re: Nearly Half of All US Families Have Zero Retirement Savings

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: $1985.60. While I understand savings of $150 monthly aren't feasible for a fair amount of people,

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My scotch habit is double that

I still have the $50 a local bank gave me about 25 years ago because I was the first customer to open a savings account with them. It has morphed into a portfolio of over half a million. I was a quick study of how to wisely save your money.

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I still have the $50 a local bank gave me about 25 years ago

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You should have put it in their Christmas Club account.

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I will be so unbelievably pissed if people get bailed out when I have skipped vacations and such to build up savings.

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Once the Leftists explain to you that you should be thankful that you had enough to save in the first place and that other people need your property more than you need your own property you will feel much better about it.

My advice is to arm yourself and prepare for the day that you have to defend yourself from your own government. That, and read Animal Farm by George Orwell.

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You should have put it in their Christmas Club account.

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I remember those.

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Nearly Half of All US Families Have Zero Retirement Savings

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the government will bail you out.

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Government is, in large part, the culprit.

E.g., Social Security is a program forcing those same workers you're addressing to lend the US Government money at extremely low rates for 45 years. The government may or may not pay 1¢ of it back depending on when the lender's life ends.

Conservatively, the combination of SS and Medicare cost the median household about $500K in retirement savings after all benefits are paid out. But like the lib I was addressing, most of the Americans you're criticizing think Social Security is a great program. Just like they think they're being ripped off by not receiving big tax refunds this cycle.

Here is a post from a few days ago addressing a lib on the topic . . .

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{Social Security} is a lending program . . .

But if you ever do actually get curious and run the numbers, you'll find the average predicted lifetime ROI for SS AND Medicare COMBINED for someone retiring today runs barely over 2%.

Meanwhile, the average government lending instrument (e.g., T-bills) during the same contribution period would have conservatively averaged about 4.5%. In the instance of a 4.5% ROI, residual savings at death after an equivalent benefit payout would exceed SS/Medicare by about $500K for median income Americans. That is half a million extra they could pass on to their kids.

Again, the calculations are based on standard government instrument rates. Market portfolio-based ROI would be much higher.

As you revel in wealth inequality discussions, let's frame it in those terms. SS/Medicare leaves the average household about $500,000.00 poorer than would otherwise be the case. SS/Medicare are sizable contributors to the wealth gap.

LINK

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The economically disadvantaged underclass in America doesn’t have computer or internet access.

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95% of Americans have some sort of cellular device. 77% have smart phones.

Public library computer access can easily get us the rest of the way to 100%.

You sure are "Marxy" for a "conservative", baw.

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UBI is a certain way to ensure a permanent underclass.

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Right. If people aren't responsible enough to save from their salaries-- why would the suddenly become responsible if we gave them UBI?

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Just look around, even more affluent communities, people spend money like it’s on fire.

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I recently spent about 2 years in a relatively affluent Southern community. For the area, my income was about the top 5 to 7 percentile (closer to the 7) - I lived in a middling house for the area (nice, but just like a hundred or so others in the development), and drove nice, but well used cars (the cars new were a combined $90k, but I generally buy used and paid about $60k combined) - EVERYBODY seemed to live higher than us. Newer/nicer cars, bigger homes, stuff you can't fake, right?

I'm talking nicer BMWs, Mercedes G-rides, Lexus SUVs were the staple vehicles and the "small" houses were 2500 square foot, $250k. Where in the hell does all this money come from? I get that it is borrowed, but it has to be paid back.