Are you fearing a 1930s-type depression? Good news: you are not crazy or paranoid, according to a new study by policy center Demos and the Institute for Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
While the tide was rising between 2000 and 2006, surprisingly most of the middle class had either leaky boats or very short anchor lines.
Fun Fact #1: For every dollar in median assets that middle-class families held in 2000, they held just 78 cents in 2006. (At least it appears from the article they didn't adjust for inflation.)
Fun Fact #2: Monthly housing expenses for the middle class rose by 9 percent. As a result, the percentage of middle-class families who match the Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition of "housing burdened" rose from 31 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2006. (Good thing Bush sent out those rebate checks to help offset this trend.)
Fun Fact #3: The number of middle-class families in which at least one member lacks health insurance grew from 18 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2006. (This one isn't so fun, because AIG probably lost so much money due to people not renewing their insurance, it may have caused the recent colapse of the financial markets.)
If it is a consolation, these above figures do not include wealth associated with home ownership.
Also, here is a photo of some rich people losing thier boat. "See how they run like pigs from a gun? I'm crying."
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1 comment:
Funly, I am more or less congruent with these facts.
Interestingly, you are blog-linked to me now.
Curiously, how did you find that picture of the bathtub race swamping?
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