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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: forceOfHabit who wrote (78123)	1/25/2007 3:10:16 PM
From: Horgad	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

How many people in the US have a net worth of negative $55k in the US? These people could possibly negate or skew the results depending on how the number was calculated. For example if you looked at the average net worth, the negative net worth would offset a lot of the positives. I've looked at some of the studies like the one Grace is referencing and they count people who live in the US with new cars and houses but with a negative net worth as being poorer than I guy in Africa with nothing but the shirt on his back. In other words, the US has both the poorest and richest people in the world. Of course, a standard of living study would paint a completely different picture.

To: forceOfHabit who wrote (78123)	1/28/2007 8:50:49 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 110194

It was a flip remark, I apologise if you took it to heart. I just couldn't believe someone on a financial board was asking me for proof that Americans have high net worth (relative to the world). It did at least get you to do some investigation. NPR had a news item on this study. I heard it while in my car so I didn't take notes. I do remember it was quite amazing how rich most Americans are in comparison to the rest of the world, 4.67% of world population and 32.65% of the world's wealth (25% in PPP figures) yet if you listen to Americans talk these days they sound like they feel poor. The actual figures are thus, according to this study published Dec 2006 The World Distribution of Household Wealth James B. Davies, Susanna Sandstrom, Anthony Shorrocks, and Edward N. Wolff conducted with 2000 figures: According to the study, net worth above $6318 puts you in a position better off than 70% of the world. A net worth above $14,169 puts you in a position of being better off than 80% of the world's population. A net worth at or above $61,041 puts you in the top 10% A net worth at or above $514.5k puts you in the top 1%. Here read the study yourself, my figures are the exchange rate figures from Table 10a pg47....if you need to feel poorer you can use the PPP figures from Table 11a on pg49: wider.unu.edu I think you will find that my original statement stands that Americans have not hurt their net worth by being cash flow oriented. The rate by which Americans as a whole are getting richer may have slowed since the rapid pace of the post WWII period, but richer we are.