A new report by the Federal Reserve Board shows how hard Americans were walloped during the Great Recession. A Washington Post summary stated, "median net worth of families plunged by 39 percent in just three years, from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010." That rolled back wealth to 1992 levels, essentially wiping out nearly two decades of wealth creation.
"It's shocking," Esmael Adibi told us; he's the director of A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University. He explained that there's a difference between income and wealth. Income is your paycheck and other compensation for work. Wealth is "all of your holdings, typically your home. If you're wealthy enough, it would include your savings, stock market investments, maybe a boat."
CARTOON BY STEVE KELLEY
ADVERTISEMENT
The main culprit in the decline, of course, was the housing crash. He said home values dropped by up to 60 percent in some places, such as Modesto and the Inland Empire. Orange County was more fortunate – if you can call it that – seeing prices drop by about one-third
No comments:
Post a Comment