Decades of class war leaves most Americans nearing retirement woefully unprepared.
Since the mid-1970s, real wages haven’t kept pace with inflation. Benefits steadily eroded. High-paying jobs disappeared. Improved technology forces wage earners to work harder for less.
So-called “free” markets work only for those who control them. A handful of winners benefit at the expense of most others. Conditions get progressively worse.
Wealth disparity extremes are unprecedented. Neoliberal harshness force-feeds austerity when stimulus is needed. Public needs go begging.
American inequality is institutionalized. Bipartisan complicity assures it. Class war rages. America’s social contract is targeted for destruction.
Both sides agree. They support giving bankers, war profiteers, other corporate favorites, and super-rich elites greater wealth at the expense of most others.
A May 2012 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) study highlighted America’s retirement crisis. American workers face trouble.
About the Author: Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. He writes for MoneyNewsNow.com and VeteransToday.com. He is also author of the celebrated books Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity and How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War. Lendman also hosts his own blog at sjlendman.blogspot.com. He is host of a progressive radio show with cutting-edge discussions and distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
Phi Beta Iota: The situation is actually much worse. Unemployment is actually 23%, inflation is actually 9%, and both kids and mid-career couples (both fired) are living with their parents. The unpaid mortgage backlog is getting seriously scary, and joins the excess of foreclosed properties waiting to come on the market in the spring, putting a crimp in new construction and further depressing the housing market.