A Tale of Two Worlds

From an Economist article on the closing of Cannon Mills factories by Pillowtex in North Carolina in 2003:

When Pillowtex finally closed the doors, one in three of its workers lacked a high-school education; one in ten could not read or write; and nearly half of them were more than 50 years old.

From today's Wall Street Journal story regarding the sale of Neiman Marcus:

Indeed, for its new suitors, Neiman's offers entree into the rarefied world of the super-wealthy uber-spender. The stores' top 100,000 customers generate $1.2 billion in sales, with each shopper averaging about $11,000 a year.

And I remember back in college a professor argued there was no such thing as class in America. The sad thing is I paid money for that hooey.