HAVE TO MOVE QUICKLY For the 12 months ending 6/30/21, US homes for sale were on the market for a median period of just 7 days before going under contract. That’s the shortest period recorded nationwide in data that has been tracked since 1989 or more than 3 decades. (Source: National Association of Realtors) THAT’S NOT NORMAL The average home in the United States has appreciated +23.4% in the 17 months from 36/31/20 (as the pandemic began) to 8/31/21. For the 8 “Mountain” states tracked … [Read more...]

BUSINESS BY STATE Just 4 US states have economies worth at least $1 trillion as of 6/30/2021, including California ($3.3 trillion), Texas ($2.0 trillion), New York ($1.9 trillion) and Florida ($1.2 trillion). These top 4 states represent 37% of our nation’s economy. (Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis) ONE YEAR The midterm elections will be held on 11/08/2022. All 435 House seats of 34 of 100 Senate seats will be contested. The President’s party has lost House seats in 18 of the last 20 … [Read more...]

CHEAPER The average interest rate that the government pays on it interest-bearing debt as of 9/30/21 was 1.605%, down from 2.492% as of 9/30/19, allowing the USA to borrow 55.3% more money today than borrowed 2 years ago and still have the same out-of-pocket interest expense cost. (Source: Treasury Department) TAX NUMBERS The top one-tenth of 1% of US taxpayers (1 of 1,000) in tax year 2018 (the latest year for which tax data has been released) made at least $2,514,209 in adjusted gross … [Read more...]

BILLIONS As of the close of stock trading on Monday 10/25/21, Elon Musk was worth $255.2 billion, the first American ever to exceed $250 billion in net worth. (Source: Forbes) STAGGERING WEALTH An individual spending $10 million a day would consume $250 billion in 68.5 years. (Source: BTN Research) BACKDATE Tax reform legislation signed by President Clinton on 8/10/1993 retroactively increased marginal tax rates back to 1/1/1993, the last time a retroactive tax increase occurred in the … [Read more...]

THE MOST PAID The maximum Social Security benefit paid to a worker retiring at full retirement age in 2022 is $3,345 per month, more than double the $1,660 per month maximum benefit paid 20 years earlier in 2002. (Source: Social Security) TAX THE OTHER GUY 71% of voters surveyed in early October 2021 support an increase of federal income taxes on the top 2% of US taxpayers to pay for the “Build Back Better” social infrastructure bill that is being debated in Congress. For tax year 2018, the … [Read more...]

REDUCED, NOT ELIMINATED Social Security trustees announced on 8/31/21 that unless financial changes are implemented, the payment of Social Security benefits would drop to 76% of their originally promised levels beginning in 2033 through the year 2095. (Source: Social Security Trustees 2021 Report) DEBT CEILING On Thursday 10/14/21, President Biden signed a debt ceiling bill that adds $480 billion to our existing debt ceiling, bring the limit up to $28.9 trillion. Current projections have … [Read more...]

YOUR NEXT CAR 25% of new auto sales in China in the year 2025 are projected to be electric vehicles. China is the world’s largest auto market. (Source: Bloomberg NEF) SAME FOR YOU? The total household net worth in America is up +47% in the last 4 years and is up +89% in the last 8 years. The total US household net worth was $74.8 trillion as of 6/30/13, was $96.2 trillion as of 6/30/17 and was $141.7 trillion as of 6/30/21. (Source: Federal Reserve) MEDICAID IN YOUR STATE A Supreme … [Read more...]

BONDS The worst year for the taxable bond market in the last 45 years (1976-2020) was a loss of 2.92% (total return) in 1994. The YTD performance (through 9/30/21) of the taxable bond market is a loss of 1.56% (total return). The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index (created in 1986 with backdated history calculated to 1976), calculated using publicly traded investment grade government bonds, corporate bonds and mortgage-related bonds with at least 1 year until final maturity, was used as … [Read more...]

WE ARE WAY BEHIND The US may have the 3rd largest population of any country in the world, but #1 China and #2 India each have more than 4 times the number of people the US has. (Source: Census.gov) RED INK With just the month of September yet to counted in fiscal year 2021, the government has taken in $3.59 trillion of tax receipts while spending $6.30 trillion, netting to a $2.71 trillion budget deficit. The US has had 23 consecutive months of deficits, its longest deficit stretch since … [Read more...]

NATIONWIDE AVERAGE The value of a single-family home in the United States increased by an average of +17.4% over the 12 months from 6/30/20 to 6/30/21. (Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency) MEDICARE Per an 8/31/21 report, the trust fund supporting Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) is projected to be depleted by 2026. The long-term (75-year) present value shortfall in the trust fund could be corrected by and immediate 0.77 percentage point increase in coming Medicare payroll taxes … [Read more...]

FOOD WASTE U.S. restaurants generate an estimated 22 to 23 billion pounds of food waste each year. Institutions- including schools, hotels, and hospitals- generate an additional 7 to 11 billion pounds per year. Approximately 4% to 10% of food purchased by restaurants is wasted before reaching the consumer. (Source: FoodPrint) RETIREMENT SAVINGS According to a new survey, half of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) believe that they will need $300,000 or less in savings to retire … [Read more...]

THE FIRST ONE The CDC has changed the date of the first US death from COVID-19 from 2/6/20 to as early as 1/11/20. The CDC now believes 6 COVID-related deaths occurred before 2/6/20. (Source: CDC) LONG-TERM ISSUE The estimated Social Security shortfall today (i.e., a present value number) between the future taxes anticipated being collected and the future benefits expected to be paid out over the next 75 years is $19.8 trillion. The entire $19.8 trillion deficit could be eliminated by an … [Read more...]

BOOM TOWN Phoenix was the 99th largest US city in 1950 (106,818 people). Phoenix is the 5th largest US city today (1.61 million people), per the US census. (Source: Census Bureau) RED TAPE Congress approved $46.55 billion in rental aid via 2 bills in 12/2020 and 3/2021. As of 8/25/21, just $5.1 billion has been disbursed to renter or 11% of the total. (Source: Emergency Rental Assistance Program) DON’T EXPECT ME TO PAY Just 3% of all hospital costs in America in 2019 were paid … [Read more...]

WORKERS One of our every 350 Americans – or one out of 153 workers in the U.S. – is now employed by Amazon. The company’s total of 950,000 U.S. employees exceeds the 873,000 workers of the entire residential construction industry. (Source: BusinessInsider) STOCK MARKET The combined stock market values of Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft, and Facebook have increased by about 70% since the start of the pandemic, to more than $10 trillion. That is roughly the size of the entire U.S. … [Read more...]

NEED HELP 43% of American under age 35 receive financial help from their parents or other family members when they purchase a home, e.g., money used for a down payment. (Source: Legal & General) UNDER THE PILLOW From 1/01/20 (before pandemic) to 5/27/20, the size of the money market fund industry in the USA both taxable and tax-free) had grown from $3.6 trillion to $4.8 trillion. From 5/27/20 to 8/11/21, the size of the money market fund industry had declined $278 billion from $4.8 … [Read more...]

ALL ARE IN THE SOUTH The top 3 US cities for adding residents between 7/1/19 and 6/30/20 were Phoenix (+25,194 residents), San Antonio (+19,682) and Fort Worth (+19,229). The totals represent net additions, i.e., new residents less those people who have moved away. (Source: Census Bureau) A NATIONAL CRISIS 29% of the homeless people in the United States, i.e., 161,000 out of 560,000, are in California. (Source: Housing and Urban Development) BEING CAUTIOUS The personal savings rate in … [Read more...]

LOTS OF PEOPLE NEED HELP Medicare covers 61.2 million American, while Medicaid covers 73.8 million low-income Americans. (Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) APPLE Apple’s profits from the past three months ($21.7 billion) was nearly double the combined annual profits of the five largest U.S. airlines in pre-pandemic 2019. (Source: New York Times) IN JUST 10 YEARS Our national debt has doubled in the last decade, going from $14.34 trillion on 7/29/11 to $28.46 trillion … [Read more...]

THEY HAD TO BE SURE The government announced on 7/19/21 that the recession the United States entered into at the end of February 2020 lasted just 2 months, ending on 4/30/20. The recession, the 18th in the country in the last 100 years, was the shortest recession in the last century. The other 17 recessions in the last 100 years lasted on average 13.6 months. (Source: Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research. JUST TAKE UBER The price of used cars and … [Read more...]