Kroger hurt by Income Inequality and attacked by Jesse Jackson
Everybody should pay attention to what’s happening to Kroger because food deserts might be coming to their neighborhood soon.
The real problem is income inequality, people in many working-class neighborhoods; which are disproportionately minority, simply do not have the money to buy a lot of groceries.
The only way Kroger can make money is to operate markets in areas where it can sell expensive items like liquor and organic food. It is also ramping up delivery services which are more likely to serve affluent customers.
The reason for this is that middle and lower-class incomes are falling in the United States. When adjusted for inflation the average lower-class household income in the United States in 2000 was around $26,496 a year, by 2014 it had fallen to $24,074, Pew Research Center Data indicated. Lower-class families have $2,000 less to spend than they did less than 20 years ago.