[Soul of the South]

The article focuses on housing and financial assets. Other factors resulting in loss of household wealth in recent years include:

1) Decline in real household incomes. Middle class jobs are going away.
2) Inflation. The hidden tax eroding the purchasing power of money and the result of both government and Federal Reserve policies. Food and energy prices have accelerated and take an increasing share of household income, yet food and energy inflation is not included in the government inflation statistics.
3) Negative rate of return on savings. Savings accounts, CD’s, and bond interest rates have declined due to Federal Reserve low interest rate policy.
4) Total tax burden (federal, state, local) continues to rise.

The factors above will make it difficult for households to accumulate new wealth to offset the lost wealth.

[MSF BU]

On the other hand, there is an opportunity for thrifty, responsible, industrious households to get great bargains in real assets. There are places in some areas near me where you can buy multi-family units for one half their 2006 sales prices.

[rbg81]

3) Negative rate of return on savings. Savings accounts, CD’s, and bond interest rates have declined due to Federal Reserve low interest rate policy.

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This especially is being done to keep the cost of the ballooning deficit managable. Without it, revenues would not even be enough to cover interest on the debt. Then massive transfer payments would cease. Since most of the population gets some subsidy or other these daze, all hell would break loose.

The FED will work to keep interest rates low indefinitely for this reason. Old people won’t riot, but young minorities will. This whole scheme is just one big Hail Mary, with out leaders hoping for some kind of economic miracle to grow us out of this unsustainable mess. But it ain’t gonna happen ‘cause there are no saviors left.

[TurboZamboni]

By allowing the 2003 tax cuts to retire, President Obama will be increasing the bottom rate from 10% to 15% and the 20% bracket to 25%.

math here:

Raising the 10% bracket to 15% represents what percentage of increase? Hint: The correct answer is NOT 5%.

Raising the 20% bracket to 25% represents what percentage of increase? Hint: The correct answer, again, is NOT 5%.

Finally, raising the 35% bracket to 39% represents what percentage of increase: Hint: The correct answer is NOT 4%.

Extra credit question: People in which tax bracket will see the largest percentage of increase in their taxes?

Extra extra credit question: People in which tax bracket will see the smallest percentage of increase in their taxes?

To those moving from the 35% to the 39% tax bracket...that’s roughly an 11% increase in taxes.

From 20% to 25%...that’s a full-blown 25% increase in taxes.

To those moving from the 10% bracket to 15%, their taxes will be increased by a whopping 50%.

So the low-income people get their taxes raised even more when seen as a percentage. And the rich folks lose a higher magnitude of money, but the percentage compared to what they already make is lower.

[1010RD]

Someone pointed this out to me last week on another thread. I’d supposed it was just housing, but last night I heard from a friend whose wife’s unemployment had run out, they’d been spending their retirement funds to make ends meet. It’s very, very tough out there.