WASHINGTON — The share of the nation’s wealth held by the less affluent half of American households dropped precipitously after the financial crisis, to 1.1 percent, according to new calculations by Congress’s nonpartisan research service.
By contrast, the share of total net worth held by the weathiest 1 percent of American households continued rising, hitting 34.5 percent in 2010. The top 10 percent’s share was 74.5 percent.
The bottom half’s share of wealth has declined since it reached a high of 3.6 percent in 1995. But the most dramatic drop occurred after 2007, according to the analysis of data from the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances.
Another staggering indicator of the concentration of wealth at the top in the U.S: When all household wealth is divided by the number of households, the mean household net worth in 2010 totals $498,800. But the median household net worth — the level at which half the households have more and half have less — was $77,300, meaning that the rich have so much that the average net worth in the U.S. is actually 6.5 times that of a typical American family.
Greedy bastards
Susie: here’s a great article you should read when you get a few minutes.
http://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2012/07/watching-the-global-economic-system.html
in this post there’s a link to a 78 page, well documented paper with the details of how and why it’s all going to fall apart in the near future.
….and that’s all YOU PEOPLE need to know about us filthy rich motherfuckers!
And, Barry, he did nothing to lessen this impace on the lower half of all American households. Dear FSM, help us! (Yeah, like that’ll help.)
Obama will be reviled by following generations as the Hoover of his age. He was voted into office to be the FDR of the 21st Century, but he refused to do so. He followed the advice of his bankster buddies and financial supporters (and future earnings guarantors) instead of listening to the voices of those who spoke for the majority of Americans.
If he is reelected it will not be because voters thought he had done a good job, it will be because they absolutely are terrified of what Romney would do once in office.
I fear both.
“the mean household net worth in 2010 totals $498,800. But the median household net worth — the level at which half the households have more and half have less — was $77,300”
It also means that if we had anything like a reasonable distribution of wealth in this country, the “middle” class would be six times richer.
This is so depressing to contemplate.
Is there anything that can be done?
Liars figure and we’re number one! The stats we’re being fed are all cooked these days. Household income is a fraudulent data shift to conceal reduction in real wages. Averages are now so outa whack that as this article demonstrates, you need to ferret out the mean or strip the top 10% from the average. Our so-called unemployment figures cannot be compared to any other western nation for the extent to which frustrated workers and marginally employed are falsely excluded. Neo-liberal and neo-conservative economics both proceed from this neo-statistical fraud.
I agree 100% with commentator Iless(?) above.
Viewing the changes made to economic data as an economics student from the 70-90’s (not to mention the financial chicanery that I viewed taking place under the Cheney/Bush junta), I had a very difficult time believing that the populace wouldn’t revolt passionately if not violently at the minimization by government officials of the pain being suffered by the lower classes as the jobs were outsourced and government was demonized.
I still can’t believe it.
Thanks for all the light you bring to these situations.
The stats we’re being fed are all cooked these days. Household income is a fraudulent data shift to conceal reduction in real wages. Averages are now so outa whack that as this article demonstrates, you need to ferret out the mean or strip the top 10% from the average. Our so-called unemployment figures cannot be compared to any other western nation for the extent to which frustrated workers and marginally employed are falsely excluded. Neo-liberal and neo-conservative economics both proceed from this neo-statistical fraud.