New model of retirement, aka working forever. Americans woefully underprepared to face retirement and half of households have zero retirement plan.
Most Americans are incredibly unprepared when it comes to retirement. The goal posts keep shifting. Now for full retirement under Social Security people will need to retire at 67 versus 65. What is rarely discussed is that rising Medicare premiums are being taken out of monthly payments so the amount being received is already shrinking [...]
New Retirement Model of Working into Old Age – Baby Boomers hitting retirement age with little to no savings.
The fiscal issues facing the country are troubling for a variety of reasons but one big reason is the reality that many older Americans simply do not have enough money to retire. The idea of entering your golden years without the need of working is a relatively modern one. In fact, it was the generation [...]
The modern day Gilded Age – in 2010 top one percent captured over half of all income gains. From early 2009 the S&P 500 is up 109 percent but home prices are at new lows falling almost 34 percent.
Most Americans derive their net worth from the equity built up in their homes. This has been the case for many decades. As the stock market races upwards to stratospheric highs it is hard for many average Americans to understand why it is that economically they are stuck in the same place. New tax data [...]
Welcome to the new model of retirement. No retirement. In 1983 over 60 percent of American workers had some kind of defined-benefit plan. Today less than 20 percent have access to a plan and the majority of retired Americans largely rely on Social Security as their de facto retirement plan.
As many Americans enter into retirement they are realizing one unfortunate thing. The new retirement plan is no retirement at all. Over the last few decades Americans were promised the idea of a comfortable retirement yet none of this has materialized because of financial swindling and a real estate bubble that will go down in [...]
The Retirement fantasy – middle class Americans are quickly realizing that a secure retirement future may only be a myth. Stagnant income, debt illusion, and the future outlook for working Americans.
Americans are having a tougher time finding extra disposable income to save and create wealth. It is hard to plan for the future when you are worrying about having enough money to purchase a couple of frozen meals. When looking at overall statistics we rarely get a glimpse at how tough things have become for [...]
Who’s afraid of the middle class? As housing values reach new lows the stock market is up 100 percent from the 2009 trough. Too bad over 30 percent of Americans have $0 in savings.
The methodical shrinking of the American middle class is difficult to witness. What is even more troubling is this outcome was set in motion over a decade ago and little attention has been shed on what used to be a cornerstone of America’s success. Systematic robbery is now part of the financial fabric of our [...]
Banks gone wild – The temporarily embarrassed millionaire syndrome. Bailout recipient JP Morgan Chase pays CEO what amounts to 843 times the median US household income.
It is a fascinating case study in human psychology that one of the top contenders for President is Donald Trump, a man who makes a living at least on his show by firing people. You would think that many Americans would want someone that hires people given our current economic predicament. Put aside the antics [...]
The Giant American Banking Deception – $7.4 trillion in deposits backed by insolvent FDIC insurance fund. Bank of America and JP Morgan each have more than $2 trillion in assets each while 72 million Americans earn $25,000 a year or less.
The American banking industry is trying to convince the public that simply by hiding bad debts in the deep levels of corporate balance sheets that taking on leveraged risk is somehow safe. FDIC insured banks currently have $7.4 trillion in actual deposits, much of it covered by the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). Most Americans think [...]
Home is where the working and middle class lose their money – $6.3 trillion lost in household real estate values. Top 1 percent control $13 trillion in financial assets while bottom 80 percent control $2 trillion.
When people talk about the American Dream it usually implies owning a home. Owning a home has been part of our collective psychology for generations and is hard to shake out even after such a disastrous and financially painful bubble that will linger with us for many years going forward. After World War II, owning [...]
The big financial lie – How growing income inequality, too big to fail banks, and stock market delusion swindled the American public and dissolved the middle class.
The American banking system has spread systemic risk all across the economy with laser point precision but very few are even aware of this grim reality. It would seem that only those who understand the system from the cavernous inside and have little to lose can actually speak out against the system as they see [...]
