Bigworld, It was an eerie feeling yesterday going to one of the local shopping malls. The Sears where I was going was partially shut down, with the entire clothing and apparel floor now occupied by another retailer. The appliance and hardware floor was still there, at least for now, but I see that Craftsman was sold off to Stanley Black & Decker in January.
Heading down to the other end of the mall, the JC Penneys store was being liquidated with all the remaining clothes and display cases being sold off at fire sale prices. Down the street the local K-Mart just shut its doors over the past month.
They keep saying that it's Amazon and online retail that is responsible for the carnage in the retail sector. But Paul Craig Roberts points out that after over 30 years of globalization, the US disposable income has steadily fallen something like 50% since the 1970s, and this is disastrous in an economy like the US' where consumer spending is by far the biggest driver of the economy.
