Exactly. So . . . where is all the money coming from that all these posters here claim is being used to shop? To buy products? I don’t accept that it’s ALL credit. Quite the contrary, most other evidence says people are saving more and spending less.
Even in the Depression, there were people shopping.
The macro-level stats, tho, are still grim to examine. Take consumer sales on electronics widgets. Look at the electronics retailing landscape of now vs. three years ago - and the retailers that are left are enjoying some decent sales - but this is the result of some huge retailers simply going out of business.
Likewise in small boutique clothing retail - lots of shops closed up. What remains has an increased consumer base, if for no other reason than the competition is gone.
I’m still looking at the commercial real estate sector and seeing it contract. CRE is massively over-built in some areas, with way more retail square footage per consumer than historical trends - even with pre-’08 credit growth, the growth in CRE wasn’t sustainable. Contract credit and you get what we have now - a big crunch in CRE.
As to where disposable income is coming from? Uncle Sugar.
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm
NB:
“Personal current transfer receipts increased $16.6 billion in February, compared with an increase of $29.8 billion in January. The January change reflected the Making Work Pay Credit provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which boosted January receipts by $19.8 billion. The Act provides for a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers. When an individual’s tax credit exceeds the taxes owed, the refundable tax credit payment is classified as “other” government social benefits to persons.
“