Here are some numbers from CALT that give reason for concern:
"Available economic data indicates that the following has occurred since January of 2009:
Real median income has declined 4.3 percent.
The percentage of people in poverty has increased 13.6 percent and the number of people in poverty has increased 16.7 percent.
The percentage of people that have dropped out of the labor force has increased 10.7 percent.
The amount of unemployed workers has increased 52 percent.
The number of part-time jobs held by people that say they want full-time jobs has increased 62 percent.
The number of people on food stamps has increased 49.2 percent.
The amount of federal disability payments has increased 19.9 percent.
The total debt of the U.S. has increased 57.5 percent.
Those are some incredible numbers. Fortunately, agriculture has been spared largely from the downturn in the economy. However, we should always be prepared for times that may not be as good. Appropriate financial, estate and tax planning remain critical. Making sure that a client is flexible and well diversified in investments remains a critical aspect of appropriate financial planning. Estate and tax planning that takes a long term view of things is also the best approach. If we are correct in our projections based on the economic data, it would appear that many individuals are leveraging heavily at the present time and that financial distress issues (both tax and non-tax) will be significant in the coming months and years."
http://www.calt.iastate.edu/news.html
