Proof positive that the Fed manipulation of rate policy has done little for the typical American. Workers must put in nearly 130 hours to afford a single share of the S&P 500. Why is that significant? It’s approximately 3x more than it was just 10 years ago.
In a similar vein, a house in the U.S. used to run 3.25x median annual income. The number rarely moved out of a range from 3.0 to 3.5 times between 1970 and 2000.
Then came the housing bubble where the ratio surpassed 5.0x in early 2007. After bottoming out near 3.5x in 2011-2012, housing is back near 4.5x median annual income.
And then there’s California!
