Adam Smith’s Rubbish Bin (TM)
Professors Bill Keep and Nancy Lasher defend the benefits of competitive markets while exposing business behaviors that just might make Adam Smith turnover in his grave. As a reminder, Smith was the 18th century philosopher whose theory of supply and demand gave us the market economy
Adam Smith’s Rubbish Bin (TM)
Everyone Wants All Of Your Money All Of The Time
Sellers bombard us with messages to buy, buy, buy — and the resulting consumption culture drives America’s economy. Consumer spending makes up about 68% of our GDP, far more than in Germany, Denmark, or Canada. But here’s the catch: the top 10% of U.S. households account for nearly half of all that spending. What happens when the bottom 50–80% of households run out of room in their budgets? We may be getting a preview. Kroger, Barnes & Noble, Olive Garden, Chipotle, and McDonald’s have all reported that lower-income customers are cutting back — just as the economy hovers on the edge of stagnation.