For the most part, these huge gains reflected a dramatic rise in the super-elite's share of pretax income. But there were also large tax cuts favoring the wealthy.
Then, once a deal is posted at midnight, they can purchase the coupon, which often provides a 50 percent or greater discount off the face value of the good or service being offered that day.
Suppliers, already hard hit by the collapse in car production, must decide whether to grant easier payment terms that will worsen their own cash positions.
Anyone who has reached a certain age—in some cases as low as 55—is automatically entitled to a dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life.