Looking in the record books
... While the nation focuses on Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron's record, I suggest looking at some more interesting records and data. ...
Because hang gliding is an international sport, because foreign pilots come to fly in the US, and because US pilots sometimes go abroad.
http://www.slate.com/id/2170745/
Imagine waking up and finding the value of your assets has been halved. No, you're not an investor in one of those Bear Stearns hedge funds that went belly up. Welcome to London! In Britain, when Big Ben chimes 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., the locals take tea—and American tourists head for the ATMs. With the dollar slumping to a 26-year low against the pound, already-expensive London has become jolly unaffordable. A macchiato at Starbucks, just as unavoidable in England as it is in the United States, runs about $8.
http://ozreport.com/8.236
http://ozreport.com/8.238
http://ozreport.com/8.240
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/17/business/view.php
The Dow Jones Industrial average on January 20, 2001: 10,587.60. The average on July 20, 2007: 13,851.08. For those invested in the US stock market this is a rise in value of 30 percent. But, over the same time period the value of the US dollar has fallen relative to the Euro by 32%. Therefore for the moneyed classes the average nominal value of their investments has not risen (fallen slightly) over the seven years if we assume that the investments are denominated in Euros. This is in nominal dollars (or Euros) so we are not taking into account inflation, which means that the value of their investments have fallen significantly.
How about for the working stiffs in the US? According to HUD, the median household income has increased by 12% over this time period (again in nominal dollars, so actually median household income has fallen over that time in constant dollars). So for those who work for a living, vs. cutting coupons, their income has fallen significantly when denominated in Euros.
So in real terms (inflation adjusted Euros) we (US) have experienced a greater than 30% drop in median household income over the last seven years. Welcome to the new globalism. Discuss Record at the Oz Report forum
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http://OzReport.com/1185380617
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