And If That Last Item On The Economy Wasn’t Depressing Enough

By Ken Silverstein

From Eric Janszen:

Economic data coming out this week reveal an economy in free-fall.

The Stats

Every single working day in the month of December 2008:

190 U.S. companies filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 4,950 Individuals filed for bankruptcy protection 3,100 Homes went into foreclosure 26,190 Jobs were lost and 25,035 workers filed for unemployment insurance

For the year 2008, the $6.9 trillion in lost stock market value among 110 million households represents a per household loss of $62,727. The $6 trillion in lost residential real estate property value nationally in 2008 adds $54,545 per household for a total of $117,272 in lost household asset value in 2008, exceeding by 27% the national household median net worth in 2007 of $86,000. (Losses were concentrated in the middle quintiles aka “the middle class.”)