From last weeks Dallas Morning News Financial Columnist Scott Burns:
2004 Wealth Scoreboard (all figures in thousands)
Age Top 1% Top 5% Top 10% Top 25% Median
80 $3,349 $1,170 $1,149 $536 $188
70 $9,198 $1,945 $1,106 $489 $183
60 $10,188 $3,075 $1,522 $699 $232
50 $9,554 $2,333 $1,180 $570 $188
40 $4,710 $1,297 $746 $353 $113
30 $1,971 $451 $272 $121 $39
20 $607 $206 $103 $30 $6
Note: Approximately 100 Million Tax Returns filed in US in 2004, so top 1% is about 1 Million Households, etc.
I agree with Mike Beene that our true wealth doesn't justify all the $700,000 and up houses springing up. If you read the book, "the Millionaire Next Door" you will find that most have very modest homes. If you spend as much as you make, you aren't wealthy.
The true measure of wealth is how long you could go without working (or trying to be a golf course architect!
) A high precent of Americans can't make it to the next paycheck, and even those who appear to be middle class are often in hock to their eyeballs.
I once met a former superintendent from Iowa who got in the DFW real estate game and managed to get a few quick commissions and started living it up. Later, everything was repossessed and his comment was, "How did I know it was going to end." I visited his house during the boom times, and among the large screen TV's, gourmet kitchens and suits, I noticed he was line drying three pairs of boxers. He didn't have dryer or any more underwear, living under the motto, "If it don't show, I ain't spending money on it."
I would hate to be unloading a huge house upon retirement to the next generation, because I think our generation will go down as one overly enamored with spending lavishly, especially on huge houses.
Back to architecture......