Consumers hold the key

The U.S. economy continues to stall because companies don’t want to invest in their business unless they know they can sell their product. People aren’t buying enough of the product because they’re unemployed, their wages are low, or their wages have stagnated over the past 20 years and not kept up with the cost of living. Many people can afford little more than the basics.

If the wealthiest among us are the job creators, this country should be reinvigorated by now. It’s not rocket science to deduce that the real job creators are the consumers who buy the product. When consumers buy, demand goes up, and companies hire to keep up with demand. Consumers keep the economic engine running, not the wealthy.

It’s no secret that the middle class has been shrinking over the last 30 years. Economic inequality in the United States is the highest of any industrialized country. If the middle class disappears, the country’s gross domestic product will shrink drastically because two-thirds of the gross domestic product is derived from consumer spending.

Listen to the rhetoric of both political parties, and decide for yourself which one is going to best support your efforts to be part of the middle class.

Carol Johns

Spokane