You should probably read Part #1 before reading further. This post will make more sense if you do.

< click here to read Part #1 >

Now let’s talk about how “wealth” influences any discussion about economics…especially %’s and charts.

Here’s the really big difference I want to talk about is in how I show numbers…lower & middle-income folks compared to upper-income people. Why? Because the percentage difference in what a rich person pays for life’s essentials out of their income is WAY different than what a lower & middle-income family pays. Let me show you…here is a chart of middle-income family buying a “median priced home” from 1970 to 2026…

Notice how in 1970 an average middle-income family could afford a median priced home with little difficulty…no difficulty actually. By 2026 the price of those homes have risen dramatically…while the income for those middle-income families have gone up very little. Middle-income folks really can’t afford a median priced home anymore.

Now, here are the wealthy folks…

Notice how the income of rich families has gone up right along with the price of homes? Yup, they can easily afford those homes. Looks almost planned…if you’re into conspiracy theories.

Now, let’s give you a great visual comparison of middle-income vs upper-income families and the price of homes…

This why I separate them out…if you aren’t rich, the economy when it comes to homes has been horrible and devastating over this 56-year time span (1970 – 2026)…and clearly, the FACTS show that to be true.

You can’t deny or debate facts…a person can have a different opinion facts but, they can’t make-up their own facts.

Whoa! You might ask, “Where are the lower-income figures and chart?” Simple, lower-income families can no longer afford a median priced home…if any home at all. That is one of the reasons many, probably most, lower-income families are forced to rent…about 2/3 of those families rent according to official statistics. Of those who do own their own homes; lower-income home ownership is mostly concentrated in rural areas and lower-cost states. They also tend to be inherited properties, multiple generations present, or older homes purchased before home prices soared.

Consider this…

According to the National Association of Home Builders affordability analysis roughly 77% of U.S. households cannot afford a median-priced new home. And households with total incomes below roughly $46k often cannot even qualify for a ~$150k home…even with good credit.

Think about that statistic…

3/4 of all American families can’t afford to buy a new home at today’s prices!

I want you to stop for a minute and consider this:

I want you to see what that chart shows:

• In 1970, for a couple over 60, their home represented 35% of their net worth.
• By 2026, for a couple over 60, their home represented 58% of their net worth.

Now, look at this trend:Notice that for 40 years the average age of first time home buyers was just about 30. Then in 2010 it started its  skyrocketing rise to 40 years old. That’s a 33% increase in just 16 years!!! Don’t worry about the “why” for now. Think about this…

Combine the % of net worth that a 60+ couple’s home represents now. Now link that to fewer people buying homes (75% not able to buy a median priced home), and younger people not being able to buy homes until they’re middle-age. What do you get? If the largest wealth-building machine for the middle class becomes less and less accessible, what replaces it?

Instead of many middle-class retirees owning the roof over their heads, more people could reach retirement still making rent payments to someone else…and no longer having the majority of the post-retirement wealth…their home.

My concern isn’t that things could never improve; it’s that I don’t see much evidence that the trends are working in our favor.  Meaning…IMHO…more and more middle-class families risk slowly sliding down towards the lower-class rather than moving upward.

As if that isn’t bad enough…let’s look at the poverty rate (SPM) in the US…

Just to be clear…13% of the US families already live in poverty. Think about this…if you are a family of 4 and own a home, you have to earn at least $20 per hour and work 40 hours per week to stay above the poverty line. $20 per hour and your family is almost in poverty!!!!! That is shameful beyond measure!!

Maybe 13% of the US population living in poverty sounds as if that isn’t too bad…you know, acceptable in the big scheme of things. Oh yeah? Well, try this number then…13% of the US population living is poverty means over 45 million people…that’s more than 14 million families living in poverty!!! That’s acceptable?

Now, is the time for me to throw this out there…do you think the problems in the country are Republican vs Democrat? Or, do you think the problems are liberal vs conservative? How about the problems are big city vs rural America?

No to all of that!!

All the other so-called “problems” are only distractions from the real issue…economics.

The problems in America is all about economics…plain and simple. In the United States of America FACTS prove the real problem, the real conflict, the truly real issue facing us right now…and even more so in the future…is all about economics. And as of now…the poor are getting poorer and the middle-class is disappearing. And to make it all worse…both groups are losing the ability to even own a home.

Here’s a statistic for you…in 2025 27% of all home sales went to investment companies. In 2026 that number is now 33%. Yup, 1/3rd of all homes being bought are NOT being bought by families…those homes are being bought up by corporations. One more for ya…in 2000 there were virtually no homes owned by corporations/companies (less than 1%). Today that number is 4%…quadrupled in 26 years…and that number is going exponentially.

Think about these facts/stats:

• More than 1/3 of all homes sales are now going to corporations.
• Corporate ownership of homes has quadrupled in the last 26 years.
• 75% of all Americans can no longer afford to buy a median priced home.

Let that sink in. What does make you think about? How does that make you feel ?

Is this class warfare? Absolutely not. What I am simply trying to do is show how the lower & middle-income folks are falling behind…way behind…and the rich are doing really well…and getting richer.

Let me show you a couple more charts that make this all really clear…

In 1970 the largest income group (actual share of population) was the “middle-income” folks…the middle-class. But that group shrunk a bunch by 2026. And the lower-income group grew by a notable amount. And look at the rich folks’ group…that group grew.

Link that to the sheer number of politicians that have spouted “Protect the middle-class!” or “Strengthen the middle-class!” or “The middle-class makes America strong!” That rhetoric is nothing more than typical political bullshit. No one in Washington is doing anything serious to protect or strengthen the middle-class…and that is FACT!! Hold on second…in actuality virtually EVERYTHING that they have done over the last 60 years has been destroying the middle-class…EVERYTHING!

Don’t believe me? Then way do the facts show the middle-class is steadily disappearing for the last 60 years?

But here is where it gets really interesting and kinda scary…

Look closely…the share of income for lower-income folks…down. The share of income for middle-income folks…WAY down. But the upper-income folks…their share of income went WAY up. That really makes the statement “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” more and more clear.

In today’s world the upper-class are controlling WAY more of all income generated in the USA vs 1970. More and more money is being concentrated in the hands of the wealthy…at the expense of the lower & middle-class people.

So when I am showing you economic numbers I use lower & middle-income groups to make those numbers far more relatable to us average, everyday folks…not the rich & wealthy.

How do you know which group/class you fall into? Here you go…

And here is the actual population share breakdown in the USA…

Now get this…if you are in that rich & wealthy group you guys control 75% of all US wealth! Yup, that means the lower & middle-class folks only control 25% of the wealth…commonly referred to as the scraps that fall from the table of the rich.

But hang on…it gets even more interesting…

The top 10% of the US population…the really rich…control 70% of the wealth!!! But don’t go anywhere…the top 1%…the ultra-rich…own 1/3 of all the wealth in the US!!! Whoa! Let’s put that in a chart for you to digest…

Let’s make this whole concept of “class” and income/wealth distribution more clear…

What is my point to this wealth, class, & income distinction?

• When you hear economic numbers tossed around by experts or talking heads…they are very broad numbers that probably have no relationship to your family’s lived reality. When you hear those numbers…they impact the rich far, far differently than the common average person. They barely impact the rich…but the numbers can devastate the average family.
• The rich folks in the US are controlling more and more wealth and earning a larger and larger share of money. The lower & middle-class are suffering, falling behind economically, and losing purchasing power every month. There are potentially a lot of formal ways to look at this…Plutocracy, Elite Theory, Oligarchy, and Class Conflict Theory. All of them have validity. But the bottom line is reality…as wealth becomes more concentrated, political influence also becomes more concentrated…and social fragmentation/conflict increases.
• Lastly…income creates day-to-day survival, while wealth creates resilience, leverage, comfort, and power.

So what do you do? Ah, that is held for later…keep reading.

← Click here to read Part #1

 

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Articles in this Series –

• Economics 101 – Part #1 of 5
• Economics 101 – Part #2 of 5

 

Related Articles –

• Economy, Income, Home Prices…

 

 

 

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