The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class – A Lecture by Elizabeth Warren

Want to know why the middle class is disappearing despite families now having two people in the work force instead of one? Here is Elizabeth Warren discussing in an hour-long lecture at Berkeley. She is the author of The Two Income Trap.

The only thing I really take issue with is the fact the savings rate is horribly misleading for the reasons I explained in this blog over at About.com.  For example, all of the money Warren Buffett has in shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which is nearly $60,000,000,000 never counted as “savings” on his part because it came from capital gains.  Likewise, certain retirement contributions, which are now standard, aren’t included.  In fact, if Buffett were to spend $10 billion, it would cause the savings rate to be negative if he were the only citizen in an economy because the $60 billion was never counted in the “plus” column.  That isn’t economic reality, it is government accounting.

Warren makes great, valid points, which is why I think she she chair the consumer protection agency. To a finance geek like me, lectures like this are the equivalent of a night at the Playboy mansion.

Related posts:

1. In Honor of Warren Buffett’s 80th Birthday Today …
2. Elizabeth Warren Running for Senate (and Talking About the Nation’s Debt)
3. Elizabeth Warren Makes Timmy Geithner Squirm …
4. A Look at Warren Buffett’s Original 7 Investment Partnerships
5. The Collapse of Wachovia – How a Bank with $38 in Book Value Per Share Became Almost Worthless Overnight
6. “Tell Us How He Made It!” A Story of Warren Buffett, William Randolph Hearst, and Money
7. Morningstar Says Berkshire Hathaway’s Intrinsic Value Is $89 Per Class B Share. I Think They’re Wrong.
8. Valuing Retail Stocks and a Look at the American Class System Through the Average Department Store Client
9. The Coutts World Card Is the Most Prestigious Credit Card in History – And Good Enough for Queen Elizabeth II
10. Some New Content Coming up at About.com