The median income for Americans (i.e., the level at which 50% make less money than those higher up the income scale) is a tad over $26,000. That’s about 14 times less than “unemployed” Mitt Romney received for public speaking appearances last year. In other words, it’s chicken feed to the One Percenters out there. Even if you make twice the median income ($52,000) I’ll bet you’re having a tough time making ends meet.
But take heart, my friends. CNN Money has an article up that lists six (6) “things” (I guess products is no longer a sixth grade level word) that will be cheaper this year, provided you earn a lot more money than someone in the lower half of the income scale. And what, pray tell are these fabulous (but less pricey) things?
1. Vintage Wines
[T]he highly-coveted 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, which sold for as little as $700 five years ago, shot up to $5,000 a bottle last year. “That’s just way too much money,” said Dennis Foley, rare wine consultant to Zachys auction house.
Now expect prices to be slashed in half on Bourdeaux vintages going forward …
I am so happy that I won’t have to pay $5,000 a bottle for 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Of course, I don’t drink wine unless its quite a bit cheaper than $5000 or even $700. I’m more a “what;s on sale for $10 or less wine kinda guy on those rare occasions when I buy a bottle (i.e., once a year to take to the family Xmas party, maybe). But hey, if vintage wine is your thing, and you have the dollars to spend for it, this is your lucky year!
2. Ultrabook computers
The new super-thin and super-fast “Ultrabook” computer, which has no hard disk or DVD drive, barely made a dent on PC sales in 2011. […]
NPD analyst Stephen Baker … expects the price of Ultrabooks to be cut in half, with some models costing as little as $500.
You know, I hate to confess this but until I read this article, I had no idea that there was such a thing as “Ultrabook computers.” Guess I’m just a wee bit out of touch. Then again, I don’t have a spare $500 lying around to buy the cheapest version of one even if the market for these little marvels does drop by 50%. I’m sure it would be great to have an ultrabook computer, if I had the money to pay for it, and the money to afford the wireless network charges. You do have to pay for that too, I’ve heard, if you want to take full advantage of these suckers, anywhere from $10 – $100 per month (if you trust PC World’s word). That sort of makes me less excited about owning such a nifty device, though if someone were to rain money on me so I could afford one, please send me a message and let me know. I’m willing to beg for free money.
3. Residential Homes
… Fiserv’s chief economist David Stiff anticipates another 1% decline in home prices this year … [who said] “we expect houses to get cheaper in markets where there is still a lot of foreclosures like Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix.”
Damn! I don’t live in Phoenix or Las Vegas or Atlanta. Then again, the housing market in most cities is already more expensive than where I live in Western NY, and I can’t really afford to move just so I can buy a more expensive house somewhere else. But maybe you are one of those lucky duckies who has a job and makes enough to afford a mortgage payment on a new or foreclosed home. Unfortunately, I know 50% of us (Americans, that is) don’t make enough to even think about buying a home. $26,000 only goes so far. Still, I’m sure it’s great news for someone.
4. Tablets
Last year’s Kindle Fire, priced at $199, started a scramble among competitors to bring down the cost of other tablets like the Blackberry PlayBook and HP TouchPad, which slashed it’s price to $99 in a fire sale.
Whoo-boy! Now were talking! $99 sounds more my ballpark. Yeah, there is still those pesky wireless charges (see above) but that sounds great. I’m not sure what a tablet would do for me (I hear they have lots of cool games and apps and bells and whistles) but maybe I could afford one. Or not. You see I have an old junker car with 150,000miles on it that I am trying to keep running for another two to three years. If I buy the tablet that like means I can’t save enough money to purchase a slightly less older junker when mine finally bites the dust. So far it still runs (though the muffler is corroded and may fall off at any time) but I’m not prepared to spend money on a tablet just yet. Again, anyone wants to buy me one, uh — send a message and I’ll give you the info you need to send me a check. Make it out to CASH please.
5. Car Rentals
Thanks to an overabundance of cars and stiff competition among rental car companies, prices on daily and weekly rentals across the country are expected to be lower this year, said Chris Brown, executive editor of Auto Rental News.
Gosh, if only I had a reason to rent a car. Unfortunately, if I have to rent a car it probably means someone in my family has died and I need to attend their
funeral in Colorado (a distance that is too far for me to trust my own car). Nonetheless, I’m sure this is great news for all you “Business Pros” I hear about on the TV ads that run whenever they stop the football game I’m watching. Or at least it’s good news for the companies you work for. Me, not so much.
And finally —
6. HDTVs
[A ]new batch of less expensive … 60- to 70-inch … high definition televisions unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month is pressuring prices in the large TV segment. And that will soon force 40- to 50-inch sets to come down in price too …
Did you know Mitsubishi is offering a 73″ large screen HDTV for only $1,500? What a steal! I’d get one, of course, except for that pesky little fact that I don’t have $1500 for a large screen HDTV, or any other HDTV for that matter. Call me when they get down to $99. Then I might get excited — assuming I haven’t lost my health insurance because the company that is providing my disabled wife retiree health care for our family just filed for Chapter 11. In that case, all bets are off.
So, what;s my point? This is a “good news” story that CNN Money assigned a reporter to research and write. And what;s good about it? A few high end expensive items are cheaper for people who can afford them. It’s a story that ignores the 800 lb. gorilla in the room – massive unemployment, falling incomes, foreclosures and personal bankruptcies, etc. which effect millions of people. I don’t blame the reporter. She received this assignment and she did what was asked of her – write something positive about our dangerously unstable economy.
But isn’t it telling that the “good news” she found was good news, at best for the people in the upper 10 – 20% of income levels, and mostly for people in the top 5% or above. Prices for staples, such as food and energy, are still high even if the New York Times editorial page isn’t concerned about what that means for most of us, as we dip into our savings to pay for those costs our income no longer cover.
Millions are laboring in financial misery, depending of unemployment insurance, food stamps and other charity. Millions more are teetering close to the edge of falling into poverty as the middle class erodes ever faster with each month. Mental health disorders and suicides are on the rise, a direct result of the economic distress with which so many people are dealing.
Yet there is happy news for the wealthy. The goods and services they can easily afford are cheaper. Pardon me if I fail to applaud their good fortune.
