I think of them as an untapped resource. Lonnie Courtney Clay
On Tuesday, April 23, 2013 5:06:46 PM UTC-7, nominal9 wrote: > > Start below then read on in the link.... if you dare.... right-wingers.... > HAR > > > http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/ > A Rise in Wealth for the Wealthy; Declines for the Lower 93% An Uneven > Recovery, 2009-2011 > > by Richard Fry <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/author/rfry/> and Paul > Taylor <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/author/ptaylor/> > Overview > > [image: SDT-2013-04-wealth-recovery-0-1]During the first two years of the > nation’s economic recovery, the mean net worth of households in the upper > 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net > worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%, according to a Pew > Research Center analysis of newly released Census Bureau data. > > From 2009 to 2011, the mean wealth of the 8 million households in the more > affluent group rose to an estimated $3,173,895 from an estimated > $2,476,244, while the mean wealth of the 111 million households in the less > affluent group fell to an estimated $133,817 from an estimated $139,896. > > These wide variances were driven by the fact that the stock and bond > market rallied during the 2009 to 2011 period while the housing market > remained flat. > > Affluent households typically have their assets concentrated in stocks and > other financial holdings, while less affluent households typically have > their wealth more heavily concentrated in the value of their home. > > From the end of the recession in 2009 through 2011 (the last year for > which Census Bureau wealth data are available), the 8 million households in > the U.S. with a net worth above $836,033 saw their aggregate wealth rise by > an estimated $5.6 trillion, while the 111 million households with a net > worth at or below that level saw their aggregate wealth decline by an > estimated $0.6 > trillion.1<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fn-16900-1> > > [image: SDT-2013-04-wealth-recovery-0-2]Because of these differences, > wealth inequality increased during the first two years of the recovery. The > upper 7% of households saw their aggregate share of the nation’s overall > household wealth pie rise to 63% in 2011, up from 56% in 2009. On an > individual household basis, the mean wealth of households in this more > affluent group was almost 24 times that of those in the less affluent group > in 2011. At the start of the recovery in 2009, that ratio had been less > than 18-to-1. > > (The focus in this report on the upper 7% of households rather than some > other share of high wealth households reflects the limits of the > tabulations published by the Census Bureau. The boundaries of its wealth > categories dictated the split of households analyzed in this report.) > > Overall, the wealth of America’s households rose by $5 trillion, or 14%, > during this period, from $35.2 trillion in 2009 to $40.2 trillion in 2011. > 2<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fn-16900-2>Household > wealth is the sum of all assets, such as a home, car, real > property, a 401(k), stocks and other financial holdings, minus the sum of > all debts, such as a mortgage, car loan, credit card debt and student loans. > > During the period under study, the S&P 500 rose by 34% (and has since > risen by an additional 26%), while the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index > fell by 5%, continuing a steep slide that began with the crash of the > housing market in 2006. (Housing prices have slowly started to rebound in > the past year but remain 29% below their 2006 peak.) > > The different performance of financial asset and housing markets from 2009 > to 2011 explains virtually all of the variances in the trajectories of > wealth holdings among affluent and less affluent households during this > period. Among households with net worth of $500,000 or more, 65% of their > wealth comes from financial holdings, such as stocks, bonds and 401(k) > accounts, and 17% comes from their home. Among households with net worth of > less than $500,000, just 33% of their wealth comes from financial assets > and 50% comes from their home. > > [image: SDT-2013-04-wealth-recovery-0-3]The Census Bureau data also > indicate that among less affluent households, fewer directly owned stocks > and mutual fund shares in 2011 (13%) than in 2009 (16%), meaning a smaller > share enjoyed the fruits of the stock market rally. Likewise, fewer had > individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or Keogh accounts (22% in 2011 versus > 24% in 2009) and the same share had 401(k) or Thrift Savings Plan accounts > (39% in both years). Among affluent households, there was also a decline in > the share directly owning stock and mutual fund shares during this period > (59% in 2011 versus 62% in 2009), but a slight increase in the share with > IRAs or Keogh accounts (70% versus 68%) and a larger increase in the share > with 401(k) or Thrift Savings Plan accounts (65% versus 61%). > > Overall, net worth per household in the U.S. in 2011 made up nearly all > the ground it had lost since 2005—$338,950 versus $340,252 in 2005, the > latest pre-recession data published by the Census Bureau. (Total household > wealth doubtless rose for a period after 2005 before falling precipitously > during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and rebounding since then. However, > no household wealth data are available from the Census Bureau for the years > between 2005 and 2009, so it is not possible to pinpoint when, or at what > level, the peak in wealth per household occurred.) > > Looking at the period from 2005 to 2009, Census Bureau data show that mean > net worth declined by 12% for households as a whole but remained unchanged > for households with a net worth of $500,000 and over. Households in that > top wealth category had a mean of $1,590,075 in wealth in 2005, $1,585,441 > in 2009 and $1,920,956 in > 2011.3<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fn-16900-3> > About the Report > > Much of the original analysis in this report is based on published > tabulations of household wealth and asset ownership by the U.S. Census > Bureau. Estimates of the 2011 level and composition of household wealth > were released by the Census Bureau on March 21, 2013. The data can be > downloaded from here<http://www.census.gov/people/wealth/data/dtables.html>. > The Census Bureau’s wealth tabulations are based on its long-running > longitudinal household survey called the Survey of Income and Program > Participation (SIPP). The Census Bureau has published comparable wealth > tabulations based on SIPP since 1984 (the data were collected in 1984; the > report publication date was July 1986). SIPP is among the nation’s most > prominent sources of data on the wealth of American households. The Board > of Governors of the Federal Reserve System also publishes periodic > estimates of the aggregate net worth of the nation’s households and > nonprofit organizations. The most recent Federal Reserve System estimates > are for the fourth quarter of 2012. However, these “flow of funds accounts” > estimates provide no demographic information; that is, they do not > illuminate which households own the nation’s wealth, only the total amount > of that wealth. SIPP provides detailed demographic information on the > ownership of wealth, and the 2011 wealth estimates provided by the Census > Bureau are the most recent estimates available on which households own the > nation’s > wealth.4<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fn-16900-4>The > estimates are based on responses from a sample of the population and > may differ from the actual values because of sampling variability and other > factors. > > The terms “wealth” and “net worth” are used interchangeably. “Household > net worth” refers to the value of the household’s assets minus the value of > household liabilities, or the value of what it owns minus the value of what > it owes. “Net worth” includes the value of nonfinancial assets owned, such > as equity in one’s own home and a motor vehicle, as well the value of > financial assets such as bank accounts, defined-contribution retirement > accounts, savings bonds and directly owned stocks, bonds and securities. > Net worth as measured by the Survey of Income and Program Participation > does not include the value of traditional pensions (defined-benefit > retirement plans) or present or future benefit streams tied to Social > Security. > > Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation and > reported in 2011 dollars. The inflation adjustment utilizes the Bureau of > Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index Research Series (CPI-U-RS) as > published in DeNavas-Walt, Proctor and Smith (2012). This is the price > index series used by the U.S. Census Bureau to deflate the data it > publishes on household income. > Additional details on the Census Bureau wealth estimates are provided in > the Appendix. > > This report was conceived and researched by Richard Fry, senior economist > with the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project. The > report was written by Fry and Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the > Pew Research Center and director of the Social & Demographic Trends > project. Research assistant Eileen Patten provided expert assistance with > the preparation of charts and formatting the report. Research assistants > Patten and Anna Brown number-checked the report. It was copy-edited by > Marcia Kramer. The authors appreciate the insights on the distribution of > wealth provided by Rakesh Kochhar, senior researcher with the Pew Research > Center. > > 1. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation > and reported in 2011 dollars. > ↩<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fnref-16900-1> > 2. The Census tabulations are based on the Survey of Income and > Program Participation (SIPP). For 2010 this data source indicated that > total household wealth was $39.4 trillion. An alternative source of data > on > household wealth, the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances > (SCF), indicates that 2010 wealth totaled $60.0 trillion. Some of the > discrepancy may be due to differences in each survey’s universe. The SIPP > is restricted to the household population, while the SCF includes families > living in group quarters. The SCF is also more comprehensive in the assets > it covers. SIPP does not include the cash value of life insurance policies > and the value of household furnishings such as antiques, art and jewelry. > Since the SCF oversamples high net worth families, estimates of mean net > worth and aggregate net worth based on it are preferred (Orzechowski and > Sepielli, 2003). However, no post-recession SCF data are yet available. > > ↩<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fnref-16900-2> > 3. However, price inflation makes this comparison more tenuous as the > years go by. In other words, $500,000 was worth considerably more in 2005 > than 2011. In terms of constant purchasing power, households with a net > worth of $500,000 and over in 2005 should be compared with households with > a net worth of $576,052 or more in 2011. Clearly the share of households > in > this upper net worth category fell from 2005 to 2011. In 2005 15% of > households had a net worth of $500,000 or more. By 2011, 13.5% of > households had a net worth of $500,000 or more, so a lower share would > have > had $576,052 or more. > ↩<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fnref-16900-3> > 4. Another prominent source of data on wealth is the Survey of > Consumer Finances, collected by the Board of Governors of the Federal > Reserve System. The most recent Survey of Consumer Finances was collected > in 2010. It is a triennial survey; the next Survey of Consumer Finances > data, for 2013, will be available in 2015. > ↩<http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/#fnref-16900-4> > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Epistemology" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to epistemology+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to epistemology@googlegroups.com. 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