The June 11, 2012 Washington Post reports:
The net worth of the American family has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, according to government data released Monday, driven by a more than 40 percent drop in their stakes in their homes.
The Federal Reserve’s detailed survey of consumer finances showed families’ median wealth plunged from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010 — a 39 percent decline. That put them on par with median wealth in 1992.Suddenly, I don't feel so bad about how I have managed my wealth during this disaster. It has still been a disaster, but not like the average American has experienced.
What amazes me is that with this kind of disaster, Obama and the Democrats remains as popular as they are. They had control of both houses of Congress from January of 2007 to January of 2011, the Senate from January of 2007 to the present, and the White House since January of 2009--and they still can't fix this economy. And yet I see more Obama 2012 bumper stickers here in Idaho (often on cars of the top 10%, if not the top 5%) than any Republican bumper stickers.
Yet they say that Obama and the Dems care about and love the poor and middle class!!!! What a crock of sh*t!
ReplyDeleteNothing like being middle age and having your finances lose 20+ years of gains....if only my body and ID were also 20+ years less!
I don't put Republican bumper stickers on my car because I don't want my car vandalized.
ReplyDeleteThe only place I saw a really bad decline was in the price of my home. Lost about 150K in the last four years. I just kept investing according to my original plan - didn't panic and sell everything at the bottom of the market, and only had losses on paper for a while.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Obama 2012 bumper stickers on cars of the wealthy should not be a surprise. Elsewhere in the article that you quote it states "By contrast, the wealthiest families' median net worth rose slightly." (Per Jim Geraghty's Morning Jolt.)
ReplyDeleteThe median declined.
ReplyDeleteNot average/mean. Median.
Things are pretty bad. (Since I was a poor grad student back in 2003 and am employed now, I have bucked the trend...but I wonder what my current financial state would be if the economy hadn't crashed so badly.
Or even if the housing bubble hadn't happened in the way it did.
Having moved to Idaho about three years ago from Boulder County in Colorado, I have to say that the North End of Boise is very similar to Boulder, CO, and just as rich and liberal. They know better and care more than the rest of us, so supporting Obama is a natural for them. No wonder you see all the Volvos and Bimmers running around with Obama stickers. On the other hand, Idaho is still a very red state, so we Romney supporters probably just don't bother... I'll let my NRA window sticker stand in as a proxy!
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