i think the situation with the 'average family' can vary greatly on where the average family currently lives and the mindset of that area/and the age group they are in (not so much crono age but where they 'are' in life).
we lived until about a year ago in northern california. we lived in what had become largly a commuter community, people lived there for the small town atmosphere and great schools but commuted largly long and hard for the higher bay area wages (with the exception of those assigned to the nearby airforce base). we lived in a neighborhood of newer homes (last ones built in 2002) and they ranged originaly in price higher than first time homes (but as compared to bay area home prices they were priced MUCH lower) to what people considered a 2nd or 3rd home 'trade up' purchase. we had almost an even/steven compilation of homeowners-first time usualy very young buyers anticipating amassing big equity to sell and buy up within a few years, 2nd or 3rd time homeowners (generaly like us in their 30's or older planning on staying put and raising the kids to adulthood) and very close to retirement agers who planned on making a killing on equity over 5-10 years, downsizing before their incomes dropped to pension level (often below what was needed to continue paying the mortgage and basic living expenses) and using the equity for retirement. this worked well for many folks until march of 2006 when the real estate market CRASHED (not dipped, bottom fell out completely). prior to this date these homes sold for over 200% more than they sold for new no more than 7 years earlier. now that neighborhood has a combination of (1) recent buyers who are hundreds of thousands upside down in equity (some with rates about to increase-and no way they can re-fi cuz the houses won't appraise at the level of debt), (2) the long term family raisers, and (3) the soon to be retirees who will be unable to pay their mortgages when they retire (or get layed off as many are becoming) and have no 'nest egg' of equity as they had planned for.
this was just the general accepted mind set in that area-and as a result a change in the economy that can decrease earnings, decrease savings (actual by virtue of not being able to put as much aside or earn on, and property values) and increase expenses will, i believe-have a harder effect than on the 'average family' in say, the area we currently live in (small town in washington state). i don't think it hits AS hard here because families (at least in our neck of the woods) have never seen the massive increases in home values such that they had the mind set that their existing home was their primary source of funding their retirement (or child's college education). i also don't see the mindset of within 6 months of purchasing a new home getting a home equity loan to pull out tens of thousands to purchase consumer goods or pay for high end vacations (definatly the norm where we previously lived), so the average family here may not have the same issues with big end debt beyond a mortgage and perhaps car loan.
i found it very interesting when i worked for social services granting cash, medical and food stamp services. during those times in the couple of decades i was there that the economy was in bad state there was of course an increase in the number of families applying for assistance, but it realy was'nt across all economic types. it seemed as though those who worked in the lower paying jobs managed to keep them, and were living within or well below their means such that they were able to maintain (not talking about anyone getting any housing subsidies or other forms of assistance-just basic minimum or a bit above wagers doing everything on their financial own). higher earners though, they seemed to live to the full extent of or beyond their means such that even a temporary lay-off or just not getting the raise they anticipated (and had already overspent based on
) resulted in catastrophic financial consequences (they might have had a chunk in a retirement account but if they could'nt access it, well....it was like it did'nt exist) that put them in a much faster downard spiral. once the credit cards were maxed out and any accessable funds were depleted they were in our office applying and were very shocked to find out what the government deemed as sustainable income for their family size
i think to some degree saying that our grandparents got through a depression and so can we is not realistic. so many factors today are different. while a person of the depression era might choose to walk away from a home they could no longer afford the consequence was largely simply the loss of that home and any equity it held/poor standing with the local bank-today by vitue of credit bureaus and international data bases it can tarnish a person's credit such that not only will they have difficulty for years purchasing anything on credit, but it can prevent them from securing viable employment by virtue of those industries that factor in credit scores as hiring criteria. many of our grandparents (and my own late father included) found some financial refuge from the depression via mass immigration to the western united states where there were greater opportunities of employment and reasonable housing costs (esp. when the cost of decreased heating was factored in)-i can't think of any area in the u.s where today such opportunities exist. many of our grandparents also found assitance through government initiatives such as the origin of today's public assistance programs the 'w.p.a.' which provided jobs at a set wage for thongs of unemployed workers. today's version can hardly begin to provide for the actual needs of a familt (higher end states allot for 3 people around $670 per month and at most around $200 in food stamps-this is without any subsidies or other assistance in meeting housing, utility or any other costs sans medical assistance)-the cost of living is much higher today vs what is issued as compared to what our grandparents could earn via the wpa and reasonably expect to spend. it's just a whole different world.
I've been a court reporter for 24 years, the first 15 of which I worked for a freelance agency. Business was always more brisk when the economy was in a downturn. I've been an official reporter for the last nine years, so it will be interesting to see if we see the same thing in the courtroom. I hope you enjoy your new job. It's a very interesting field to work in!
We had a couple people working in production at our firm that ended up going to school for reporting and coming back to work for us. There's a real shortage of reporters, and like any job, it has its ups and downs, but it's really been a wonderful career. Best of luck to you!
