When the Rich Stop Spending:

The Washington Post's Michael Rosenwald employees some interesting statistics in his article today about the spending cutbacks among the rich and their effects on the economy. Last year households with earnings in excess of $100,000 per year dropped their daily spending from $185 per day down to $160 per day. By last month that spending had dropped down to $101 per day.

Back in 2006, "80 percent of all discretionary income was controlled by households earning more than $100,000." By this past September, discretionary spending among this group had fallen off by 40 percent.

The argument is that the constant media attention to our economic difficulties has caused the securely wealthy to become fearful even when they need not be. There is no mention in Rosenwald's article about shame.