Americans Not Ready for the Next Economic Crisis

 We just recently heard the President deliver his message of optimism about the American economy. But now that we’ve had a chance to do some fact checking, it turns out, the average American family just doesn’t see the results that Obama is talking about.

In fact, a new Wall Street Journal survey finds, barely over one-third of Americans even have enough money to cover a minor car repair or a quick trip to the ER. This means, upwards of 60 percent of the country has to take out a loan or pull out their credit card to cover the cost of any unexpected emergencies.

Believe it or not, the Federal Reserve actually published a study of their own, and they don’t deny it. The Fed admits, the Great Recession “tested many households” and found that “Savings [were] depleted for many households after the recession.” All the numbers are clearly outlined in their study called, the “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.” And while Fed Chair Janet Yellen points to a number of new JOBS, she conveniently points out that MOST of these new jobs are much lower paying jobs than the ones the employees had when they LOST their jobs in the first place. The majority of all new jobs created in the US are temporary positions or other low-paying, entry-level jobs. It’s just one more hardship for Americans already struggling to sock away some savings.

The entire DEMAND for the insurance industry is solely based on the fact that American consumers consistently do a poor job of saving money and preparing for those hard times.

Economist Michael Snyder recommends Americans in today’s economy should have an emergency fund that can cover all of your expenses for at least six months.

Unfortunately the wall street journal reports that Most Americans don’t have enough savings to pay for an unexpected bill - let alone enough cash or gold reserves to sustain themselves in a time of crisis.

Market watch .com ran a recent headline “Most Americans are just one paycheck away from the street” not exactly a promising way to start 2015.

The Adelphi Center for Health innovation published their own findings on the preparedness of Americans and found that:

44 percent don’t have first-aid kits
48 percent lack emergency supplies
53 percent do not have a minimum 3-day supply of nonperishable food and water at home
55 percent believe local authorities will come to their rescue if disaster strikes
52 percent have not designated a family meeting place if they are separated during an emergency
42 percent do not know the phone numbers of all of their immediate family members
21 percent don’t know if their workplace has an emergency preparedness plan
37 percent do not have a list of the drugs they are taking
52 percent do not have copies of health insurance documents

It may be impossible to PREDICT the future, but it’s very possible to PREPARE for it. While this report may seem to paint a dismal future for the American Way of life, we need to use these indicators to prepare for the road ahead.




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