The market forces so loved by John "Deregulation" McCain have surely not worked for millions of Americans who will be faced with shock and dismay when they open their next retirement account statement. According to the head of the Congressional Budget Office, Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months. One heck of a job Johnny and Chimpy!! God help us all if these clowns do any more great work for us average Americans. Of course, with Cindy McCain's rumored $100 million net worth, even a horrific loss in vale would leave the McCains in a position most Americans will never know even in their dreams. Between my horrific divorce and the financial market melt down, as of now, I figure I will likely die at my office desk. Here are some story highlights:*
Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday. The upheaval that has engulfed the financial industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings, forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office.
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"Unlike Wall Street executives, America's families don't have a golden parachute to fall back on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the panel chairman. "It's clear that their retirement security may be one of the greatest casualties of this financial crisis." More than half the people surveyed in an Associated Press-GfK poll taken Sept. 27-30 said they worry they will have to work longer because the value of their retirement savings has declined.
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Orszag indicated the fear is well-founded. Public and private pension funds and employees' private retirement savings accounts—like 401(k)'s—have lost some 20 percent overall since mid-2007, he estimated. Private retirement plans may have suffered slightly more because those holdings are more heavily skewed toward stocks, Orszag added.
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A new AARP study found that because of the economic downturn, one in five workers 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings account during the past year, and nearly one in four has increased the number of hours he works.
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The country seriously CANNOT afford another four years of the Bush/McCain/Palin lunacy and refusal to face reality.
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