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 […]
Federal Reserve punishing savers in low interest rate environment – Since the 1960s 5-year Treasury Bills average 6.5 percent. Today a high yield money market account will get you 1 percent.
Saving money is usually pushed to the background in a debt induced economy built around spending. Marketing firms are designed with the intention of parting you from your hard earned dollar. The housing bubble was a manifestation of a system permeated by easy access to debt and promises to repay current purchases with future dollars. […]
Financial trends of the new American economy – Higher educated workforce with harder time finding and keeping jobs, median retirement account for Americans at $2,000, global stock market growth, and housing bust covering up inflation in other areas.
The Great Recession is revealing some fundamental challenges in our economy. One of those challenges revolves around the exceedingly expensive college degree and its ability to translate into employment. As a percent many more American’s have a bachelor’s degree today than say in 1992 yet unemployment for college educated Americans is at modern record highs. […]
The era of mega banks – The growth of too big to fail. American banking system still backing over $13 trillion in assets with a negative deposit insurance fund. 7,760 banks but 19 banks make up 50 percent of the asset base.
The growth of the too big to fail bank is something that is modern to this era. In the 1990s there were fewer than 40 institutions that had total assets above $20 billion. In the late part of the 1980s and 1990s this number was below 20. The peak was reached in 2005 with 55 […]