[Brooklyn Attitude]

40% have less than $500 in savings? I find that very hard to believe, just like the 1 in 5 people going hungry statistic.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I’m rather skeptical myself.

But maybe if they only polled Obama voters, it might be accurate.

[dmz]

40% have less than $500 in savings? I find that very hard to believe, just like the 1 in 5 people going hungry statistic.

<><><><

Um, do we all think that the 47% of whom Romney spoke have 500 bucks in savings?

[Responsibility2nd]

40% have less than $500 in savings? I find that very hard to believe, just like the 1 in 5 people going hungry statistic.

 

You found that hard to believe? I ran accross this article last year and DID NOT beleive it.

Basically, more than 1/4 of all Americans COULD NOT get their hands on $2,000 if you gave them a whole month to do it. However, as you can see from the comments... Many FReepers had no problem with that statement.

Nearly Half of Americans Are ‘Financially Fragile’
Wall Street Journal Blogs ^ | May 25, 2011 | Phil Izzo
 

Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 1:46:22 PM by rightwingintelligentsia

Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.

In a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business, Daniel J. Schneider of Princeton University and Peter Tufano of Harvard Business School used data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey to document widespread financial weakness in the U.S. and other countries.

The survey asked a simple question, “If you were to face a $2,000 unexpected expense in the next month, how would you get the funds you need?” In the U.S., 24.9% of respondents reported being certainly able, 25.1% probably able, 22.2% probably unable and 27.9% certainly unable. The $2,000 figure “reflects the order of magnitude of the cost of an unanticipated major car repair, a large copayment on a medical expense, legal expenses, or a home repair,” the authors write. On a more concrete basis, the authors cite $2,000 as the cost of an auto transmission replacement and research that reported low-income families claim to need about $1500 in savings for emergencies.

Financial fragility isn’t limited to low-income groups. “Households with socioeconomic markers of vulnerability (income, wealth, wealth losses, education, women, families with children) are more likely to be financially fragile, and substantially more so,” the authors write. “The more surprising finding is that a material fraction of seemingly ‘middle class’ Americans also judge themselves to be financially fragile, reflecting either a substantially weaker financial position than one would expect, or a very high level of anxiety or pessimism. Both are important in terms of behavior and for public policy.”

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...

---

 

 

 

40% have less than $500 in savings? I find that very hard to believe, just like the 1 in 5 people going hungry statistic.

 

You found that hard to believe? I ran accross this article last year and DID NOT beleive it.

Basically, more than 1/4 of all Americans COULD NOT get their hands on $2,000 if you gave them a whole month to do it. However, as you can see from the comments... Many FReepers had no problem with that statement.

Nearly Half of Americans Are ‘Financially Fragile’
Wall Street Journal Blogs ^ | May 25, 2011 | Phil Izzo
 

Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 1:46:22 PM by rightwingintelligentsia

Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.

In a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business, Daniel J. Schneider of Princeton University and Peter Tufano of Harvard Business School used data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey to document widespread financial weakness in the U.S. and other countries.

The survey asked a simple question, “If you were to face a $2,000 unexpected expense in the next month, how would you get the funds you need?” In the U.S., 24.9% of respondents reported being certainly able, 25.1% probably able, 22.2% probably unable and 27.9% certainly unable. The $2,000 figure “reflects the order of magnitude of the cost of an unanticipated major car repair, a large copayment on a medical expense, legal expenses, or a home repair,” the authors write. On a more concrete basis, the authors cite $2,000 as the cost of an auto transmission replacement and research that reported low-income families claim to need about $1500 in savings for emergencies.

Financial fragility isn’t limited to low-income groups. “Households with socioeconomic markers of vulnerability (income, wealth, wealth losses, education, women, families with children) are more likely to be financially fragile, and substantially more so,” the authors write. “The more surprising finding is that a material fraction of seemingly ‘middle class’ Americans also judge themselves to be financially fragile, reflecting either a substantially weaker financial position than one would expect, or a very high level of anxiety or pessimism. Both are important in terms of behavior and for public policy.”

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...

---