The second paragraph of this story told me just about all I needed to know... "The employers who promised higher pensions in the past knew they would not be in their posts when the bill became due. That made it tempting for them to offer higher pensions rather than better pay." It was simply criminal and no one has gone to jail for it yet. Maybe the CEO that signed the agreement is gone but the company isn't and they are responsible for those sins. Someone...lots of someones need to go to jail. They lied. And they knew it when they signed the agreements. And until someone is punished I don't intend to believe anything they have to say.
In the past five years we have lost half of our wealth. Stolen. Theft by the manipulations of Wall Street and no one has gone to jail for those crimes either. But we were lucky as I had a Carpenter's Union pension. When the Dow Jones collapsed, I didn't hear a word of complaint from the Carpenter's fund; the checks continued to arrive. On time and for the full amount. If they hadn't, we might have had to live with our children!
And now someone, lots of someone's, want the gullible to put their retirement savings into 401(k) plans? Why?
Enough griping...the rest of the articles are fascinating but must be taken with lots of salt.
You ask why, and yet you know. It is so that there will be more working poor, continuing to hold down minimum wage jobs for longer. So that people like me (I already have a 401k thank you) must save on my own, or keep working.
ReplyDeleteMy 401k will not take care of me, without social security, I will be working forever, unless something changes really quick.
Yes, I do know...and it's simply wrong to tell people that their 401's will be their salvation. They just want more money in the Market so it can be stolen. Simplistic? Sure, but who should I trust?
ReplyDeleteI had a 401(k) but I certainly wasn't qualified to manage it. I'm a carpenter! Financial experts can't build buildings and I can't manage 401's. Yet we are all expected to do this...
People need help with this. And it should be made available at a very low cost. Unless of course they want millions sleeping rough each day.