America’s Middle Class on the Chopping Block

By Mitchell Clark for Daily Gains Letter | Mar 5, 2013

The U.S. economy is going to be low and slow for quite a long time. Cuts to government spending, persistent unemployment, and stagnant incomes all make for a real age of austerity at both the sovereign and individual levels. And there is inflation in this economy, and it’s keeping disposable incomes down. In an economy that is about 70% based on consumer spending, this is not good.

I’ve never been bearish on the U.S. economy, because no other country on the planet is able to pull up its bootstraps and move forward as quickly. But times have changed and after experiencing persistent financial crises (savings and loan, tech bubble, subprime mortgage crisis) and unreasonable government spending, I fear the system can no longer recover from these shocks like it used to. The reason for this is the lack of financial flexibility caused by too much government spending and a lack of will on the part of policymakers to enact ongoing, practical solutions to keep the ship sailing.

And the lack of financial flexibility is present in all the levels of government, particularly following the troubles in the real estate market after the subprime mortgage bubble had burst. I hate to say this, but government spending is a large part of gross domestic product (GDP) in all Western countries. This is why the eurozone is in such trouble, and it’s also why that region is destined for economic mediocrity for years to come.

I fear that the U.S. economy is going down the same path, and breaking out of this cycle is going to be extremely difficult. The single greatest strength … Read More