Budget phones and mid-range laptops are quietly vanishing, but not because of inflation or tariffs. They're disappearing thanks to an AI-fueled memory chip shortage most people haven't heard about.
It is similar in two markets I look at every day. One is grocery store shelf space. It is limited, and so for years I have been watching cheap foods be taken off the shelves, and higher-end products be put on them. The stores make higher profits, more choice is available for those with greater resources, and those who can't afford it -- sorry.
Second: housing. The average home in the United States in 2026 is approx 140-150% larger than it was in 1950. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, the average household size has fallen from 3.4 to 2.5 people. At the same time, in inflation-adjusted terms, the cost of building a single-family home has more than doubled. This is directly related to an increase in purchasing power. As we know, purchasing power has increased more at the top end of the income stream than at the bottom -- incomes in the top 10% have risen by 300-400% versus by 100-200% in the median household since 1950. So you've got smaller higher-income households buying an increasing proportion of increasingly larger and more expensive houses.
It is similar in two markets I look at every day. One is grocery store shelf space. It is limited, and so for years I have been watching cheap foods be taken off the shelves, and higher-end products be put on them. The stores make higher profits, more choice is available for those with greater resources, and those who can't afford it -- sorry.
Second: housing. The average home in the United States in 2026 is approx 140-150% larger than it was in 1950. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, the average household size has fallen from 3.4 to 2.5 people. At the same time, in inflation-adjusted terms, the cost of building a single-family home has more than doubled. This is directly related to an increase in purchasing power. As we know, purchasing power has increased more at the top end of the income stream than at the bottom -- incomes in the top 10% have risen by 300-400% versus by 100-200% in the median household since 1950. So you've got smaller higher-income households buying an increasing proportion of increasingly larger and more expensive houses.
Cut that Gordian knot, Mr Mamdani!