Middle Class As We Know It
What’s Next?