Posted on 01/09/2018 8:07:13 AM PST by SeekAndFind
As the stock market soars to new highs, here's some sobering statistics to consider.
The stock market is at an all-time high but Americans Owe More, Save Less, and are Poorer Than in Decades.
But perhaps the most shocking stat of all is that, on an inflation adjusted basis, net worth may be the worst in history.
$78,000 is not worth what it was in 1989, to say the least.
Obama’s fault.
For 8 years we haven’t had any honest reporting about the economy. Now that a Repub is in office, we can finally get some real numbers.
I expect them to finally jettison the phony unemployment figures now that they are making Trump look so good.
They can’t stand hearing that the Dow is 25000!
No surprise.
We have millions of people with poor impulse control who make poor decisions. We reward these people for having lots of children.
Of course they will outnumber those productive people who are paying to support the non-productive ones.
The poor will always be with us. Reward them and you make them the majority.
College loans contribute significantly to the debt burden of many Americans. Flooding the country with foreign labor depresses wages and takes jobs from Americans. And lousy tax policies and unfair trade agreements have caused a hemorrhage of American businesses and jobs overseas.
When you have out of wedlock birthrates at levels we have had, it should not surprise folks that these non-traditional households are radically more poor than the traditional family unit. Certainly the housing meltdown slaughtered a ton of folks, especially the lower middle class. Their homes typically are their only major source of wealth.
We just have too many people not following the simple rules of success in the US. Learn a skill. Work hard. Spend less than you make. Don’t have kids until you can afford them. Get and stay married. Now if you do those things, you are a freak.
Most “money” IS debt now.
In the 1980’s, debt was still pretty rare. Credit cards existed but were seldom used; was major news when McDonald’s started accepting credit cards (”you mean you can buy fries on credit? Really? HAHAHAHA...”). Now people basically run everything thru credit cards, so even if they’re paying off the balance monthly (*cough*) they’re still averaging a debt load.
And now the money itself is debt.
Rather than issuing cash, the gov’t dominantly “borrows from the Federal Reserve” (what I understand, oversimplified, is the Fed gets to say “$0 = ($1) + (-$1)” and loans you a virtual dollar) so d@mn near every dollar you earn, direct-deposited in your bank account, and paying the balance on your credit card or mortgage, is itself just debt (eventually returning back to the Fed and neutralizing the -$1).
So yeah, Debt-to-Money ratios suck. That’s because the “money” most of us use IS DEBT.
Since 62
Camelot again! they must be very happy since it was so wonderful in those days.
Trump’s legacy though will be determined by how much of the new wealth from the stock market and tax cuts filter down to main street in flyover country.
When a report like this was released a few years ago, the financial guy on the radio said they use solely savings accounts to measure savings, not investments.
Wonder if this study used IRAs or just bank accounts. Of course debt to assets will be high if only bank accounts are used. My grandparents invested in CDs and put everything else in the bank. People don’t do that anymore, you save for retirement in an IRA.
It would be interesting to construct a graph of the net worth of Freepers, compared to the general population. I suspect very few would be negative, and we’d have a fair number of very well-off households here.
You are correct:
Ineptocracy:............... ....... A system of
government where the least capable to lead are elected by the
least capable of producing, and where the members of society
least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded
with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth
of a diminishing number of producers.
I doubt many of us are paying stupid debt on credit cards.
I’m a conservative for the simple reason that I try to use reality and facts to run my life.
IIRC it used to be pretty hard to even GET a credit card, now they foist them off on 18 year olds who don’t have a clue as to compound interest.
$78,000 is not worth what it was in 1989, to say the least.
Well at least nobody is talking about enforcing existing 100 yr old law, the Federal Reserve Act, which MANDATES the Fed maintain “Stable” prices. Which means ZERO Devaluation.
The Fed has a current policy for a Long Time now of Devaluing the currency by 2% annually, when in reality they devalue our currency 5-8% annually
Here is the flowchart on how net worth is calculated in the underlying Federal Reserve survey:
https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/files/Networth%20Flowchart.pdf
Based on this flowchart, it would seem like every conceivable type of asset is counted.
What’s yer pint?
Give the Trump economy a chance to grow get cryin out loud
I know a guy who was not a Trump voter. Today he lives Trump. His 401k is up thirty percent and his wages are up for the first time in years. He says in amazement “ thirty percent since January. I love Trump”
Interesting net worth chart.
Net worth tanked under Clinton until Republicans took control of Congress and forced Clinton to the center. Net worth then tanked under Obama and never recovered until basically he left office. I think there is a message here. Not so much political, but economic. When the Dems get in and practice their Keynesian economics everything goes to crap, but all the promised free-stuff sure does sound great, huh? Then a Republican gets in and at minimum, puts away the populist, yet failed, Keynesian economic policies and the economy moves again, or under Trump, the economy is unleashed and explodes.
Thank you, Barack Omugabe!
Who's next? Orca?
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