All post-2000 family finance gains now erased

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Ownership society watch

The new Survey of Consumer Finances shows an increase in family net worth between 2004 and 2007 — but estimates, based on stock and housing prices, that all of that gain and more has been wiped out since then. Adjusted for inflation, families are poorer now than they were in 2001.

It’s worth pointing out that with this release, yet another pillar of the what-me-worry school of economics has fallen. You may remember that a few years ago there was a lot of talk about how only bubbleheads paid attention to our low, low savings rate, because the truth was that Americans were getting steadily wealthier thanks to rising asset values.


http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/ownership-society-watch/

[Lilith Velkor]

1. Holy Shit

When can we start chanting, "Capitalism doesn't work!"?

[scheming daemons]

2. Capitalism DOES work... when properly regulated

UNREGULATED capitalism doesn't work.

[Lilith Velkor]

4. Define "properly"

and keep in mind that any social spending is the same as communism to those who bleated, "It doesn't work!" I've been having fun taking the piss out of those types of late.

(FWIW, I do agree that capitalism *can* work, we just need to flip it around so we have capitalism for the wealthy and socialism for the not-wealthy, instead of the other way around, which we have now.)

[scheming daemons]

5. Properly meaning that...

Risk-taking is rewarded.... but FAILED risks get punished - not bailed out.


You're right about there being socialism for the wealthy right now..... let's make them live with the risks they took.

[prolesunited]

3. I know our family's standard of living

has steadily declined. The only things we have were purchased prior to the slide. It's the only thing that keeps us from feeling as poor as we really are. But lately, I've been looking around for things to sell.