Thanks to the “Obama recovery”, the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen to the lowest level in 48 years. The percentage of Americans that own a home is widely considered to be a key indicator of the health of the middle class, and we have just learned that during the second quarter of 2015 that number dropped from 63.7 percent to 63.4 percent. It is now the lowest that it has been since 1967. Unlike a lot of other government economic statistics, this one is fairly difficult to manipulate. Either someone owns a home or they do not. And what the homeownership rate is telling us is that the percentage of Americans that can qualify for a mortgage has been falling dramatically. Just take a look at the following chart. This is not just a decline – this is a complete and utter collapse… (Read More...)
Homeownership
19 Reasons Why You Can Laugh When Anyone Tells You That The Economy Is In Good Shape
Have you heard the one about the “economic recovery” in the United States? It’s quite funny, but it is not actually true. Every day, the establishment media points to the fact that global stock markets have soared to unprecedented heights as evidence that the economy is improving. But just because a bunch of wealthy people have gotten temporarily even richer on paper does not mean that the real economy is in good shape. In fact, as you will see below, things just continue to get even tougher for the poor and the middle class. Retail stores are closing at the fastest pace since the fall of Lehman Brothers, the rate of homeownership in this country is the lowest that it has been in 19 years, one out of every five families do not have a single member that is employed, and one out of every five children is living in poverty. We are working harder, earning less and going into more debt. With each passing day, the middle class gets a little bit smaller and the ranks of the poor get a little bit larger. But at least the stock market is doing great, eh? (Read More...)