Capitalogix

American Household Spending at Highest Level Since 2008

With the election in November, people are watching the Jobs number and economy closely.

So, how do Americans spend their money today?

Here is a chart that breaks down the percentage going to various categories of household spending.

 

 

Also, here is a chart showing how spending has changed since 2000.

 

 

Interesting.

After two years of falling incomes and penny-pinching, Americans opened their wallets in 2011, ramping up spending on everything from restaurants and clothing to health care.

The average level of spending in 2011—$49,705—was the highest since 2008.

Related articles

• iNflation: Americans Spend Less On Food, Movies To Pay For Soaring Cell Phone Obsession (zerohedge.com)
• Economix Blog: Visiting the Doctor Less, but Spending More on Health (economix.blogs.nytimes.com)
• A Nation of Dependents? Breaking Down the Numbers (nationalreview.com)
• Higher gas costs push US consumer spending up (miamiherald.com)

Some Links for Your Weekend Reading

Some ancient Greek dude wrote this in about 400 BC ...  amazing how profound, relevant, and true it remains today.

 

Other Isocrates quotes.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• The Importance of Understanding "Why". (AONetwork)
• How Big Data Became So Big. (NYTimes)
• Finally, a Commercial Mocking Apple that Works! (Dvorak)
• Why India Wins So Few Olympic Medals. Neither the Will nor the Cash. (TheAtlantic)
• The World's First Vegetarian McDonald's. To capture more of India's $12 billion fast-food market, the burger chain will jettison meat entirely in favor of the McAloo Tikki burger and the McSpicy Paneer. (The Week)

 

Trading Links:

• Face It -- 2013 Is Going To Be a Bummer. (Businessweek)
• Wall Street Rolling Back Another Key Piece of Financial Reform | Matt Taibbi. (RollingStone)
• Apple's iPhone is Now Worth More Than All of Microsoft. (Forbes)
• When is Rapid Trading Too Fast? More Warnings About HFT. (Slashdot)
• U.S. Selling $18 Billion of AIG Stock. Slashing 50% + of the stake it took during the financial crisis. (Wall Street Journal)

Have You Seen the Hula Hoop Video From Burning Man Yet?

Someone put a camera on a Hula Hoop and decided to call it a Hula Cam. 

They let a bunch of people at the Burning Man event try it ... 

  

Basically, a bunch of women at Burning Man are shown hula hooping from the hoop’s point of view.

Needless to say the video went viral.

It is a little bit "trippy" ... but somehow strangely interesting.