"The typical person lost more because a bigger percentage of their wealth in 2007 had been the value of their home," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with EPI

"The typical person lost more because a bigger percentage of their wealth in 2007 had been the value of their home," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with EPI. Cheap credit seems to have wiped out the very people it should have helped most (according to activists, anyway). There goes the decades old policy of "home owning". It should be clear by now that having a mortgage does not make you a home owner, just a renter who can't move out. A couple "underwater" is very nearly chained to the land; moving out means a huge credit rating hit, so they'd be reluctant to seek a better job in another city.