The Economist (November 23)
Across Asia a surprising and unwelcome phenomenon is arising: middle-class stagnation. Over the past three years, for example, 6 million Indonesians fell “into the ‘aspiring middle class,’” and are now “a stone’s throw away from poverty.” The nation’s middle-class population share dropped “to 17% from 22% before the pandemic.” This “middle-class malaise” is not restricted to Indonesia and may “shake up everything from profits to politics” throughout Asia.
Tags: 17%, 6 million, Asia, Aspiring, Indonesians, Malaise, Middle class, Pandemic, Politics, Population, Poverty, Profits, Stagnation, Surprising, Unwelcome
New York Times (November 2)
“You already know Donald Trump. He is unfit to lead. Watch him. Listen to those who know him best. He tried to subvert an election and remains a threat to democracy…. Mr. Trump’s corruption and lawlessness go beyond elections: It’s his whole ethos. He lies without limit…. He will wreak havoc on the poor, the middle class and employers. Another Trump term will damage the climate, shatter alliances and strengthen autocrats. Americans should demand better. Vote.”
Tags: Alliances, Autocrats, Climate, Corruption, Election, Employers, Havoc, Lawlessness, Lies, Middle class, Poor, Threat to democracy, Trump, Unfit, Vote
Washington Post (October 10)
“By just about every measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. Growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation is back down. More important, many Americans are getting sizable pay raises, and middle-class wealth has surged to record levels.” And yet the lingering effects of inflation seem to have blinded many to the fact that “we are living through one of the best economic years of many people’s lifetimes.”
Tags: Best, Economy, Growth, Inflation, Lingering, Middle class, Pay raises, Record levels, Strong, Surged, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
New York Times (August 18)
“For decades, buying property was considered a safe investment in China. Now, instead of building a foundation of wealth for the country’s middle class, real estate has become a source of discontent and anger.”
Tags: Anger, Buying, China, Discontent, Foundation, Investment, Middle class, Property, Real estate, Safe, Wealth
WARC (August 1)
“Whether it’s $18 for a two-ounce ginseng drink or $75,000 for a luxury mattress, the story is the same: Chinese consumers are becoming more frugal and the days of carefree spending have gone.” For over a decade, upmarket western brands have relied on China’s “expanding middle class” to drive growth, “but now, with a slowing economy, growing unemployment and a disruptive zero-COVID policy, those same middle classes are as likely to be saving as spending.”
Tags: Carefree, China, Consumers, Frugal, Growth, Luxury, Middle class, Saving, Slowing Economy, Spending, Unemployment, Upmarket, Western brands, Zero COVID
The Economist (May 8)
“India’s national government looks increasingly hapless. Confronted with catastrophe, the state has melted away” leaving citizens enraged. “Indians are accustomed to ineptitude and meagre support,” but “it is a sense of utter abandonment, especially among the politically noisy middle class, that is driving the anger.”
Tags: Abandonment, Anger, Catastrophe, Citizens, Confronted, Government, Hapless, India, Ineptitude, Meagre, Middle class, Support
Wall Street Journal (November 28)
“American voters, beware. Politicians promising that Medicare for All and a Green New Deal can be financed by the rich are lying to you. The middle class will pay because that’s where the real money is.”
Tags: Beware, Green New Deal, Lying, Medicare, Middle class, Money, Politicians, Rich, U.S., Voters
New York Times (February 3)
In recent decades, per capita GDP has doubled in the U.S., but “the bulk of the bounty has flowed to the very rich. The middle class has received relative crumbs. If middle-class pay had increased as fast as the economic growth, the average middle-class family would today earn about $15,000 a year more than it does, after taxes and benefits.”
Tags: Benefits, Bounty, Economic growth, GDP, Income inequality, Middle class, Rich, Taxes, U.S.
Bloomberg (February 8)
“Boosted by an expanding middle class, India and Indonesia will enter the ranks of the five largest, as well as the fastest growing air-passenger markets by 2036. China will post the quickest passenger growth and also overtake the U.S. as the biggest air-travel market. Turkey rounds up the top five markets that are expanding at the fastest pace.”
Tags: Air, China, Expanding, Fastest-growing, India, Indonesia, Middle class, Passenger, Travel, Turkey, U.S.
The Economist (January 13)
“To many, India feels like the heir apparent. Its population will soon overtake its Asian rival’s. It occasionally grows at the kind of pace that propelled China to the status of economic superpower.” But there is one big snag in many marketers’ dreams: India’s middle class “scarcely exists.” Only 8 million Indian adults make $20,000 annually and “the chances of India developing a middle class to match the Middle Kingdom’s are being throttled by growing inequality.”
Tags: China, Economic superpower, Growth, India, Inequality, Middle class, Population
