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Shocking but not really surprising. This is what happens when an American style fundamentalist capitalist culture brainwashes you day and night into believing you are what you consume. I save 75%+ of what I make every year and have zero debt because I'm terrified of being old and broke. The day I become dependent on handouts you can pull the plug.
Maybe it's me -- but I am mighty tired of worrying over other peoples problems. Especially when apparently THEY don't see it as a problem.
I stopped worrying about what other people have.
One does not worry about what others do or do not have per se; though feel a natural amount of empathy when seeing obviously working class or even middle class senior digging through rubbish bin liners for food. That or as told in an other thread an elderly neighbor who basically goes hungry the last week of the month until the first of the next when his SS check is deposited.
What one *DOES* worry about is the vast array of powers the federal government has and can use to ameliorate such want. If *only* 31% of persons have no retirement savings and thus have a very bleak outlook it still leaves 69% that on various levels should be fine. Having nearly one third of a population living at or in poverty isn't the worst thing in the world, but one suspects strongly the newfound progressive political wave sweeping the USA aren't gong to be content with such a status quo.
One does not worry about what others do or do not have per se; though feel a natural amount of empathy when seeing obviously working class or even middle class senior digging through rubbish bin liners for food. That or as told in an other thread an elderly neighbor who basically goes hungry the last week of the month until the first of the next when his SS check is deposited.
What one *DOES* worry about is the vast array of powers the federal government has and can use to ameliorate such want. If *only* 31% of persons have no retirement savings and thus have a very bleak outlook it still leaves 69% that on various levels should be fine. Having nearly one third of a population living at or in poverty isn't the worst thing in the world, but one suspects strongly the newfound progressive political wave sweeping the USA aren't gong to be content with such a status quo.
Yes -- and we should all do our best when we see someone like this to help if we can, like help them find the local food bank, and donate to said food bank if possible...
But all these articles of doom and gloom and hand wringing -- well to me, they bring nothing to the table. They don't have answers -- they don't seek answers, either.... and they also don't tell anyone the criteria of the study or how they arrived at the figures.
It like -- well -- right now I am looking at the sky, and the sky is green. It's green because I have a particularly lush avocado tree outside my window and I can't see the sky through it, but to me that means the sky is green. Just because that is my experience doesn't make it right.
I can remember when Harry Chapin died, people donated to one of his favorite charities about world hunger. We looked into the charity and discovered it did NOTHING for world hunger, except tell people there's hungry people in the world.
They took in millions of dollars to do nothing but announce there's hunger in the world.
Really glad we didn't give them any money. These articles are very much the same. They aren't telling us anything we don't already know -- big whoop.
My question is, how many of that 31% did have retirement savings before the crash of 2008 gutted it? (assuming that "savings" encompasses any type of product: savings account, IRA, 401K, pension plan) How many of that 31% lost their jobs during the worst of the recession and have not been able to replace that level of income, thus having to draw on and erode their original retirement savings either mostly or completely?
What I'd like to see is what percentage of that 31% did have retirement savings AT ONE TIME but through factors other than irresponsible spending they no longer do. Versus what percentage of the 31% never bothered to address their retirement income needs at all.
Good Questions, also, if people had left their money in the market instead of panicking as most did and taking it out, they would have recovered everything plus over the last 5 years.
One does not worry about what others do or do not have per se; though feel a natural amount of empathy when seeing obviously working class or even middle class senior digging through rubbish bin liners for food. That or as told in an other thread an elderly neighbor who basically goes hungry the last week of the month until the first of the next when his SS check is deposited.
What one *DOES* worry about is the vast array of powers the federal government has and can use to ameliorate such want. If *only* 31% of persons have no retirement savings and thus have a very bleak outlook it still leaves 69% that on various levels should be fine. Having nearly one third of a population living at or in poverty isn't the worst thing in the world, but one suspects strongly the newfound progressive political wave sweeping the USA aren't gong to be content with such a status quo.
Ah, there's the rub. It's not really relevant as a concern to Joe Sixpack...but it is extremely relevant to Joe Taxpayer. THIS is where the income-inequality-isn't-a-problem people get a wakeup call.
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