To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (662564 ) 7/18/2012 2:43:39 PM From: tejek Read Replies (1) | Respond to He still doesn't get the extent of the hatred for him. I don't either. The hatred has gotten so extreme, certain liberals blame him for losing half of their portfolio. Not all of us have a lifetime career as an intel bureaucrat. Life time employment......is that tenchu's first rule? The disappearing American dream is destined to dominate much of this year's campaign. The figures tell the reason. Last month the US Federal Reserve published its three-yearly "Changes in US Family Finances" survey over 2007 to 2010 documenting a lost decade for the American middle class. In this three years the median value of real family income before taxes fell 7.7 per cent. This decline was "widespread and across demographic groups". It was "most pronounced" among highly educated families, families headed by a person below 55 years and households in the south and west. The median (the mid-point) income fell from $US49,600 in 2007 to $US45,800 in 2010. But the fall in the average family income was greater at 11.1 per cent. Note that these figures are adjusted for inflation, the survey is highly regarded and the conclusion points to severe job and cost-of-living pressures of a dimension that has no present parallel in Australia. Decline in asset values and net family worth is far greater, mainly because of the collapse in house prices in so many states. Median net worth fell 38.8 per cent over the three years. The steepness of this fall is driven by housing where prices fell in the region of 40-50 per cent in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida compared with only 1 per cent in Iowa. T he Federal Reserve survey found median net worth declined from $US126,400 in 2007 to $US77,300 in 2010. How bad is that? It is very bad. Middle-class Americans find their net worth reduced back to its level of the early 1990s. This suggests the possibility of a lost generation in terms of wealth and dreams. theaustralian.com.au
