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Comment by woodsier | Hacker News Reader

I disagree. There will always be yuppies who have money. In times of depression they are the least effected group (relatively).

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Normally I would agree. But the circumstances of the current depression are different. There was such a bubble in the middle classes due to living on credit that the yuppies in particular will be hit very, very, very, very hard. See AMEX's recent earnings conference call for details.

The fact is that for years people were living the life not based on real earnings, but on credit. And those that were living on real earning were often earning money from those who were spending on credit. When credit goes away as it has, both groups become poor. Hence yuppies become poor.

The price deflation of mid/upper range houses, bmw's, audi's, hotel rooms, travel, wine and jewlery shows this clearly.

PS: Could you please provide some proof that yuppies fair well in depressions/recessions? My evidence suggest they're usually the ones in the middle of whatever bubble activity. As is certainly the case currently.

EDIT: Added extra Very's for emphasis.

Nine out of ten yuppies, or more, will make as much money in 2009 as they did in 2008. They can still afford their mortgages. Consumer confidence aside, tell me why they're going to suddenly stop shopping at Whole Foods, buying organic, drinking wine, and otherwise displaying upper middle-class tastes in food consumption.

Yuppies are being absolutely pounded. They can't spend on credit or rely on an ever increasing stock market to fund their lifestyle. Please provide proof that 9/10 yuppies will be fine. I don't buy it for a second. I've got my own analytics which suggest otherwise.

Consumer savings rate going up. http://www.creditloan.com/blog/consumers-saving-instead-of-s...

bmw sales plunge http://silverscorpio.com/bmw-reports-plunge-in-sales-as-econ...

wine sales plunge http://wineindustryinsight.com/?p=2073

hotel occupancy off 11% http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CalculatedRisk/~3/-j6_abqDrqc...

housing delinquencies move into prime. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnaly...

Those numbers are all across the entire population, while this site is only aiming at the high segment. The question is whether sales of the BMW X5, St. Emilion Grand Cru 1986 and the Bride Suite of the Ritz have also dropped.

Hamptons real estate high end enough for you? http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/04/hamptons_real_estate_ma...

Same thing going on in other (supposedly) rich peoples enclaves. and yes, High end champange's have been hit. As has the bride suite.

Now, the true high end market has not. But those people are not even watching your shitty cable tv show. They'll be calling quintesentially[1] and telling them to book a vacation.

I should also note that Bentley sales are down. But not across the board. Only the new-money models - continental gt/flying spur. So everything aspirational from your low end bmw 3-series, all the way up to your nouveau riche Bentley's are being slammed.

I don't have room to post my full analysis - I have actually run serious numbers on this. But the yuppie/aspirational class are really, seriously getting smashed. I would not start a business based on their greed and consumption right now.

Now would be a fantastic time to start a do-it-yourself channel or travel/luxury on the cheap.

[1] http://www.quintessentially.com/

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