To find a time when the U.S. economy was as bad as it is today, one must time travel back to 1932 and the Great Depression. Last year gross domestic product grew a meager 2.9%, but disposal income plummeted by more than $1 trillion.
While food and utility prices harass everyone on a daily basis, it is important to take a big-picture look. What people will discover is the American dream of home ownership, the most important investment of time and money to low- and middle-income people, is dead. Without home ownership, the path to the middle class is obliterated.