Shrinking middle-class, shrinking customer demand

Efforts to shut down Occupy encampments across the country might be having some limited success, but the issues that drive the 99% movement continue to be exposed.  You want to know why small businesses are struggling?  Read The New York Times story below.

The New York Times
November 16, 2011

Middle-Class Areas Shrink as Income Gap Grows, New Report Finds

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

WASHINGTON — The portion of American families living in middle-income neighborhoods has declined significantly since 1970, according to a new study, as rising income inequality left a growing share of families in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.

The study, conducted by Stanford University and scheduled for release on Wednesday by the Russell Sage Foundation and Brown University, uses census data to examine family income at the neighborhood level in the country’s 117 biggest metropolitan areas.

The findings show a changed map of prosperity in the United States over the past four decades, with larger patches of affluence and poverty and a shrinking middle.

Read more