No shit, Sherlock study: Recession hits working class hardest

[sixmile]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/study-recession-hit-worki_n_842684.html

'Working class and African Americans families suffered disproportionately in the Great Recession, says a new study by economists at the progressive-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

According to the report, the distribution of wealth in America after the official end of the recession in 2009 was the most unequal it's ever been. The wealthiest 1 percent of U.S. households claimed a net worth that was 225 times greater than that of the median household, which fell to $62,000 in 2009 from $71,900 in 1983. The wealth of the richest one percent of households, meanwhile, doubled over that 26-year period.

During the recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, EPI estimates that the richest fifth of Americans lost 16 percent of their wealth, compared with a 25 percent decline in net worth for the bottom four-fifths of U.S. households. At the end of 2009, the wealthiest fifth of Americans held 87.2 percent of the country's total wealth -- up 2.2 percentage points from 2007 due to larger drops in wealth by those at the bottom.'

more at link

The Economic Policy Institute could have spent the effort in a more helpful way.

[arcane1]

1. In other news:

[rfranklin]

3. ROTFLMAO! That's the Pope, isn't it?

Sure looks like him.

[Rex]

2. And how much money did they waste on this study?

How about a study on the 1% and how well they have profited from the destruction of the middle class?

[Bozita]

4. The title line says it all!

Perfect.

[Rage for Order]

5. Come on, let's be fair here...

The uber-rich had to tone down their conspicuous consumption for a couple of years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/25/us-funds-summit-pi-lifestyle-idUSTRE52O5YW20090325

Rich people are hiding conspicuous consumption, choosing to spurn luxuries of the boom years to be sensitive to friends who suffered in the downturn, a private equity executive said.

Being showy with luxury items has gone out of fashion even though some could still afford it, said Pi Capital Chief Executive David Giampaolo.

"Some people are still shopping on (London's upmarket) Bond Street but when they walk out of Louis Vuitton they're putting what they just purchased in a Tesco bag," he told the Reuters Hedge Funds and Private Equity Summit in London.

"Conspicuous consumption is dead, it's vulgar, it's a turn-off," he said.



Oh, the humanity!