Jan 13 2011

The road least pillaged – S&P 500 up 90 percent from bottom but housing values down 30 percent nationwide. Wealthy store most of their wealth in stocks while most Americans have their net worth in housing. 2010 record year in foreclosures and the upcoming lost decade in housing.

There are few investments in the US that are so heavily subsidized like housing.  Residential and commercial real estate included benefit from favorable government policies to increase demand.  Some of these policies may have merit but a large part of the housing market has been injected with so many perks that the true value of […]

Dec 13 2010

The growing chasm between rich and poor in America – Latest data shows that 500,000 people were added to the food assistance program in one month. 6 million Americans added over the last year. Those that buy diamonds versus those that barely have enough to buy soup.

The shrinking of the American middle class is painful to watch.  Shopping at the grocery store I’ve noticed more and more people with unique debit cards that don’t look like your typical debit or credit card.  These are actually the modern day food stamps and help to take away the stigma of pulling out a […]

Dec 10 2010

How much does the average American make in 2010? Examining new data on U.S. household income numbers and high income earners. 100 million Americans make less than $39,999 per year.

Examining the average income for Americans sheds a very troubling light on what has happened to income over a very financially destructive decade.  If we look at the median household income in the U.S. this actually underplays the falling behind of wages because we are looking at households with multiple people working.  Without a doubt […]

Dec 6 2010

Catch 22 economics – The U.S. economy has 7,400,000 less workers than the peak in late 2007 yet nominal GDP is at a record. What does that mean for those without jobs?

The Friday jobs report was significant for a variety of reasons but one key theme is that it shows the true fragility of the state of the economy.  Even though it was a net add of 39,000 jobs we need to remember that the nation needs to add roughly 150,000 jobs per month just to […]

Page 5 of 10« First...34567...10...Last »

Categories

Archives