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Time for a Change?
George Bush and his minions have succeeded in driving the inequality of wealth and income to historic highs. But in most of our lives, in most of the country, it's not always easy to see just how far down the road to a pure kleptocracy Bush has taken us (with the acquiescence of the Democratic Congress, which could not even be bothered to close a tax loophole for hedgefund managers, some of whom are making more than $1 billion a year--that's right, one billion dollars in income in one year.)
But when I opened the front section of the New York Times this past Sunday, the wealth thing hit me right in the face--or perhaps I should say, on the wrist. In a news section only 29 pages long (not counting the front page), there were 5 full-page ads for watches, plus another 5 ads adding up to another page. One out of five pages was a watch ad.
According to a report in the Canadian magazine McLean's, luxury goods are hot, especially expensive watches:
In 2006, jewelry and watch sales hit US$62.2 billion in the United States, up from $58.4 billion a year earlier, according to research by Unity Marketing in Stevens, Pa. Better yet, the biggest sales growth happened in the luxury watches segment, which jumped 39 per cent from 2005.
And if diamonds and platinum aren't good enough for you, AFP reports from a Swiss watch convention last spring that you can buy a watch made with "oxidized steel" from the wreck of the Titanic! (AFP, April 11, 2007)
Is this the best of all possible worlds, or what?
Alas, there is a fly in the ointment, at least if you're a Swiss luxury watch maker. Their market is dying. According to a report from a marketing firm, roughly half of those aged 18 to 34 don't even wear a watch (that includes me, and I'm a long way from that age bracket!) Seems that cellphones, i-phones, Blackberries, etc. provide perfectly good time.
What do you think? Would you be upset by a 100% tax on luxury watches?
For lots of good stuff on the grotesqueries of income inequality, see the website Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality (and subscribe to its always interesting newsletter.)
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Business news (on the commute, radio) had a story this morning about the new delicacy offered in NYC.
The one thousand dollar bagel.
You have to have a credit check first. It's whole wheat, with Italian mascarpone cheese, then wine jelly, topped with white truffles (expensive because of the falling dollar) and garnished with bits of real gold.
Taxes on luxury goods...
Remember the 10% luxury tax on expensive import cars, such as Lexuses? The Republican Congress let it die.
I haven't had a watch in - maybe - 20 years. There were a couple of times I thought I should have one - getting to an airport and working out how much slack time I'd have before boarding. I bought a kids $10 watch. It fit. It worked. It was even supposed to be survive water to a depth of about 10 metres. I didn't test that claim. It kept time - although I had no idea how to change the time - the shop assistant did it the first time - so I had to add or subtract hours depending on the time difference between location at the time and Australia. I guess it doesn't qualify as a luxury item - but even if it attracted a 100% tax, it would have still been a cheap one and I probably would have bought it.