Category Archives: Economy

Wealth Gap Grows%

Posted on by

Pew published this article:
Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics Twenty-to-One

By Rakesh Kochhar, Richard Fry and Paul Taylor, Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends
July 26, 2011

“The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data from 2009.

PEW: Wealth Gap 2009 vs 2005

These lopsided wealth ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009.

How is net worth defined? It is assets minus debts. Given the collapsing housing market, many people’s assets ain’t what they used to be. In addition, some people are finding that carrying debt is costing more now that interest rates credit companies can charge has been deregulated. At 20% or more, getting out of debt will be hard, even if the economy begins to provide enough jobs for everyone who wants one.

PEW also noted that the losses in net wealth has been greater among blacks and Hispanics.

PEW writes:
“From 2005 to 2009, the median level of home equity held by Hispanic homeowners declined by half — from $99,983 to $49,145 — while the homeownership rate among Hispanics was also falling, from 51% to 47%. A geographic analysis suggests the reason: A disproportionate share of Hispanics live in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, which were in the vanguard of the housing real estate market bubble of the 1990s and early 2000s but that have since been among the states experiencing the steepest declines in housing values.

White and black homeowners also saw the median value of their home equity decline during this period, but not by as much as Hispanics. Among white homeowners, the decline was from $115,364 in 2005 to $95,000 in 2009. Among black homeowners, it was from $76,910 in 2005 to $59,000 in 2009. There was little or no change during this period in the homeownership rate for whites and blacks; it fell from 47% to 46% among blacks and was unchanged at 74% among whites.”

To read the article: see:
Wealth Gap Article

How Much Money Do People Need to Live?

Posted on by

Wider Opportunities for Women just released a report that defines economic security and concludes that many families earn less than what is needed. In its April 1st press release, WOW stated: “The national Basic Economic Security Tables TM (BEST) Index, developed by Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), a national organization that works to achieve economic independence for women and their families, finds that single workers need $30,012 a cialis hearing loss year – nearly twice the federal minimum wage – to cover basic expenses. buying viagra in mexico Single-parents require nearly twice the income ($57,756) to support two children, while dual-income households with children require $67,920.” WOW Press Release Full report Continue reading »

Public Opinion During the Great Depression

Posted on by

PEW had an interesting story about public opinion during the Great Depression. They noted the difference between then and now–during our great recession.

“Quite unlike today’s public, what Depression-era Americans wanted from their government was, on many counts, more not less. And despite their far more dire economic straits, they remained more optimistic than today’s public. Nor did average Americans then turn their ire upon their Groton-Harvard-educated president — this despite his failure, over his first term in office, to bring a swift end to their hardship. FDR had his detractors but these tended to be fellow members of the social and economic elite.”

Source:
How a Different America Responded to the Great Depression

by Jodie T. Allen, Senior Editor, Pew Research Center
December 14, 2010

PEW: Recession’s Impact

Posted on by

“Of the 13 recessions that the American public has endured since the Great Depression of 1929-33, none has presented a more punishing combination of length, breadth and depth than this one.

A new Pew Research survey finds that 30 months after it began, the Great Recession has led to a downsizing of Americans’ expectations about their retirements and their children’s future; a new frugality in their spending and borrowing habits; and a concern that it could take several years, at a minimum, for their house values and family finances to recover.”


Continue reading »

Surprising Perceptions About Income Distribution

Posted on by

A new study based on perceptions of over 5,000 people shows views about income distibution that contradict the belief that people are OK with income inequities.
“All demographic groups — even those not usually associated with wealth redistribution such as Republicans and the wealthy — desired a more equal distribution of wealth than the status quo.” Continue reading »

More Americans are Poor than Ever Before, Census Finds

Posted on by

Available data can tell a story. As the economy continues its downward trend, poverty is increasing, as is demand for programs to help people who now need a safety net–like food stamps, unemployment insurance and health insurance for their kids.
Since the programs intended to fight poverty were implemented in the 1960s, there have been critics who questioned whether the anti-poverty programs were effective. While not sufficient to reverse the deleterious effects of an impaired economy, it does appears that they are helping a substantial number of people stay above the poverty line. Of course, that line is set pretty low for many urban areas–so many people are worse off economically than the numbers show. Continue reading »

Cash for Clunkers: Did It Work?

Posted on by

NPR reported a study that tried to assess the impact of the Cash for Clunkers program, an incentive program offered by the federal government to stimulate car sales. The study concluded that: “The program didn’t bring new buyers into the market. But it encouraged people who would have bought a car anyway to make their purchase a few months sooner.” From a research perspective, the challenge is to determine what impact the program had. The reporter noted, “The only way to answer the question definitively would be to find a parallel universe exactly like ours, except for one thing: no cash for clunkers program. Continue reading »

Chart: Unemployment During Recession and Recovery

Posted on by

I came across this chart in a recent report: “Creating a Safety Net that Works When the Economy Doesn’t: The Role of the Food Stamp and TANF Programs,” By LaDonna Pavetti, et al. released by the Urban Institute.

The chart shows the unemployment rates during recessions and recoveries. It is a good chart–it is clear, easy to understand and uses accurate scales. I am not sure how economists decide when a recession has moved into recovery though. Only the November 1982 recession is actually at the peak of unemployment rates and then declines. The current recession, according to this chart, ended in July 2009 and we are now in recovery, even though the unemployment rate is still rising. But then the unemployment rate continued to rise in the recovery period of the 1991 and 2001 recessions.

For those who are still losing jobs, this probably does not feel like a recovery. The report itself found that the food stamp program has generally been responsive to the needs of those who have lost their jobs. TANF (the reinvented welfare program), however, has not been responsive.

chart unemployment recession