Ever noticed how lopsided the US consumer spending really is?

Here's the kicker—the top 10% of earners are pulling the weight for nearly half of all consumer spending in America. That's wild when you think about it. Meanwhile, the other 90% of the population? They're making do with the rest.

This kind of wealth concentration and consumption imbalance has serious implications. When spending power gets this concentrated, you're looking at a fragile economic structure. Consumer-driven economies depend on broad-based demand, not just a handful of high-income households keeping things afloat.

For anyone tracking market cycles and economic trends, this is worth understanding. It shapes everything—from monetary policy decisions to inflation trajectories to where capital ultimately flows. The sustainability question isn't just academic; it's foundational to how markets behave.