It is a consequence of the polarization of middle income strata. The other side of the split is the increase in the variety of high-quality items competing for the dollars of the well-to-do.
The family-run Italian restaurant serving a pile of meatballs and spaghetti for a good price has disappeared in many cities, while the upscale restaurant "presenting" tiny portions of a self-promoting chef's concoctions has come in. The broad supermarkets, where you could get nearly everything for the week, have divided into expensive outlets with on-site bakeries and gourmet sections on one hand and stores limited to those degraded packaged goods you listed on the other hand. And at both ends, the retail clerks union has lost ground or disappeared. Charles Andrews announcement for my new book: http://www.hollowcolossus.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
