wealth plummets 40 percent from 2007 to 2010,
WaveCameCrashin
Posts: 2,929
We are regressing as an economy, culture and a society. Are we not ?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html
Americans saw wealth plummet 40 percent from 2007 to 2010, Federal Reserve says
The recent recession wiped out nearly two decades of Americans’ wealth, according to government data released Monday, with middle-class families bearing the brunt of the decline.
The Federal Reserve said the median net worth of families plunged by 39 percent in just three years, from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. That puts Americans roughly on par with where they were in 1992.
The data represent one of the most detailed looks at how the economic downturn altered the landscape of family finance. Over a span of three years, Americans watched progress that took almost a generation to accumulate evaporate. The promise of retirement built on the inevitable rise of the stock market proved illusory for most. Homeownership, once heralded as a pathway to wealth, became an albatross.
The findings underscore the depth of the wounds of the financial crisis and how far many families remain from healing. If the recession set Americans back 20 years, economists say, the road forward is sure to be a long one. And so far, the country has seen only a halting recovery.
“It’s hard to overstate how serious the collapse in the economy was,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. “We were in free fall.”
The recession caused the greatest upheaval among the middle class. Only roughly half of middle-class Americans remained on the same economic rung during the downturn, the Fed found. Their median net worth — the value of assets such as homes, automobiles and stocks minus any debt — suffered the biggest drops. By contrast, the wealthiest families’ median net worth rose slightly.
Americans have tried to rebalance the family budget but have found it difficult to reverse the damage.
The survey showed that fewer families are carrying credit card balances, and those who do have less debt. The median balance dropped 16 percent, from $3,100 in 2007 to $2,600 in 2010. The Fed also found that the percentage of Americans who have no debt rose to a quarter of families.
But that progress was undermined by other factors, leaving the median level of family debt unchanged. The report said more families reported taking out education loans. Nearly 11 percent said they were at least 60 days late paying a bill, up from 7 percent in 2007. And the percentage of families saddled with debts greater than 40 percent of their income stayed the same.
Not only were Americans still facing significant debts, but they were making less money. Median income fell nearly 8 percent, to $45,800, in 2010. The median value of stock-market-based retirement accounts declined 7 percent, to $44,000.
But it was the implosion of the housing market that inflicted much of the pain. The median value of Americans’ stake in their homes fell by 42 percent between 2007 and 2010, to $55,000, according to the Fed.
The poorest families suffered the biggest loss of wealth from the drop in real estate prices. But middle-class Americans rely on housing for a larger part of their net worth. For some, it accounts for just more than half of their assets. That means every step downward is felt more acutely.
Rakesh Kochhar, associate director of research at the Pew Hispanic Center, calls this phenomenon the “reverse wealth effect.” As consumers watched the value of their homes rise during the boom, they felt more confident spending money, even if they did not actually cash in on the gains. Now, the moribund housing market has made many Americans wary of spending, even if their losses are just on paper.
According to the Fed survey, that paper wealth — or what is officially called unrealized capital gains — shrank 11 percentage points, to about a quarter of Americans’ assets.
The findings track research Kochhar released last year that showed a dramatic drop in household wealth during the recession, particularly among minorities. That study found record-high disparities between whites’ wealth and that of blacks and Hispanics.
“It was turning the clock back quite a bit,” Kochhar said.
The Fed’s survey is conducted every three years. Although there have been some signs that the recovery has picked up — housing prices have begun to stabilize and unemployment has fallen — Fed economists said those improvements largely do not change the survey results.
“Recovery from the so-called Great Recession has also been particularly slow,” the report said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html
Americans saw wealth plummet 40 percent from 2007 to 2010, Federal Reserve says
The recent recession wiped out nearly two decades of Americans’ wealth, according to government data released Monday, with middle-class families bearing the brunt of the decline.
The Federal Reserve said the median net worth of families plunged by 39 percent in just three years, from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. That puts Americans roughly on par with where they were in 1992.
The data represent one of the most detailed looks at how the economic downturn altered the landscape of family finance. Over a span of three years, Americans watched progress that took almost a generation to accumulate evaporate. The promise of retirement built on the inevitable rise of the stock market proved illusory for most. Homeownership, once heralded as a pathway to wealth, became an albatross.
The findings underscore the depth of the wounds of the financial crisis and how far many families remain from healing. If the recession set Americans back 20 years, economists say, the road forward is sure to be a long one. And so far, the country has seen only a halting recovery.
“It’s hard to overstate how serious the collapse in the economy was,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. “We were in free fall.”
The recession caused the greatest upheaval among the middle class. Only roughly half of middle-class Americans remained on the same economic rung during the downturn, the Fed found. Their median net worth — the value of assets such as homes, automobiles and stocks minus any debt — suffered the biggest drops. By contrast, the wealthiest families’ median net worth rose slightly.
Americans have tried to rebalance the family budget but have found it difficult to reverse the damage.
The survey showed that fewer families are carrying credit card balances, and those who do have less debt. The median balance dropped 16 percent, from $3,100 in 2007 to $2,600 in 2010. The Fed also found that the percentage of Americans who have no debt rose to a quarter of families.
But that progress was undermined by other factors, leaving the median level of family debt unchanged. The report said more families reported taking out education loans. Nearly 11 percent said they were at least 60 days late paying a bill, up from 7 percent in 2007. And the percentage of families saddled with debts greater than 40 percent of their income stayed the same.
Not only were Americans still facing significant debts, but they were making less money. Median income fell nearly 8 percent, to $45,800, in 2010. The median value of stock-market-based retirement accounts declined 7 percent, to $44,000.
But it was the implosion of the housing market that inflicted much of the pain. The median value of Americans’ stake in their homes fell by 42 percent between 2007 and 2010, to $55,000, according to the Fed.
The poorest families suffered the biggest loss of wealth from the drop in real estate prices. But middle-class Americans rely on housing for a larger part of their net worth. For some, it accounts for just more than half of their assets. That means every step downward is felt more acutely.
Rakesh Kochhar, associate director of research at the Pew Hispanic Center, calls this phenomenon the “reverse wealth effect.” As consumers watched the value of their homes rise during the boom, they felt more confident spending money, even if they did not actually cash in on the gains. Now, the moribund housing market has made many Americans wary of spending, even if their losses are just on paper.
According to the Fed survey, that paper wealth — or what is officially called unrealized capital gains — shrank 11 percentage points, to about a quarter of Americans’ assets.
The findings track research Kochhar released last year that showed a dramatic drop in household wealth during the recession, particularly among minorities. That study found record-high disparities between whites’ wealth and that of blacks and Hispanics.
“It was turning the clock back quite a bit,” Kochhar said.
The Fed’s survey is conducted every three years. Although there have been some signs that the recovery has picked up — housing prices have begun to stabilize and unemployment has fallen — Fed economists said those improvements largely do not change the survey results.
“Recovery from the so-called Great Recession has also been particularly slow,” the report said.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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"With our thoughts we make the world"
My house hasn't dropped in value one bit over that time frame, though.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
It is back down to what it is actually worth... about $238,000.00.
...
I like it. It's a roof and has hot and cold running water. I don't care what some moron would have paid me for it in 2006.
Hail, Hail!!!
They don't count because they aren't the little grey/beige people like the rest of us.
...
Oh, but they did have to eliminate caviar from the breakfast table.
Hail, Hail!!!
You know better than that they need more tax cuts because they are the job creators
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I'm thankful our wages have gone up too.
Our IRA's? Not so much.
I'm pretty sure food prices have increased all over in recent years. The price of gas goes up, so does food.
And the people of The People's Republic of China are very grateful and thankful for all of the jobs they have created.
Hail, Hail!!!
Grocery prices skyrocket faster than official inflation
http://www.naturalnews.com/031123_food_ ... rices.html
(NaturalNews) Grocery prices increased at more than 50 percent the rate of inflation in 2010, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food prices increased an average of 1.7 percent between November 2009 and November 2010, in comparison with a general inflation rate of only 1.1 percent. The greatest price increases were seen among meat, poultry, fish and eggs, which went up in cost by 5.8 percent. The price of sugar and sweets increased 1.2 percent, the price of fats and oils increased 3 percent and the price of dairy-based products increased 3.8 percent.
The only commodities to go up in price more than food were medical care and transportation.
"I noticed just this month that my grocery bill for the same old stuff -- cereal, eggs, milk, orange juice, peanut butter, bread -- spiked $25," said Sue Perry, deputy editor of "ShopSmart" magazine. "It was a bit of sticker shock."
The rises in price were caused in part by climate-related crop failures in several major food exporting countries. In addition, rising demand for corn from the biofuels industry has pushed up prices for animal feed, leading to higher meat, dairy and egg costs. Finally, rising fuel prices have increased food production and transportation costs as well.
Prices are only likely to keep rising. The Department of Agriculture has forecast a further 3 percent rise in food prices in 2011, but openly admits that the estimate is conservative.
"The USDA always plays it safe," said Wells Fargo agricultural economist Michael Swanson. Swanson predicted price increases of 4 percent, the highest since the 5.5 percent increases that led to riots worldwide in 2008.
Major food producers including Kraft and General Mills have already announced plans to increase the prices of their products. Just how much of that increase will be passed along to consumers is uncertain, as retailers may try to force prices lower to keep shopper volume high.
"Food is a high-frequency driver," Swanson said. "So if stores like Walmart and Kmart want to get shoppers in the door, it's to their benefit to keep prices low."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Seriously ? :? Whens the last time you turned on the tv ? I think the latest reality show is what ? Mob wives ? I tuned in for like 5 min and Joy Behart and these other women were literally looking down at one of the wives bcos her husband flipped so he could save his family. I know that a rat is the worst thing one be in that life,but what took me by surprise is how Joy B. acted.
Have you seen parental control ? Or how about 16 and pregnant ? Both are on Mtv.
Yuk- lousy news- just right for the kind of day I've had. Hope it's been a better one for all you out there.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
i guess my motto was "don't invest in stocks, invest in HEADSTOCKS!"....
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Yes I'm serious. Since you're drawing conclusions about societal trends based on what's on tv, that let's me know where you're coming from. I've seen 16 and pregnant, and I think it's a quality show, that if anything, deters teen pregnancy. On a relevant factual side note, the teen pregnancy rate has been dropping.
Thanks a lot W. You to Bill.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
HEADSTOCKS!!
Headstocks and PJ vinyl!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"