Zombie Economy...

[exedir]

No, it is not Haiti nor the latest movie, not these zombies, it is the economy stupid.

What it is, is that there has been a growing disconnect between the Wall Street and Main Street as to what is happening in one economy is not happening in the another. There have been many index numbers that show what this disconnect means and how it continues to grow. Overall the general state of the American economy is slow, modest growth that hardly moves month to month since this recovery began in 2009 or thereabouts. What has moved are the financial markets which have dramatically moved to now, all time highs. The Dow Jones is at record levels, the boarder index, Standard & Poor is also record highs, overall corporate profits are high and stock prices reflect the profit and income levels that companies have experienced for years. Therefore, the disconnect that as America sleeps, or rather sleep walks on Main Street, it is party on on Wall Street.

Why?

Good question, and a tough one when answered, companies do not need labor to do business; rather, cheap money, cheap labor(much of it outsourced), labor replacement technology, along with restructuring of what and how work is done at all levels, and the drive of disintermediation, has lead to the surplussing of the middle class and devaluing of labor, and oh, yes, creating zombies.

These changes along with others, make the some of the ideas in Washington, none-starters as to impact. Stimulus as it was understood in the "old" economy of labor and demand, doesn't stimulate and doesn't create demand as easily as thought. This has to do with profit, that more profit can be relatively easily squeezed out of current demand without making much or any investment, new or different demand. And no, that is not that things don't change, they do, but not as much or at lesser cost to do it, impact without a punch, so to speak.

And example is apps, and yes, there is an app for that.

How people use and experience the online environment has changed. We have moved from the computer age to the app age where access is not a computer, it is a form factor, usually starting with and "i" and supported by wireless technology. And yes, the internet is so yesterday. What is interesting about apps is that they were not created by large corporations, they were done by small, even micro-small groups and individuals that had skills and creative abilities and little else, and required little else in doing what was done to make an app and then sell it. And though not zombies, and yes, there is an app for that, it meant that the cost of change was small where the impact was great, changing America and American ways of life and yet, somehow, unfelt, due to the zombie economy.