ARE YOU WEALTHIER?

The U.S. homeownership rate grew every year from 1988 to 2004 but for the past two years has dropped slightly, falling to 68.9 percent in 2005 and 68.8 percent in 2006. The rate was 63.8 percent in 1988 and it reached 69 percent in 2004.

I believe that home ownership is the number one driving force behind the increase in wealth in this country, as I stated HERE last Friday.

Today, while minding my own business, I found this at A Dash of Insight:

"The household balance sheet is excellent, and has never been better. David Malpass, an excellent economist with a great record, wrote as follows in December:

• The multi-decade accumulation in U.S. household assets, not reflected in the personal savings rate which excludes gains, is a key factor in the economy’s sturdiness and strong long-term prospects. The U.S. household sector is showing rapid growth in most types of savings. At $27.5 trillion, U.S. households have more net financial assets than the rest of the world combined. By this measure, IMF data shows Japan with $9.5 trillion, the UK $4.3 trillion, Germany $3.2 trillion, and France $2.6 trillion. Having added $1.5 trillion over the last four quarters, U.S. households probably also added more to financial savings than the rest of the world combined. This measure includes mortgages and credit cards in debt but excludes houses in assets, so broader definitions would be even more favorable to the U.S. In the third quarter, household net worth rose $776 billion to $54.1 trillion. Financial net worth increased $479 billion to $27.5 trillion. Household liabilities rose $268 billion to $13.0 trillion." Entire post HERE

from me on November 7th: Boomers' Financial Futures are in Flux:

Boomers are the richest generation ever, but many people in their 40s and 50s have not squirreled away enough nuts for the winter. About one-quarter of boomers haven't saved much of anything, and another quarter are borderline cases.

There is a growing gap between boomer haves and have-nots. This is eerily similar to the period of the Great Depression and it worries me. It's one of many reasons why I believe that we should be converting some of our assets into gold & silver (10%). In fact, the average boomer has only $55,000 in retirement savings and about $55,000 in home equity. So, Why aren't You Wealthy?

Plenty of boomers aren't taking the steps needed to shore up their finances, and Americans in general don't seem in a mood to face tough choices on Social Security, judging by the lack of debate in political arena.

Some boomers are simply too cash-strapped to save for retirement, what with mortgage, car and credit card bills looming. But, in reality, as real wages have declined over the past 25 years and inflation has pushed up prices during that period, is it any wonder that shortfalls in lifestyle were funded by home equity and credit cards? The Big Picture writes about U.S. income gap today.

One looming problem: 30 years ago there were 31 workers for each social security recipient. Today it is 3.3 to 1 and by 2030 it will be 2 to 1. And, trust me when I tell you that my parents generation contributed about 4 years worth of withdrawals, even though the benefit is for life, a life time that is now extending so much longer than ever could be imagined.

It doesn't help that the U.S. Congress, in the greatest criminal scandal in history, has looted every dime of the Social Security Trust Fund.

NOW READ: So, are we saving more or not?

Do You Qualify to be a Millionaire?