I’m not an economist, but I can do math and sense when something is out of whack. So can someone explain to me why housing values can go up as much as 20 percent a year while wages have fallen 2.3 percent from 2001 to 2004? Where does that money come from?
During the same time wages have fallen, personal net worth rose 6.3 percent to $448,200, reports the San Francisco Chronicle on a survey released by the Federal Reserve. Much of that wealth, of course, is generated by rising home values.
Another math question: if we’re amidst an economic boom, why are salaries in real terms going down? And why are we making less if our productivity levels from 2001 to 2004 have increased almost 12 percent?
Who are the biggest losers? Low-income families, of course. They’re making only $100 more a year, which adds up to less than nothing after inflation.
As I ask my wife repeatedly, how do families get by nowadays? It just doesn’t add up.
I’m not an economist, but I can do math and sense when something is out of whack. So can someone explain to me why housing values can go up as much as 20 percent a year while wages have fallen 2.3 percent from 2001 to 2004? Where does that money come from?
During the same time wages have fallen, personal net worth rose 6.3 percent to $448,200, reports the San Francisco Chronicle on a survey released by the Federal Reserve. Much of that wealth, of course, is generated by rising home values.
Another math question: if we’re amidst an economic boom, why are salaries in real terms going down? And why are we making less if our productivity levels from 2001 to 2004 have increased almost 12 percent?
Who are the biggest losers? Low-income families, of course. They’re making only $100 more a year, which adds up to less than nothing after inflation.
As I ask my wife repeatedly, how do families get by nowadays? It just doesn’t add up.