Archive for December 11th, 2012

Will boomers make the economy go bust?

December 11, 2012

Conventional wisdom: increasing proportion of old folks will be a drag on the consumer economy.

People in their 50s spend more than younger – or older folks … by a lot.

The economic implications are monumental.

image

Here’s the logic from Bill Gross at PIMCO:

(more…)

Posted in Consumption, Economy, Mktg - Consumer Behavior | Leave a Comment »

Work harder: “Tax payer dependents” are counting on you.

December 11, 2012

Here are some nums that should give you pause.

There are about 315 million people living legally in the US.

244 million — 77.5% of the 315 million – are working age … the rest are kids

155 million of the 244 million are officially counted “in the labor force” … that’s 63.8% – the labor force participation rate.

Of the 155 million, 143 million are employed; 12 million are unemployed … that’s 7.7% of the 155 million in the labor force

Of the 143 million who are employed, 22 million (15%) work for Fed, state and local government … 121 million work in the private sector

The 121 million private sector employees pay the taxes that support

  • 89 million working age adults who aren’t looking for work
  • 12 million unemployeds
  • 22 million government employees (remember, our tax dollars pay their wages, benefits, and over-stuffed pensions)

That’s a total of 122 million adults who are dependent on the taxes paid by 121 million private sector workers.

Got that?

There are more tax payer dependent adults than there are private sector workers.

Think about it …

image

Coming: How the ratio of tax payer dependent adults to private sector workers has changed over time.

Stay tuned ….

* * * * *
Follow on Twitter @KenHoma                           >> Latest Posts

Posted in Employment - Jobs, Government Employees, Labor Force, Unemployment | 4 Comments »

Price points: A McDouble for a buck … shoulda asked me.

December 11, 2012

In October, McDonald’s posted its first monthly drop in nine years.

The company immediately replaced the president of its U.S. business.

The new president “ramped up McDonald’s value messaging, focusing heavily on the Dollar Menu to help drive traffic”.

The company again renewed emphasis on low-priced menu options, such as $1 Sausage McMuffins and coffee.

image

The result?

McDonald’s sales sales bounced back in November.

Surprise, surprise, surprise…

Source

* * * * *
Follow on Twitter @KenHoma                         >> Latest Posts

Posted in Mktg - Pricing, Price points, Restaurants | Leave a Comment »

Nums: Stay in school !

December 11, 2012

It isn’t exactly new news that more education makes you more employable.

For folks without a HS diploma:

  • The current unemployment rate is 12%
  • That’s down 4 percentage points from the 16% recession peak.
  • But, it’s still 6 percentage points higher than the 6% low point back to 2000.
  • And, 6% isn’t very low.

image

For folks with a college degree  or higher:

  • The current unemployment rate is 4%
  • That’s down 1 percentage points from the 5% recession peak.
  • But, it’s still 2 percentage points higher than the 2% low point back to 2000.

Hard to argue against the importance of education.

* * * * *
Follow on Twitter @KenHoma                    >> Latest Posts

Posted in Education - Academics, Employment - Jobs, Unemployment | 1 Comment »