In which the phrase “Obama depression” appears in a mainstream press story, not coming from anyone running for the president’s job. It’s coming from retail analyst who is running the Hopenchange era’s numbers.
While the demand at stores like the 99-Cent Store or Dollar Tree is still relatively high, the biggest chains in the nation have fallen short of Wall Street’s expectations for several months, a trend that may prove even more ominous for the economy at large.
“I think what’s going on in those stores is that we are in a depression for 80 percent of Americans,” top retail analyst Howard Davidowitz. …
Davidowitz pointed to the weakness of the dollar and a gloomy consumer outlook as some of the factors behind the stores’ slump.
“In those stores, somebody comes in with $12 to do all their shopping,” said Davidowitz. “The person who used to come in with $12 now comes in with $8.”
The dollar’s weakness translates to the Dollar stores’ weakness and is at the root of several of our economic problems, including the high price of oil, which impacts just about every other aspect of the economy. The Dollar- type stores cater to folks making $40k or less (though I’ve been known to hit them up for their fine selections of cheap snacks). If people can’t afford to shop there, where can they afford to shop?
The whole country may as well break out into “I Need a Dollar.” To shop at the Dollar store.
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