I was thinking not so much of splits between goods such as you mention but between classes, and groups within classes.
Gene
Michael Perelman wrote:
In my Pathology book and my Steal this Idea book, I used the split between goods with IP and without IP protection. I think that you would see a similar phenomenon. Ag, steel, .... low => margins; Microsoft, drugs .... => high margins.On Fri, Jan 17, 2003 at 11:51:56AM -0800, Eugene Coyle wrote:The USA CPI released yesterday shows a deep split between the path taken by goods and by services.
Goods prices decline, service prices rise.
Does this imply relatively falling living standards for the elderly? They buy more services than goods, yet Social Security is tied to the CPI.
What about who gets paid, and how much? Manufacturing jobs continue to shrink as imports take over? Manufacturing pay falling? More self-paid health care?
Manufacturing companies starting to favor single-payer health care?
And service jobs don't pay well, for most service workers. And if ex-goods workers seek service jobs, won't pay fall?
But then who buys goods? What does that mean for foreign producers?
World-wide deflation inevitable?
The stock markets keep going down?
Gene Coyle
