The retail sector, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of the nation's GDP, faces revenue downturns due to falling incomes for most Americans. For instance, Macy's, the largest department store chain, has seen a 2.1 percent drop in the last year.
The other troubling sign of changing trends is the diminishing real estate market. According to official data, the rate of the home ownership in the US has fallen by six percent in the last 10 years. Nowadays only 63.4 percent of Americans live in their own homes — the lowest number in over half of a century. The majority of the population across all ages is now renting versus buying homes.
"Ageing baby boomers, now in their 50s and 60s, have tired of mowing, hunting for plumbers, fixing leaky roofs and coping with the nightmares that accompany realization of the one-time American dream of home ownership," Stelzer wrote.
