Skip to content
Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias

Money and Other Subjects

  • Home
  • Books
  • Videos
  • Bio
  • Archives
  • Links
  • Me-Mail
Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias

Money and Other Subjects

On This Map, Almost All the States Are (in the) Red

September 6, 2006March 5, 2017

MEDIAN INCOMES

James Musters: ‘A handy state-by-state map, showing how far median incomes have dropped over the past six years.’

☞ The average income has fared better. (When Bill Gates visits a homeless shelter, the occupants are, on average, all millionaires.) But, adjusted for inflation, the median – that income level at which as many people fall below as above – has fallen.

It’s pretty shocking, viewed on this map. And don’t miss the comment beneath the map. (‘Oh well no wonder housing prices have gone up so much in California! Everyone knows that as median income falls, prices go up because of the magic housing fairy!’) Which leads right into:

THE REAL ESTATE BUBBLE

This will not end well – at least I don’t see how it can. In very small part:

Most of the pain will be borne by ordinary people. And it’s already happening. More than a fifth of option ARM loans in 2004 and 2005 are upside down – meaning borrowers’ homes are worth less than their debt. If home prices fall 10%, that number would double. “The number of houses for sale is tripling in some markets, so people are not going to get out of their debt,” says the Ford Foundation’s McCarthy. “A lot are going to walk.”

THE ESTATE TAX

Stephen Gilbert: ‘I wonder why you never mention the most basic inequity in the Republicans’ plan to eliminate the estate tax. If I were to die tomorrow, my shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which cost me about $1200 each, would be inherited at a basis of $96,000. The shares could be sold and the $94,800 gain would never be taxed. Republicans repeat the old saw about ‘double taxation’ – that the accumulated wealth of the wealthy was already taxed. But that is often not the case. Much wealth is passed down without any income tax ever having been paid.’

Post navigation

← Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld . . .
Earn Cash in Your Spare Time: Be a Poll Worker →

Quote of the Day

"We've forgotten all the sacrifices that the people who've gone before us made to give us this wonderful life that we have. We accept it; we take it for granted; we think it's our birthright. The facts are, it's precious, it's fragile -- it can disappear."

Ross Perot, 1988

Subscribe

 Advice

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

"So full of tips and angles that only a booby or a billionaire could not benefit." -- The New York Times

Help

MYM Emergency?

Too Much Junk?

Tax Questions?

Ask Less

Recent Posts

  • Our Record-High Stock Market

    June 30, 2025
  • Stuffing The Goose

    June 30, 2025
  • Yes! (Plus A Bonus)

    June 29, 2025
  • How Does THAT Make You Feel . . .

    June 27, 2025
  • Randi, David, Ken, and HYMC

    June 26, 2025
  • Six Links For Your Consideration

    June 25, 2025
  • Weekend Reading

    June 20, 2025
  • Oh, My

    June 18, 2025
  • 3 Quick Clips

    June 17, 2025
  • A Quick Poem

    June 15, 2025
Andrew Tobias Books
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
©2025 Andrew Tobias - All Rights Reserved | Website: Whirled Pixels | Author Photo: Tony Adams