Apr 9 2011

The housing gamble: What if home prices remained stagnant until 2020? 6 charts laying out the argument for stagnant or declining home prices for another 10 years. Peak in dual income households, home prices still inflated relative to incomes, Federal Reserve unable to hold mortgage rates low forever.

What would happen if home prices remain stagnant for another decade?  It is hard to imagine that the cornerstone of the American dream would somehow become a bad investment for the next decade.  For decades every generation was conditioned into believing that housing was the best investment a family could make.  For many it provided […]

Mar 10 2011

Home is where the working and middle class lose their money – $6.3 trillion lost in household real estate values. Top 1 percent control $13 trillion in financial assets while bottom 80 percent control $2 trillion.

When people talk about the American Dream it usually implies owning a home.  Owning a home has been part of our collective psychology for generations and is hard to shake out even after such a disastrous and financially painful bubble that will linger with us for many years going forward.  After World War II, owning […]

Mar 6 2011

Financial dismantling of the American middle class in 8 charts – Peak debt, credit card addiction withdrawal, banks hoarding cash, financial sector dominance in pay, Federal debt will never be paid off, and struggles of the middle class.

The American economy runs on high octane debt.  Debt has been welcomed by many with open arms and things seemed to be going well until people realized they actually had to pay the debt back.  Average Americans trying to keep up with the picket white fence image of Leave it to Beaver were largely relying […]

Feb 5 2011

Economic chicanery – Social Security financial headwinds, another 395,000 Americans added to food stamp assistance in latest month of data, and manipulating the unemployment rate.

The dichotomous American economy is cracking like old paint into two distinct factions.  For a few solid decades after World War II we had a burgeoning middle class, a smaller financial elite, and those who still struggled financially.  The main objective however was to get as many people into the secure middle class.  Today the […]

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