I read this today: Bill Gates alone has as much wealth as the bottom 40% of all U.S. households combined.

That means that if 40% (the bottom 40%) yes that is almost half of the entire U.S population put all their money into a single bucket that amount would be equal to Bill Gates’ net worth. That is insane.

Also:

• The top 10% own 71% of all private wealth.
• The top 1% now own more than the bottom 90%.
• Among the industrialized nations, the U.S. has the highest concentration of individual wealth — roughly 3 times that of the No. 2 nation, Germany

I was also fascinated by this:

Only 17.8% of all U.S. households (that is whole families remember)  make more than $118,200 a year.  Only 2.67% make more than $200,000.  The fact that only 34% make more than $65,000 is astounding given how expensive other cost of living items have gotten over the past decade.  That is why the middle class is feeling squeezed from all different sides.

What is even more fascinating, is how even amongst the super wealthy income is not distributed evenly.  There are approximately 146,000 (0.1%) households with incomes exceeding $1,500,000 a year.  Even at that, the top 0.01% of households had incomes of $5,500,000 and accounted for 11,000 households.  The 400 highest tax payers in the nation brought in a stunning $87,000,000 a year.

This is from an article from the economic policy institute that was talking about the Bush tax cuts from 2006:

America’s 112 million families had combined wealth of $50.3 trillion in 2004.  When those families are ranked by the size of their wealth, however, the top 1% alone held $16.8 trillion in wealth, more than a third of the United States’ total wealth and more than the $15.3 trillion held by 90% of U.S. families.  The top 1% had average wealth of $15 million per family in contrast to the $22,800 average wealth of the least wealthy 50% of families or the $313,500 in wealth for families ranked between 50% and 90%.

Homes accounted for more than a third of American families’ assets.  Primary residences are the asset with the least-skewed ownership, with the top 1% owning primary homes worth $1.9 trillion and the bottom 90% owning $11.8 trillion.  That is not the case, however, when it comes to ownership of second homes, a far greater source of wealth for the top 1% ($1.1 trillion) than the bottom 90% ($0.02 trillion).

An examination of other types of assets reveals why cutting taxes on capital gains, dividends, and inheritances favored such a small share of the population.  Those three forms of income and wealth are largely associated with three kinds of assets:  stock in publicly traded companies, ownership of closely held businesses, and nonresidential real estate.  The top 1% of families owned 37% of all stocks, 62% of all closely held businesses, and 47% of nonresidential real estate.  Percentages for the bottom 90% were 21%, 10%, and 24%, respectively.

The median household income in the United States is $46,326.  Dual earner households have a higher median income at $67,348.

Let us assume this is a married couple with 1 child.  Let us run the numbers:

I ran the numbers for a state with no state income taxes, Texas.  A family at this level is only bringing in $3,215 a month.  The national median home price peaked around $200,000.  So let us assume this family purchased the median home:

5% down payment:         $10,000

Mortgage 30-year fixed (6.5%):   $1,200

Taxes and Insurance:     $333

PITI:  $1,533

Right off the bat, this family is spending 47% of their net pay on a median priced home.

 The bottom line is the average American family is being squeezed from every angle and is struggling getting by.

So what does this all mean:

first of all it means that when Obama talks about raising taxes on people who make more than 250,000 that is less than 2.5 percent of the total U.S population.

Second, as noted back in 2006 Homes accounted for more than a third of American families’ assets. And as we saw this was a huge percentage of the net worth of regular income families, that “bottom” 90% we are talking about. As we know the financial collapse began in 2007.  The stock market is bounding back up, with it the assets held by the countries rich (as we saw in the pie chart ).  Therefore home prices being decimated by more than 50% in many places completely wiped out any worth of middle income families placing many into an even worse situation, of being underwater. 90% of America owns less than 20% of Stocks, mutual funds and retirement accounts in this country. What will become of 90% of Americans as they reach into retirement age? 

I didn’t even talk about student loan debt but according to the USA Today, The average debt for a college graduate has risen 50% in the last 10 years. Now the average undergrad owes about $20,000 dollars financed at about 6.8 percent. That does not even consider any cost of graduate school.

We need to bring government policy into line with our society needs. 97.5 percent of the U.S population would benefit from the Obama tax initiatives, yet they are probably only supported by less than 40% of people. Even with Obama’s health care plan the majority of Americans will be blessed with high deductable health care.  With over 47% of income being spent on homes and 0% of income going into retirement accounts where is the average American going to come up with this money or save for a rainy day?

I guess then I don’t understand. We do we so love our countries wealthy more than we love ourselves? for even more great data click here.