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Nearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin
TBI ^ | 2-3-2013 | Mandi Woodruff

Posted on 02/04/2013 1:37:40 PM PST by blam

Nearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin

Mandi Woodruff
February 4, 2013, 1:19 PM

In the past few years, Americans have learned a thing or two about how quickly disaster can strike.

And with each Hurricane Sandy, housing crisis, and stock market crash that rocks our world, we're faced with the realization that many of us simply aren't prepared for the worst.

A sobering new report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development shows nearly half of U.S. households (132.1 million people) don't have enough savings to weather emergencies, or finance long-term needs like college tuition, health care and housing.

According to the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, these people wouldn't last three months if their income was suddenly depleted. More than 30 percent don't even have a savings account, and another 8 percent don't bank at all.

We're not just talking about people who living people the poverty line, either. Plenty of the middle class have joined the ranks of the "working poor," struggling right alongside families scraping by on food stamps and other forms of public assistance.

More than one-quarter of households earning $55,465-$90,000 annually have less than three months of savings.

And another quarter of households are considered net worth asset poor, "meaning that the few assets they have, such as a savings account or durable assets like a home, business or car, are overwhelmed by their debts," the study says.

Stuck on the wheel

One of the prolonging reasons consumers have consistently struggled to make ends meet has more to do with larger economic issues than whether or not they can balance a checkbook.

Per the report, household median net worth declined by over $27,000 from its peak in 2006 to $68,948 in 2010, and at the same time

(snip)

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: economy; families; finance; savings
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To: C210N

Rush earns his money - he’s not some liberal elite who steals tax money to secure his wealth. Use dem examples... please.


41 posted on 02/04/2013 7:54:20 PM PST by GOPJ ( Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution. Vladimir Nabokov)
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To: Tijeras_Slim
I bet they have lot's of nice toys though.

I always liked this commercial:

I'm in debt up to my eyeballs...
You Tube Link

42 posted on 02/05/2013 12:37:34 AM PST by beaversmom
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To: bramps

That’s where her money went.


43 posted on 02/05/2013 4:57:48 AM PST by AppyPappy (You never see a massacre at a gun show.)
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To: Nachum

Still calling this OBAMA DEPRESSION a recession I see.

Smith and Nephew just laid off quite a number of people over 0’care.


44 posted on 02/05/2013 6:55:54 AM PST by GailA ( those who do not keep promises to the Military, won't keep them to U)
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To: C210N

No worries.......


45 posted on 02/05/2013 12:55:09 PM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LAVE)
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