Senate Candidate Hinckley: Fed is Hurting Middle Class

U.S. Senate Candidate Barry Hinckley Wednesday responded to a report from the Federal Reserve, saying that the median net worth of American families fell by nearly 40 percent in just three years.

In 2007, median net worth stood at $126,400, but by 2010, that number had fallen to $77,300 — roughly equal to where the figure stood twenty years ago.

"It's ironic that this report comes from the Federal Reserve, since the policies of the central bank are a major reason for this latest dose of bad news," remarked Hinckley. "Career politicians of both parties have run massive deficits for decades. The more money they spend in Washington, the more money the Fed prints to finance our debt.

"When the Fed prints money, our Dollar becomes devalued, hurting the savings of the middle class and those on fixed incomes the most." he said. "Washington's spending spree is a major burden on our children, but it is also affecting middle class families in Rhode Island, right now."

The report notes that, even as the federal government spends at record levels, average American families are living on less and less. In 2010, Median income declined nearly 8 percent, and the median value of stock-market-based retirement accounts fell by 7 percent.

Middle class families were hit particularly hard as housing values plummeted over the past five years.

"It pains me to see our middle class hurting so much, since this problem was so avoidable," Hinckley added. "Politicians are always ready to respond to stories like this with more promises of free money, but that is precisely what got us to this point. Big government and Wall Street incentivized a decade-long real estate binge.

"Like all bubbles, this one also turned out to be an illusion. While average Americans saw their savings and home equity evaporate, politicians like Sheldon Whitehouse were busy sending big bailouts to Wall Street and foreign countries. Is this Senator Whitehouse's idea of a fair deal for the middle class?

"It is time for Rhode Island to send a new voice to the Senate - one that will stand with the middle class, not with Washington and Wall Street," Hinckley concluded.