The Federal Reserve announced today that the median net worth of families has dropped by 39 percent in only a three-year time period. In other words, since the recession really began to pick up its pace, and as Obama delved deeper into his presidency, Americans have suffered from a tumultuous plunge in their wealth.
Middle-class families are the ones getting screwed. The flatulent economy has terminated an astounding two decades of Americans’ wealth. Specifically, the families’ median net worth has nosedived from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. Even more shocking, that places Americans on par with where they were financially back in 1992.
The data represent one of the most detailed looks to date of how the economic downturn altered the landscape of family finance. Over a span of three years, Americans watched progress that took almost a generation to accumulate evaporate. The promise of retirement built on the inevitable rise of the stock market proved illusory for most. Homeownership, once heralded as a pathway to wealth, became an albatross.
Those findings underscore the depth of the wounds of the financial crisis and how far many families remain from healing. If the recession set Americans back 20 years, economists say, the road forward is sure to be a long one. And so far, the country has only seen a halting recovery.
Hmm, I wonder why that might be. Just a guess, but I’m thinking it’s the fact the job market still sucks. Which, of course, leads us to the obvious question: why are there no jobs?
I will further validate my reputation as a typical right-wing blogger and say Obama and the Democrats in Congress are to blame. It’s cliche, but it’s true. You can’t demonize job producers and then expect them to create jobs. You also can’t dangle tax increases over their heads and expect them to expand their operations.
It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense.
Ironic, too, because the Federal Reserve released this study. And as the economy remains sluggish central bankers are firing up the printing press and making Americans’ wealth even more miserable.
