With subprime mortgage lenders pulling back, some working-class Americans are already finding it harder to buy a new home or refinance the one they already own. The big question now for the nation's economy: Will it also get harder for these consumers to buy cars, shop at the mall and dine out?
The answer, of course, is yes. But don't worry:
Even if the poorest customers curtail their spending, it shouldn't be enough to shake the economy off of its trajectory of moderate growth. In the cold science of economics, rich people who have more to spend matter more to the economy than the poorer folks who don't. According to the Labor Department's 2005 consumer expenditure survey, the lowest 40% of earners represent about $1.1 trillion, just a fifth of total consumer spending.
I refer you to this.
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