Roughed up in the George W. Obama Economy

If you're doing good, you're doing good.  But most people are going sideways.  2 out of 5 doing good to great.  3 out of 5 sideways to down.

George W. Obama's economy has separated the middle class.

Soon, in a few years, the squeeze will move up and only 1 out of 5 will do good to great.  4 out of 5 will realize something's deeply wrong.  PB
----

More from Robert Samuelson in The Washington Post online:

The second table shows these groups’ net worth...

The story is the same. Until 2007, net worth rose gradually. Then it crashed and fell to late 1980s or 1990s levels. Lower housing prices especially hurt.

	Net Worth
	Median Family	Solid Middle Class
1989	$84,800	$120,200
2007	$135,400	$231,100
2013	$81,200	$159,200

   
This is the true middle-class squeeze:

People’s expectations about their living standards were set in the early 2000s, while their incomes and assets are stuck at levels 15 to 20 years earlier.

The huge gap isn’t rapidly erased, even by a revived economy. Of course, there are large variations among families.

The upper middle class and rich fared much better. In 2013, the median income of the richest 10 percent was $229,600, says the SCF.

Although that was 1 percent below its 2007 peak, it was 22 percent above its 1989 level.
----
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-samuelson-the-roughed-up-american/2014/09/14/