Americans are slowly creeping back to their non-saving and debt based spending ways: Drop in the savings rate and shift in type of debts being taken.
The personal saving rate in the United States is on a multi-decade decline. Part of this has to do with Americans putting their money into alternative savings vehicles like 401ks and IRAs but a large part of this has to do with Americans simply not saving. Roughly one-third of US households have no savings to […]
Why do people feel poor even though the stock market is at a record high? The process of inflating asset bubbles and transferring wealth to targeted groups. S&P 500 up 145 percent from 2009 low.
The stock market provides a beautiful scent of success although most Americans will only catch a whiff of that aroma. The S&P 500 is now up 145 percent from the gloomy low reached in 2009. Even though this unrelenting trend upwards has added wealth to a few, the majority of Americans are still seeing the […]
Feeling rich through debt: Modern banking has replaced real economic prosperity with massive levels of debt. Housing affordability reaches multi-decade highs while household incomes retreat to 1990s levels.
One of the biggest headlines right now is how the housing market is pulling the entire market up. Housing prices are soaring while the stock market is making record highs. Yet a large portion of the housing run-up is being caused by easy money that has been created by the Federal Reserve. Banks are out-bidding […]
Where have all the workers gone? The real truth behind the drop in the labor participation rate.
One of the common views regarding the labor participation rate declining is that many baby boomers are retiring and leaving the work force. Unfortunately many are finding that retirement is a myth when you are broke and many will be working deep into their later years. So when we examine the numbers we actually find […]