Where did all the wealth go? To our kids.

Rob Atkinson of The Atlantic Magazine looks at the brighter side of the fall of housing and stock prices...

Like millions of Americans, I dread getting my quarterly 401k statement. Every time I open one I think, "I guess I won't be retiring at 65." And so it didn't really come as a surprise when the Federal Reserve reported that household net worth plunged $11.2 trillion in 2008, a stunning 18 percent loss in one year. No wonder The New York Times says that "the most recent loss of wealth is staggering."

So did this wealth actually disappear? Of course not. My house is still here. The companies in which my mutual funds own stock are still there. All that changed was this: The prices at which American asset owners can sell their assets fell by $11.2 trillion. But the prices that buyers have to pay for those assets also fell by $11.2 trillion. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Read the full article HERE.