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“The new national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Jan. 15-19 among 1,504 adults, finds that 65% believe the gap between the rich and everyone else has increased in the last 10 years. This view is shared by majorities across nearly all groups in the public, including 68% of Democrats and 61% …
Providing Non-Bank Financial Services for the Underserved, White Papers – RARC-WP-14-007 – 01/27/2014 “One in four U.S. households lives at least partially outside the financial mainstream — without bank accounts or using costly services like payday lenders. The average underserved household spends $2,412 each year just on interest and fees for alternative financial services. Postal financial services may appeal to many customers who feel abandoned by major financial institutions. Postal organizations have …
“Wealthy elites have co-opted political power to rig the rules of the economic game, undermining democracy and creating a world where the 85 richest people own the wealth of half of the world’s population, worldwide development organization Oxfam warns in a report published today. Working For the Few, published ahead of this week’s World Economic …
The Cost of Spousal Health Coverage, and The Role of Social Security, Defined Benefits, and Private Retirement Accounts in the Face of the Retirement Crisis. January 2014, Vol. 35, No. 1. Employee Benefit Research Institute. “As of 2012, 7 percent of employers did not cover spouses when other coverage was available to them and 4 percent …
Economic Trends: Gentrification and Financial Health, by Daniel Hartley, November 6, 2013. “Gentrification is a form of neighborhood change. While it does not have a precise definition, it is commonly associated with an increase in income, rising home prices or rents, and sometimes with changes in the occupational mix and educational level of neighborhood residents. Gentrification is …
Reducing Retirement Risk with a Rising Equity Glide Path by Wade D. Pfau, Ph.D., CFA; and Michael E. Kitces, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RHU, REBC. Journal of Financial Planning, January 2014. Executive Summary: “This study explores the issue of what is an appropriate default equity glide path for client portfolios during the retirement phase of the lifecycle. …
Shadow Banking: Background and Policy Issues, Edward V. Murphy, Specialist in Financial Economics, December 31, 2013. “One view of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 is that it was not centered in traditional banking. The term shadow banking “ … refers to credit intermediation involving leverage and maturity transformation that is partly or wholly outside the traditional banking system.” That is, …
The Equality of Opportunity Project: “Is America the “Land of Opportunity”? In two recent studies, we find that: (1) Upward income mobility varies substantially within the U.S. [summary][paper] Areas with greater mobility tend to have five characteristics: less segregation, less income inequality, better schools, greater social capital, and more stable families. (2) Contrary to popular perception, economic mobility has …
“The Federal Reserve Board on [January 24, 2014] provided additional information on its expectations for the recovery and resolution preparedness of certain large domestic bank holding companies. Recovery and resolution preparedness aims to reduce the effect of a firm’s failure or material weakness on the financial system and the broader economy. The supervisory guidance, SR letter …
RECOVERY ACT: Grant Implementation Experiences Offer Lessons for Accountability and Transparency, GAO-14-219, Jan 24, 2014 “In response to the recent serious recession, Congress enacted the Recovery Act to promote economic recovery, make investments, and minimize or avoid reductions in state and local government services. Approximately $219 billion was distributed as grants for use in states and localities, …
Inequality, the Great Recession, and Slow Recovery. Barry Z. Cynamon and Steven M. Fazzari. November 20, 2013 “Rising inequality reduced income growth for the bottom 95% of the income distribution beginning around 1980, but that group’s consumption growth did not fall proportionally. Instead, lower saving put the bottom 95% on an unsustainable financial path that eventually triggered …
Monetary Policy with Abundant Liquidity: A New Operating Framework for the Fed by Joseph E. Gagnon, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Brian Sack, D. E. Shaw Group “The amount of assets held by the Federal Reserve has dramatically increased since 2009. It recently crossed $4 trillion and will likely peak at about $4.5 trillion. This increase …
