Posted on 06/26/2014 6:47:21 AM PDT by george76
If you’re a typical family, you’re considerably poorer than you used to be. No wonder the “recovery” feels like a recession.
...
The median household in 2013 had a net worth of just $56,335 -- 43% lower than the median wealth level right before the recession began in 2007, and 36% lower than a decade ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
I grew up in a large family, and have slightly smaller accomodations for a family half the size. Not luxurious by any means; my home was probably built at the same time as the home I grew up in. The most noticeable difference between growing up then and living here now is the much smaller number of children; they are importing kids to keep the schools full.
A newer house saves a lot in utility bills. I know more people with large families now than I did growing up, and not just immigrants. In our subdivision, we and a Ukrainian Evangelical family both have ten children. We have a 2,400 sq.ft. house, and they bought two smaller houses side-by-side for the parents, children, and grandparents.
One of my friends from Mexico is one of 14 children, but only 4 are still alive, and she’s only in her 50s. She has only 2 American-born grandchildren.
“A newer house saves a lot in utility bills.”
No doubt; in my area (northeastern NJ, about a dozen miles west of Manhattan) there aren’t many new constructions (due to space limitations - the area was settled in the mid-17th century). Those that do go up are very expensive to buy, with very high taxes to boot.
I’ve lived in the South and West most of my life. The oldness of the Northeast blows my mind. My cousin lives in Haddonfield, near Philadelphia, in a mid-1800s house at an astounding cost.
As North American settlements go it is old here; I always wondered if that Haddonfield was the one in “Halloween” (mostly because people have told me Halloween isn’t celebrated with the same gusto in other parts of the country as it is here - I assume due to the large numbers of Celtic settlers).
Don’t know, I only visited her there a couple of times. The idea of an old house always appealed to me, until I think about the cost of upkeep, even in a low-cost place like here. There was a 4,500 sq. ft. late Victorian for sale in Monroe (the county seat) for $250,000 ... but you’d spend almost that much a year to cool it and battle the termites.
Yes, they have their drawbacks. In my area the only pros are lower price and lower taxes.
As depressing as this news is, there is one silver lining:
All of the bums and moochers who get their “money” through tears and whining are going to be SOL when there’s no government to back up their useless paper with force. Meanwhile, those of us with actual skills and tangible assets, while not living perfect lives, will be better off than the moochers to a degree.
this is all by design
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