Consumer economy

Revision as of 21:23, 23 November 2009 by Jonas Rand (talk | contribs) (→‎History: re-word)
This article in MyWikiBiz Main article space is published with "all rights reserved" by the component contributor(s) to the article. You must obtain express written permission to copy or re-use this article.


The consumer economy is that portion of the overall economic system that is dependent on individual or household consumer expenditures. Goods that embody the consumer economy would include food, clothing, housing, furniture, appliances, automobiles, etc.; while services that comprise the consumer economy would include restaurants, private hospital care, personal banking, commercial airlines, etc. Thus, the consumer economy is distinct from (yet related to) the industrial economy which emphasizes trade between corporations (investment banking, industrial machinery, chemicals, etc.), and the public sector which involves the delivery of governmental services (bridges and roads, sewer, public education, etc.).

History

The consumer economy began to expand exponentially in the early- to mid-20th century. It has been said that two-thirds of jobs in the United States are now tied either directly or indirectly to the consumer economy.[1] A report written by professor Peter Spencer of the Ernst & Young Item Club concluded that the consumer economy would not recover from the recession until 2011. [2] In a September 2008 article published on OpEdNews.com, Ann Kramer proposed a new economic system as an alternative to a consumer-based economy, due to the effects of the recession. Dubbed "Partnerism", the proposed economic framework would implement equal cooperation between all sectors of the economy, elevating the significance of what the author perceives as marginalized sectors. Kramer believes that the bailout of financial institutions was not a sustainable model, commenting that "Wall Street has been acting like drunken fools". [3]


<embed> <script type="text/javascript"> var AdBrite_Title_Color = '0000FF'; var AdBrite_Text_Color = '000000'; var AdBrite_Background_Color = 'C3D9FF'; var AdBrite_Border_Color = 'FFFFCC'; var AdBrite_URL_Color = 'CC0000'; try{var AdBrite_Iframe=window.top!=window.self?2:1;var AdBrite_Referrer=document.referrer==?document.location:document.referrer;AdBrite_Referrer=encodeURIComponent(AdBrite_Referrer);}catch(e){var AdBrite_Iframe=;var AdBrite_Referrer=;} </script> <script type="text/javascript">document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,83,67,82,73,80,84));document.write(' src="http://ads.adbrite.com/mb/text_group.php?sid=1529443&zs=3436385f3630&ifr='+AdBrite_Iframe+'&ref='+AdBrite_Referrer+'" type="text/javascript">');document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,47,83,67,82,73,80,84,62));</script> <a target="_top" href="http://www.adbrite.com/mb/commerce/purchase_form.php?opid=1529443&afsid=1"><img src="adbrite-your-ad-here-banner.gif" style="background-color:#FFFFCC;border:none;padding:0;margin:0;" alt="Your Ad Here" width="11" height="60" border="0" /></a> </embed>



References

  1. ^ The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and The Next Episode of Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff & James Maxmin, pg. 8.
  2. ^ Wallop, Henry & Conway, Edmund (2008). "Consumer economy will not recover until 2011". The Telegraph, telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ Kramer, Ann (2008). "Beyond the Consumer Economy: Partnerism". OpEdNews