Isabel V. Sawhill and Christopher Pulliam at Brookings Institution, “Six facts about wealth in the United States”:
While the middle class has seen modest growth of 7 percent in their net worth since 1995, it has not yet recovered to its previous peak in 2007. This tepid recovery is driven by declines in home-ownership and stock market participation since 2007—if you do not hold assets, you cannot benefit from recovery in asset prices.
In contrast, the wealthy have seen robust growth since 1995 and have fully recovered from the Great Recession. Median net worth for the top 80th-99th percentiles has increased by 149 percent since 1995. For the top one percent, it has grown by 187 percent from a far higher base, making it difficult to even see the wealth of the bottom 99 percent on the following chart!
The “United States” may have “recovered” from the Great Recession, but We, The People have not. After the savings and loan scandal of the 80s destroyed middle class savings, the credit-fueled stock bubble of the 90s destroyed middle class investments, and the housing bubble of the 00s destroyed the value of the last remaining safe asset most middle class folks had, the “economy” could recover, but without a sweeping debt relief and jobs program, all of the growth was destined to go to the people who hadn’t lost much (And never mind the poor who don’t have a say).