Stock Up on Canned Goods: Bright Future Ahead (or Not): Peak Spending and US Demographic Trends

Spending Wave, according to Wikipedia:

In the economics of demography, the term spending wave refers to the economic effect of departure of children from the home. When a society experiences a high level of such family change then an economic decline follows from reduced spending overall.

For example, in U.S. contemporary economics, Harry Dent, a University of South Carolina and Harvard Business School graduate and Fortune 100 consultant, has popularized the baby-boomer spending wave theory. According to Dent, the stock-market decline of 2008 was a result of baby boomers aging past their peak spending years. This prediction was based on the observation that consumer spending peaks near age 50. In 2002 Dan Arnold echoed this theory in his book The Great Bust Ahead, with the big spenders being 45-54 year olds, and their numbers peaking in 2011-2012.

Some experts expect the worst consumer recession, since 1980, to occur when aging boomers start retiring, adding to rising unemployment, decline in house values, and declining stock prices. However other experts have suggested that immigration to the US and the rise of emerging economies will offset the baby boomer demographic impact. Still other experts have postulated, that due to the 2008 major stock market decline and home equity crash, that many baby boomers will have lost so much equity that they will retire at a later age than was previously planned.

Japan's Nikkei Average index peaked on 29 December 1989. Japan's birth rate appears to have peaked in around 1930-1940 when about 36.7% of the population was under 14 years of age (it has dropped to 13.5% in 2007). Those aged 15-64 peaked in about 1990-1995. This would appear to confirm the spending wave theory presuming a spending peak at around 50 years of age.

Canned Goods: Whatever you believe, peak spending is yesterday/today/next year, immigration will save us, or boomers working longer will keep spending levels up, just remember, consumer expenditures account for about 70% of US GDP (i.e. reduction in spending = big negative impact on GDP = contracting economy = less earnings for businesses = less jobs = less wealth = less spending = negative impact on GDP...).

US Birth Rates:

US Population by Age Group (1998 vs. 2009). As the pig moves through the python, it spells bad news for people who believe that peak spending is in the 45 to 54 age group.