Several prominent economists now reckon that inequality was a root cause of the financial crisis: politicians tried to counter the growing gap between rich and poor by encouraging poorer folk to take on more credit (see article).
Some counter that the hours gap would shrink if employers offered more family-friendly policies, such as flexible hours and easier on-off ramps for moving in and out of the workforce.
Brands in all categories overall have kept up by only 8%, which anyone at the checkout counter can tell you is an awfully big gap between what you have and what the customer really desires.