Two Thirds Of Gen X Households Have Less Wealth Than Their Parents Did
At The Same Age

06/10/2014

While the endless propaganda regurgitated from every media outlet will
have the average American believe (in between trips to collect and cash
unemployment checks, disability checks and food stamps) that in the
first quarter the economy crashed due to weather, or that millions of
Americans are bailing on the labor force - oddly enough, most of those
Americans are in in the 16-19 age group: retiring early, right?...

.... the reality is far, far simpler: the myth of the US economic
recovery is nothing more than a lie of mythic proportions.

Take Generation X: those millions of Americans born between 1960 and
1980 who in a truly recovering and thriving economy would be at the
forefront of career opportunities and of wealth creation. Instead, as an
extended Bloomberg profile of Gen X shows, there has hardly been a
generation in worse shape than Americans between their mid-30s and
mid-40s... perhaps with the exception of Gen Y, and the Millennials of
course.

So propaganda aside, what is life really like for a group of people that
in a parallel universe, one with a truly vibrant, growing economy,
should have never been better? Sadly, "life" as it is lived and not
shown on TV makes one wonder if X stands for Exterminate.

Take Vera Johnson from Seattle. Vera, one of the several Gen-Xers
profiled by BBG, "is barely making do, let alone saving for retirement."

----------
“I try to remain in the present moment and not live in fear of the
future,” said Johnson, who has neither retirement savings nor a college
fund for her two children. “My property is underwater, the properties
around me are underwater, I’m not building equity in my home.”

The 45-year-old almost lost her home to foreclosure in 2010 after the
housing-market collapse in the worst recession since World War II. She
embodies the financial challenges facing America’s Generation X, those
born between the mid-1960s and 1980, which lags behind other generations
in building assets.

When their working years end, Gen-Xers might have to live on just half
of their pre-retirement income, compared with 60 percent for the Baby
Boom generation, Pew said last year.

"Generation X is at this really critical historical spot,” said Diana
Elliott, a research officer in financial security and mobility at Pew, a
non-profit global research and public policy organization in Washington.
“They are not doing well relative to the last generation. It should give
us concern as a country.”
--------------

Just how badly are they doing? Bad enough to turn around the entire
concept of middle-class prosperity in America - one where every next
generation should do better than the preceding one - on its head.

--------------
Only one-third of Generation X households had more wealth than their
parents held at the same age, even though most earn more, The Pew
Charitable Trusts found.
--------------

And there, in a nutshell, is your so-called recovery: two thirds of an
entire generation - one which is in its prime working years - doing
worse than their parents!

The rest is just a story of sad anecdotes confirming that not only is
there no recovery in America for the average person (the average
billionaire... well that's a different story entirely), but that things
are, in fact, going from bad to even worse.

First, it is the overall collapse in wealth:

--------------
Gen-Xers lost about half of their wealth between 2007 and 2010,
according to a Pew Economic Mobility analysis last year. Even before the
housing collapse, they were having trouble keeping up with their parents
in building assets, according to Pew, which defines Generation X as
people born between 1966 and 1975.

“Gen-Xers are the least financially secure and the most likely to
experience downward mobility in retirement,” the Pew analysis found last
year.

The bursting of the dot-com bubble, which culminated in a 67 percent
drop in the Nasdaq Composite Index (CCMP) from 2000 to 2002, was a
particularly severe blow to Gen-Xers just starting their careers. While
most didn’t directly own stocks, the economy slipped into recession and
unemployment for 25- to 34-year-olds in 2003 hit its highest level in
almost a decade.
--------------

Then it is the impact of record amounts of student loans pushing
Gen-Xers even further down:

--------------
Student loans also slowed asset-building, said Signe-Mary McKernan, an
economist at the Washington-based Urban Institute.

“Under the impact of successive booms and busts, many Xers have
struggled to afford a family or keep their home, much less do better
than their parents,” Neil Howe, co-author with William Strauss of books
on generations in American history, said at a May 8 research symposium
in St. Louis. “Then came the Great Recession, which hit Xers much
harder.”

The median income for 35- to 44-year-olds dropped 9.1 percent in the
three years ended in 2010, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of
Consumer Finances. Incomes of those age 35 or less, including the
youngest Gen-Xers and Millennials, fell 10.5 percent.

While incomes of 35- to 44-year-olds deteriorated less than those of
younger Americans, their net worth slumped by 54 percent, the most for
any age group, as the value of stock holdings and properties declined.
The median net worth of those younger than 35 declined 25 percent.
--------------

Then, it was pure greed: everyone rushed during the last housing bubble
to buy up McMansions and everyone knows how that ended (hint: the same
way the current bubble will end). Greed that destroyed everyone who
succumbed to temptation and did not get a government bailout:

--------------
The group aged 35 to 44 fared badly in part because its members had
taken on debt to buy real estate at just the wrong moment, said William
Emmons, senior economic adviser at the St. Louis Fed’s Center for
Household Financial Stability. Those born from 1978 to 1983, straddling
the line between Gen-Xers and Millennials, are at “ground zero” as the
age group hurt most severely by the housing crisis, he said.

“Generation X was hit the hardest,” Emmons said. “For those families
themselves, there’s limited time to make up some of those losses. For
the economy overall, families that are struggling pretty hard to make up
their savings aren’t spending as much, so that’s a drag.”

The median value of mortgages and home-equity loans held by 35- to
44-year-olds climbed to $131,000 in 2007 from $85,000 in 1995, based on
Survey of Consumer Finances data.
--------------

Then it was tumbling real estate valuations, and the switch from owning
to renting:

--------------
Property values tumbled during the real-estate crash. For 35- to
44-year-old homeowners, the median value of a primary residence dropped
21 percent to $170,000 in 2010 from $215,000 three years earlier.

As more decided to rent rather than own after the downturn, they’ve
missed the subsequent rebound in home prices. About 60.7 percent of 35-
to 44-year-olds owned a home in the first quarter 2014, down from 68.3
percent in the first quarter 2007, according to Census data.

Gen-Xers were also slammed by the slump in stocks. The 35-to 44-year-old
age group’s median value of financial assets, including stocks and
bonds, dropped 47 percent to $14,500 in 2010 from 2007. The hit to their
portfolios was more than 5 percentage points bigger than for any other
age group.

The value of the group’s directly held stock portfolios lost 36 percent,
Fed data show. While those who stayed invested in stocks may have
recouped losses as the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has rallied to new highs,
only 12 percent directly held equities in 2010, compared with a 17
percent share three years earlier.
--------------

Most importantly, it is the job market: which as everyone who is
actually in it, knows is nowhere near as rosy the unicorns and rainbows
the BLS and the US department of truth would like to make it seem.

What’s more, limited improvement in the labor market is making it more
difficult to rebuild assets. “It looks pretty bad,” said Amir Sufi, an
economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. “If
you don’t have income, you can’t build wealth.”

As of May, unemployment for 35- to 44-year-olds was 1.8 percentage point
higher than in the same month in 2007.

The plight of Gen-Xers also means less support for the economy as they
limit spending and concentrate on building up nest eggs, Emmons said.

Matthew Kraft, out of work for about a year, is watching fewer movies at
the theater and dining out less. The 39-year-old former public relations
manager in New York has filled out more than 110 applications to find
something other than entry-level work.

"If this keeps going on for another four or five months, it’s going to
start to hurt,” said Kraft, whose wife works at a hedge fund. “We have
been living off of her income and dipping into our savings.”
--------------

But the scariest part will be when Gen-X starts retiring for one simple
reason: nobody has anywhere near the funds they will need for provide
for retirement, even if one assumes that the US welfare system is still
solvent in a decade or so.

--------------
Generation X has already forfeited valuable years of interest
compounding by failing to accrue savings early, said Alicia Munnell, the
director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and
former research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

"Gen-Xers are going to live longer than the current generation of
retirees, and the major source of retirement income is going to be
smaller,” Munnell said. After 40, if “you’ve put this off, you really
have to save at a mind-boggling rate to accumulate enough to retire.”

As for Johnson, a mother of a 17-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old
son, she’s more concerned about day-to-day living than about preparing
for retirement.
--------------

That's ok Mrs. Johnson, you are in the same boat as all "developed"
nations: the only concern is how to keep the lie of solvency going
day-to-day rather than addressing, let alone tackling, the reality of
the terminal dilemma: a systemic collapse, or hyperinflation, that is
just beyond the horizon.

And now, buy stawks because... the recovery!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...r-parents-held

"HomeGuy" Home@Guy.com wrote in message
...


A Mississauga man has been arrested after a donations box containing
$11,000 for a cancer charity was stolen from a Hamilton hotel.

The box was stolen during a charity banquet dinner hosted by Ride to
Conquer Cancer, at the Sheraton Hotel Saturday.

Supporters of the weekend charity bike ride paid an admission fee to the
dinner, along with further donations collected throughout the event.

During the event, a box containing around $11,000 was stolen, and a man
was captured on camera leaving the hotel with the box, police said.

Hamilton Police asked the public for help in identifying a suspect
Tuesday, after releasing his description.

During the investigation, police searched all Hamilton-area hotels and
motels hoping to locate the man, who they found around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
He was arrested without incident at a downtown hotel, along with a female
companion, according to police.

That woman has since been released, and wasn't charged, police said.

After the arrest, police executed a search warrant on the man's hotel
room, where they recovered some money. Police said that while the money is
currently considered evidence, it will be given to the charity as soon as
possible.

Brian Ross Peebles, 52, of Mississauga faces charges of theft and stolen
property.

BurfordTinJustice wrote:

A Mississauga man has been arrested after a donations box containing
$11,000 for a cancer charity was stolen from a Hamilton hotel.

Wow.

That was the worst thing that happened in Canada yesterday?

Do you know how lame that is compared to the depravity in the US?

Shooting priests *inside a church* ?

It's ok. I'm sure the shooter was a law-abiding gun owner right up to
the millisecond he pulled the trigger.

===============
5:29 a.m. MST June 12, 2014

Phoenix police are investigating a scene near 16th Avenue and Monroe
Street in Phoenix. Police are telling 12 News that one priest was shot
and killed. The other is in critical condition. This is a developing
story. 12 News

One priest was shot and killed and another wounded in a Catholic church
Wednesday night near the state Capitol, a Phoenix police spokesman said.

Police were responding to a burglary call shortly after 9 p.m. near 16th
Avenue and Monroe Street at the Mater Misericordiae (Mother of Mercy)
Mission, Sgt. Steve Martos said.

The wounded priest is in critical condition at a local hospital, police
said. It has not been disclosed what his injuries are or whether he has
been shot.

A car that police were seeking in connection with the attack was found
at 17th Avenue and Taylor Street, about four blocks north of the church,
Martos said. It was spotted by 12 News reporter Chris Williams, who
alerted police.

The car was unoccupied when it was found, and Martos said no suspects
have been arrested.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...enix/10359901/

"HomeGuy" Home@Guy.com wrote in message

Two Thirds Of Gen X Households Have Less Wealth Than Their Parents Did
At The Same Age

Just out of curiosity, why are you so interested in pointing out the ills in
the US? Why are you not doing the same for Canada and - perhaps but
doubtful - doing something to help correct them?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:52:56 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Just out of curiosity, why are you so interested in pointing out the ills in
the US? Why are you not doing the same for Canada and - perhaps but
doubtful - doing something to help correct them?

"A Florida sex offender, who claimed asylum in Saskatchewan, has been
granted protected person status."

[...]

"Harvey's protected person status allows her to apply for permanent
residency and eventually apply for citizenship."

She belongs in canada with home boi.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/florida-sex-offender-granted-asylum-in-canada-1.2646061

On 06/12/2014 03:48 PM, Oren wrote:
"Harvey's protected person status allows her to apply for permanent
residency and eventually apply for citizenship."

She belongs in canada with home boi.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/florida-sex-offender-granted-asylum-in-canada-1.2646061


Did you see her? She's hot!!! That wasn't rape. That was the kids lucky day! Sheeeesh!

On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:29:27 -0400, Jack Legg
wrote:

On 06/12/2014 03:48 PM, Oren wrote:
"Harvey's protected person status allows her to apply for permanent
residency and eventually apply for citizenship."

She belongs in canada with home boi.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/florida-sex-offender-granted-asylum-in-canada-1.2646061


Did you see her? She's hot!!! That wasn't rape. That was the kids lucky day! Sheeeesh!

Anybody clicking on the link would have saw her. Sheeeesh. That
doesn't make her "hot". The question remains, does she give good head.
She could given the child something A-Jax can't wash off. Even worse
is the kid could have gotten cooties.

I wish her the best in Canukistain with home boi.