Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Return to Sender who wrote (29290)	3/12/2006 1:45:10 AM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95765

RtS, Thanks for posting the data in the article. I shows the US has a lot of money, but the "average" family tends to be "strapped" and has very few financial resources. Don

To: Return to Sender who wrote (29290)	3/12/2006 2:13:52 PM
From: Kirk ©	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95765

RE: The Wealth of the American Nation Americans are clearly the richest people on earth. Or are they? With some $50 trillion in stocks, bonds and real estate, we are watching our net worth grow each year. Some argue that the low US saving rate is not a problem as real net worth is growing fairly rapidly. But not for the average family. A survey by the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances offers us the most detailed recent look at the balance sheet of U.S. households. The median family has about $3,800 in the bank, do not have a retirement account, has a home worth $160,000 with a mortgage of $95,000. No mutual funds, stocks or bonds populate their investment portfolios. They make (jointly) $43,000 and struggle to pay off their $2,200 in credit card debt. That means 50% of Americans are in worse shape than the above. It is not a pretty picture. As I noted last week, "...we find that 67% of the people aged 50-64 saved less than $10,000 last year. Over 40% saved less than $1,000!!!" No wonder that most people expect to work after age 65. First, if you do the math, the medial family has well over a year's GROSS earnings power in net worth. That isn't bad. The rest is quite easy to explain as an abberration from the norm. Never before was the vast middle class able to live so well with only one spouse working. I think it was the reward for saving Europe from Nazi Germany and the Pacific from Japan in 1945 and another reward in the 1990's for saving the world from Soviet style communismn. Even now, it takes most couples working to raise a family if they want all the things TV tells them they should have. If they drop their expectations to what the Europeans have... small appartments, small, fuel efficient cars or scooters, etc... then they can probably live much better. Now the rest of the World has had a generation to rebuild and catch up or compete. Also, many of the poor who want to do better come here and bring down our averages and suck much of the slop out of the system... especially true with illegal immigration and health care. I think the US returns to "what is natural" where the very smart, very lucky and very hard working (it takes all three) do very well while the rest struggle to stay comfortable.