Lack Of Savings In America Analysis
A Critical Lack of Savings in America
We obviously have a real problem saving money, which threatens our national stability and the escalating epidemic even has a name: “Financial Illiteracy.” Evidence of our growing Financial Illiteracy is seen in studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which show that by 2050 a full one-third of Americans will have saved absolutely nothing in 401(k)-style accounts. We also know that a majority of U.S. workers fail to participate in savings programs sufficient to provide for an adequate retirement. While a mere 11% of workers under 35 participate in company 401(k) programs, 25% of all workers save nothing at all and the paltry 34% who do try to save tend …show more content…
Yet, runaway spending has become a critical factor in the survival of a healthy economy.
Is America in Trouble?
Not really. America is a place. It’s a place full of assets like condominium towers and refineries and natural resources, which can be bought, sold and auctioned to the highest bidder. No, America will be around for a long time. Today’s American is in trouble. Employer loyalty is fading with company pensions. Employees bolt at the first sign of opportunity on the other side of the fence. American jobs are no longer secure in America in the ongoing outsourcing trend, at the cost of domestic jobs and the health of local economies. Are we down-for-the-count? I’ll leave that to economists and sociologists but I do know about YOU and what you need. You need to get back on the high-road and take charge, which for some will mean grappling with an old foe called, …show more content…
-A big windfall inheritance from some long, lost relative is unlikely.
-We won’t “win it big” in Las Vegas (we tend to lose what we win).
We also tend to neglect “real-life” basics like:
-Balancing checkbooks; sticking to household budgets.
-Paying bills and taxes on time; saving beyond a 401(k) plan.
Some might shrug off the above but here’s the potential of denial:
“Real Life” and the ‘Aging’ Crisis
Aging isn’t what it once was, according to an August, 2014, report in Harper’s Magazine, which covers vanishing pensions, wage stagnation, foreclosures and Americans working longer and leaning more heavily than ever before on Social Security – originally meant to supplement rather than fully fund retirement. As a result, “tribes” of aging Americans have become full-time RV nomads – dubbed ‘workkampers’ - traversing the nation for seasonal work posted on web sites like Workkamper News and Workers on Wheels. Some 7.7 million Americans aged sixty-five and older were still working in 2013, according to Harper’s stats, “up 60 percent over a decade earlier.” A recent AARP poll shows that only 17 percent of seniors aged 50 to 65 expect to avoid working in their later
We obviously have a real problem saving money, which threatens our national stability and the escalating epidemic even has a name: “Financial Illiteracy.” Evidence of our growing Financial Illiteracy is seen in studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which show that by 2050 a full one-third of Americans will have saved absolutely nothing in 401(k)-style accounts. We also know that a majority of U.S. workers fail to participate in savings programs sufficient to provide for an adequate retirement. While a mere 11% of workers under 35 participate in company 401(k) programs, 25% of all workers save nothing at all and the paltry 34% who do try to save tend …show more content…
Yet, runaway spending has become a critical factor in the survival of a healthy economy.
Is America in Trouble?
Not really. America is a place. It’s a place full of assets like condominium towers and refineries and natural resources, which can be bought, sold and auctioned to the highest bidder. No, America will be around for a long time. Today’s American is in trouble. Employer loyalty is fading with company pensions. Employees bolt at the first sign of opportunity on the other side of the fence. American jobs are no longer secure in America in the ongoing outsourcing trend, at the cost of domestic jobs and the health of local economies. Are we down-for-the-count? I’ll leave that to economists and sociologists but I do know about YOU and what you need. You need to get back on the high-road and take charge, which for some will mean grappling with an old foe called, …show more content…
-A big windfall inheritance from some long, lost relative is unlikely.
-We won’t “win it big” in Las Vegas (we tend to lose what we win).
We also tend to neglect “real-life” basics like:
-Balancing checkbooks; sticking to household budgets.
-Paying bills and taxes on time; saving beyond a 401(k) plan.
Some might shrug off the above but here’s the potential of denial:
“Real Life” and the ‘Aging’ Crisis
Aging isn’t what it once was, according to an August, 2014, report in Harper’s Magazine, which covers vanishing pensions, wage stagnation, foreclosures and Americans working longer and leaning more heavily than ever before on Social Security – originally meant to supplement rather than fully fund retirement. As a result, “tribes” of aging Americans have become full-time RV nomads – dubbed ‘workkampers’ - traversing the nation for seasonal work posted on web sites like Workkamper News and Workers on Wheels. Some 7.7 million Americans aged sixty-five and older were still working in 2013, according to Harper’s stats, “up 60 percent over a decade earlier.” A recent AARP poll shows that only 17 percent of seniors aged 50 to 65 expect to avoid working in their later