Fed Reserve: Slowest increase in Americans' net worth in over a decade

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Debt, lower wages clip net worth growth
A Federal Reserve survey finds slowest increase in Americans' net worth in over a decade.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 27, 2006: 2:39 PM EST

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/23/pf/consumer_fedsurvey/index.htm?cnn=yes

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Americans' net worth grew between 2001 and 2004, but not nearly as strongly as it did between 1998 and 2001, according to the Federal Reserve's triennial Survey of Consumer Finances released Thursday. The big reason: while household assets increased, debts – particularly mortgage debt -- rose considerably more.

Net worth: Median net worth rose 1.5 percent, to $93,100. The median is the point at which half of all households have a higher net worth and half have a lower net worth. By contrast, between 1998 and 2001, the median net worth increased 10.3 percent. The increase in net worth in the latest survey was due mostly to an increase in home ownership and an increase in housing prices.

Income: A decline in wages also helped account for the slow growth in net worth. While the median income rose 1.6 percent, to $43,200, after adjusting for inflation, median wages fell 6.2 percent. Wages make up the largest part of family income. Despite lower interest rates between 2001 and 2004, families spent more of their incomes paying off their debt. The growth in income was the slowest since the Fed's 1992 survey, when median income actually fell.6.7 percent, to $35,100, between 1989 and 1992.

[On the Road]

1. That's Astounding

considering the increase in home values.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. House flippers...

The increase in home value came from speculation and investment, not from an increased net worth.

Right now in Silicon Valley CA, only FOURTEEN percent of the families here can afford to buy a "median priced home" (And the median price is somewhere between $600-700K).

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Hey, can someone run the gauntlet in the White House and

get this to George Bush? Mother fucker has done less for Americans than any one could ever imagine.

[AX10]

4. KICK, KICK, KICK!