Recessions Are Nature’s Way of Keeping the Little Guy Down

Or: Yes, The Rich Really Are Different

You’ve all probably seen the depressing reports from the newly issued 2010 edition of the Fed’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finance, in particular the 39% drop in median household net worth, ’07-’10.

Here’s a picture (click for larger):

The well-off have done fine. In the greatest economic downturn in eighty years, their median net worth went up.

This doesn’t even touch on the top 1%, .1%, or .01%, of course. It’s very hard to calculate net worth for those folks as a group. But judging by their incomes, they’re doing just fine too:

I can’t comprehend how anyone can play word games about “incentives” to suggest that this situation, created quite intentionally over the past three decades, is or could be conducive to widespread national prosperity.

I can only assume that those who do so don’t actually care about widespread national prosperity.

Cross-posted at Asymptosis.