by Ian Jackson

Created on: September 08, 2008

Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?

The erosion of the Middle Class or the decline of the "New Rome," which phrase would be a more apt description of the environment in which us, the consumers, find ourselves inhabiting. Either of these could describe the current trends, due largely to the big box retailers. Is it their fault that this is occurring? Can it be attributed to ourselves, as a collective group, to fulfill our desire for material wealth? Neither one nor the other can be solely responsible. It is the combination of the two ideals that is to blame.

As joblessness is on the rise, the people demand that products and/or services are cheaper. Big box stores fulfill this need by purchasing cheaply manufactured goods. This is certainly eased through the use of outsourcing to the so-called non-industrialized nations, where hourly wages are extremely low, in comparison to the cost of production in say Britain, Canada or the United States.

Big box stores make these cheaper products available to us and initially we feel happy and content. The retailers feel satisfaction since they have answered the call of the purchaser. The purchaser feels that his or her requests for cheaper products has been realized since the only thing that they really see or feel passionate about is the sum at the bottom of the sales receipt. A well-known retailer uses a similar concept in one of their commercials, hence perpetrating this desire.

At first blush, this appears to be a good thing; the consumers' purchasing power has increased. However, one can see what will occur next; as a pattern begins to emerge. As time progresses, more and more products are produced off-shore. This certainly leads to layoffs and plant shutdowns in the consumers' locale. People still need to buy their goods but since they have less money, they ask once more for cheaper products. Big box stores respond again by importing even lower cost goods.

Where else could this lead? Manufacturing of certain products cease in our countries. Due to layoffs, the expertise that was formerly used in the production of these products is no longer available. Consider a possible consequence of a political breakdown between the consuming nation and the producing country. Would we no longer be able to make "Product X," that people have come to reply upon; leading to a worsening of the economy? It is possible.

Sure jobs have increased in the big box retailing sector as well as the logistics and warehousing fields. However, these jobs are no longer paying a truly 'livable' wage; further leading to more desire to extend one's buying power. The owners of these companies continue to get richer, thus a small portion of the population moves up in the class structure. The employees, due to their lowered wages, move down into the lower class brackets. The overall affect is the erosion of the middle class.

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