The top 10% already are already, today, responsible for the absolute majority of consumer spending, total.
The future is like the present, just moreso. There is already some portion of the population that is frozen out of the regular economy. Think those poor and homeless enough to not be able to buy their basic necessities through wage income. These folks are effectively shut out of the economy. Over time, their number will grow. Fewer and fewer folks will actually interact with the consumer economy, getting by off charity, theft, and informal markets instead.
In the future, imagine an economy that’s just the top 10% trading goods and services with each other. Everything has been automated and only people lucky enough to have owned substantial stock in the transition period now manage to keep a roof over their heads. They’re all living in gated communities surrounded by massive slums. That’s the future economy.
The top 10% already are already, today, responsible for the absolute majority of consumer spending, total.
The future is like the present, just moreso. There is already some portion of the population that is frozen out of the regular economy. Think those poor and homeless enough to not be able to buy their basic necessities through wage income. These folks are effectively shut out of the economy. Over time, their number will grow. Fewer and fewer folks will actually interact with the consumer economy, getting by off charity, theft, and informal markets instead.
In the future, imagine an economy that’s just the top 10% trading goods and services with each other. Everything has been automated and only people lucky enough to have owned substantial stock in the transition period now manage to keep a roof over their heads. They’re all living in gated communities surrounded by massive slums. That’s the future economy.