Americans' net worth plummets as corporations stockpile cash

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

Americans' wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value.

At the same time, corporations increased their cash stockpiles to record levels.

Household net worth fell 4 percent to $57.4 trillion in the July-September quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. It was the sharpest drop since the October-December quarter of 2008 and was the second straight quarterly decline.

... Most stock wealth is owned by the richest Americans, who also account for a disproportionate amount of consumer spending. Eighty percent of stocks belong to the richest 10 percent of Americans. And the richest 20 percent represent about 40 percent of consumer spending.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19497443

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[lovuian]

2. Capitalism is dead

this reduction in American way of life
is the kind that produces revolutions

[KansDem]

4. Agreed. It died with TARP

Bury it and let's move on...

[Bozita]

5. "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will...

... somehow work for the benefit of all." - John Maynard Keynes

[freshwest]

7. Needs to be repeated and defended until it's understood.

[kestrel91316]

10. [phone] 000 000 000

[alp227]

9. But the US never really has had pure capitalism

either government-aided monopolies or bailouts or regulations.

[KansDem]

3. This is why Wall Street was bailed out...

Eighty percent of stocks belong to the richest 10 percent of Americans

It had very little to do with pensions and retirement accounts. I read that only about 17% of the stocks saved by the taxpayer-funded bailout fell into this category.

It was all about saving Richie Rich's portfolio...

[freshwest]

6. Sigh... I can't think of anything without ranting to say. K & R, though.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. If overall, 20% of stock is owned by the 99%-ers, that explains why there haven't

been shareholder suits to force the corporations to invest and make profits.

[rox63]

11. The headline to this story pretty much sums up why people are protesting in the streets n/t

[sakabatou]

12. The rich hardly create jobs

The just hoard cash while the country burns.

[closeupready]

13. If any of this is ever going to change, DC needs to change its ways.

The way business works now is, the highest bidder wins. We need to get the money OUT of politics.

Coincidentally, this is one reason why in many states, capitol cities are located far away from the state's business epicenter - early founders recognized that big money corrupted democracy, and wanted to keep the two as far apart as possible.

[lonestarnot]

14. Fuck you Richie Rich!

[fasttense]

15. You have to remember the majority of these top 10 percent do not work.

You and I are out there everyday working to make a living. They on the other hand sit around the pool doing NOTHING. Oh they claim to work at managing their capital but they usually just hire someone to do that too. They are lazy idle people.

But I bet they are well marbled and tender. Eat the rich.

[Hotler]

16. USA! USA! USA! eom.