When looking at who is hurt most by the bad economy in the US, it is easy to tell that the blue collar workers and the poor of the nation are hit first and the hardest. People with very little money are affected by the slightest change in gas or food prices, and can often lose their homes or jobs easily. The bad economy does have an effect on the rich as well however. Many of the upper class of America are cutting back on their spending slightly, choosing to go with more economic options rather than over-the-top private jets and being more conservative with their credit cards.

The changing economy has made the wealthy of America realize that their money is not always going to be secure, and cutting back has become a trend. CNN ran a story about this and cited Joseph DiRenzo a married 38 year old father of three who recently left a hedge fund for the real estate market. This is a man who has a $9 million house, two Mercedes Benzes and countless other luxuries. But due to the bad economy he is cutting back. The family may buy a hybrid to supplement the two other gas guzzling forms of auto transport, and is selling his $9 million house for $7 million to move into something slightly smaller.

If anyone less wealthy, who has been affected negatively by the down economy, were to hear this, they would likely be sarcastic and pretend to feel sorry for the man who had to sell his $9 million house. However this actually has an important effect on the country as a whole. When the rich cut back on spending, it hurts the country as a whole because they buy many of the products that people in lower paying jobs are making. When the rich stop buying cars, houses, or "toys", the whole economy suffers, since consumer spending makes up 70 percent of gross domestic product. According to some, the top 10% wealthiest people in America account for almost 25% of all spending.

So although it is hard to feel bad for someone with a $9 million house, who has to get an alternative form of automobile transport yet doesn’t have to sell either of their Mercedes Benzes, the wealthy’s contribution to the economy is an important one. Let’s just hope that the cyclical economy will turn around again and spending will go back to normal. If that happens the rich will go back to using auto shipping for their expensive cars, flying on their private jets, and buying everything they like. When that happens, the rest of the nation will improve economically as well.