[Alberta's Child]

Why don't you take those numbers and subtract the expenditures a consumer has today that he didn't have ten years ago? The issue here is the income a U.S. consumer has for consumer products and other discretionary purchases. Along those lines, I don't think you'll find too many people who are in better shape today than they were ten years ago. If they were, you wouldn't see all of these shipping lines facing bankruptcy. You have a serious problem when you've got low consumer demand despite record-low shipping rates.

[expat_panama]

doesn't have the same disposable income...

--$4,000 more to spend every year than he did ten years ago (from here).

The issue here is the income a U.S. consumer has for consumer products and other  purchases.

Huh.  I know where the numbers are for 'disposable personal income' are but this U.S. discretionary consumer income is a new one.  We can just say that it's whatever you want it to be, I'm easy.