How did this happen? The Democratic Majority we elected to Congress flailed around, caved into the conservatives in both parties, and produced an inadequate fiscal stimulus in 2009, so the economy is not growing and deflation is a threat.

As you know, this is not all of what happened. We also elected a President who failed to lead. Who never outlined solutions to our problems and took the case to the people. And NEVER told Congress what he wanted, and NEVER supported anyone in Congress who would look out for the victims to whom you refer in your post.

ALL of his relationships with Congress HURT the folks to whom you refer in your post.

Oh, Masaccio wasn’t letting Obama off the hook on this. FDL isn’t exactly noted for being easy on the guy. When Masaccio says that nobody in a position of power is willing to help retirees, he’s including Obama in that blanket statement.

The Democratic Majority we elected to Congress flailed around, caved into the conservatives in both parties, and produced an inadequate fiscal stimulus in 2009, so the economy is not growing and deflation is a threat.

Epic failures. I could care less if Democrats lose in 2012. They did the absolute minimum possible to keep the existing broken system moving along. There was no change. No one was held accountable. The same a$$es who made money as the economy fell are still making money as the American people get the shaft.

I’m expecting nothing from the ‘safe’ part of my retirement portfolio. On the other hand, nothing is a lot better than less than nothing, which is what we got a couple of years ago. And don’t think defined benefits are going to do any better, because companies are just going to stop honoring them. Insurance rates will be going up to, looking at the bright side, because there’s nothing to make on the float.

Here’s the thing: the economy is producing less per capita because there are fewer people at work, and a lot of capital underemployed. Of that amount that is produced, an alarmingly large share is going to defence, which doesn’t feed any tables except those belonging to a handful of military contractors. When the pie shrinks, someone has to take the hit. Guess who?

Thank you for drawing attention to this. Of course it is close to criminal where safe saving rates rates are now But it has been devastating to many of my age peers since Greenspan. pursued these idiotic single minded policies. The retirees and near retirees have been the big honey pot for Wall Street greed, not to mention geezer and widows the butt of their jokes. We have been for the past 20 years forced to invest money intended for retirement in to the high risk market. Most everyone I know lost about 40% of their retirement funds and value in their only other option for investment their homes.

I simply cannot understand why the elderly continue to fall for the crap the Republicans and Blue Dogs feed them. It must have something to do with my generation hating to admit being scammed.

I opened a savings account with Chase, whom I bank with, last week. My initial deposit was relatively small (account balance well below $10,000). When I got home I read over the papers they provided outlining the terms of the account.

There was a chart depicting the interest rate yeild based on account balances. I was shocked to see I was going to be getting .15% And for those over $10,000? .15%

These folks are shameless crooks. I can’t imagine the meetings, sitting around all day thinking about this shit. “Oh! I know! Let’s attack the interest rates of their savings and CIDs! We haven’t done that yet!”

They’re destroying our country. I think that’s the most heartbreaking part of it all.

Okay. I have great respect for Masaccio.

I just find it a little unsettling when Congress alone appears to be the scapegoat. And that will be one of the main themes in 2012: that Congress was at fault.

I guess one could attribute QE to the Congress — because they paralyzed fiscal policy — but Obama is as responsible for the ill effects of QE just as much as Congress. I mean, he is actually defending the fiscal and monetary policies that have been employed. The policies that will ruin younger and older Americans alike.

email I just sent to Alice Rivlin

Of course, everyone knows that SS doesn’t need saving. The surplus that would have made it solvent for a long long time was given to the rich by the W tax cuts.

Besides, I’m puzzled why anyone would work on a problem so far in the future, when current economic problems are so much more pressing.

But I guess we’ll never know, since your proceedings are secret.

Meanwhile the FRB is doing its best to impoverish retirees before the Catfood Commish gets its chance. http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/10/a-modest-proposal-gold-plate-banks-with-cash-from-retirees/

They’ve just come up with more creative ways to make money. We started to see this 3 years ago, when they were short-selling their own banking subsidiaries and driving them into bankruptcy to make a buck. It’s like the ship is sinking, and they’re flying in helicopters to get the goods to safety while running a betting racket on how long it’ll take for the thing to be underwater.

I simply cannot understand why the elderly continue to fall for the crap the Republicans and Blue Dogs feed them.

In part, it might be a lack of choices. I hope that 2012 turns out to be all about real choices as teapartiers and progressives break away from the corporatists of both failed parties.

The problem is having followed obsessively the policies suggested by the fiction writer Ayn Rand for 30 years. No alternative economic philosophy has been considered. Obama style tinkering will not prevent our continued decline in to economic and political chaos. It will take a whole new approach to turn the tide.

I certainly know the lack of choices. But anecdotally by far most of my peers seem unable to understand how these policies have cheated us and look for only more of it and sadly focus on race and class as the causes.

I think your last statement has a lot of truth in it. People hate to be wrong and will hang on until the bitter end….especially old people.

I know I am preaching to the choir here — and that many of you have pointed it out before. But had Obama not brought forth the Catfood Commission and, rather, announced that there would be no cuts to SS on his watch, the midterms could have turned out quite differently. Even if they had turned out exactly as they did, he would have an issue to drive toward 2012.

Whether he is an R plant — which makes him evil — or misplaying his 11-dimensional chess — which makes him stupid — we can’t afford to support him as the D candidate in 2012.

Did you read my 8? Alice Rivlin is a member of the Catfood Commish.

Yes, in previous positions, I have been subjected to her idiocy on other issues and topics.

The Obama administration is about to hit a dubious trifecta. His executive order on health care rolled back women’s reproductive freedom. His attorney general has come out in favor of scaling back Miranda rights. And now the catfood commission is about to chip away at the Social Security system.

This is progress?

They might be focusing on distractions because the candidates who get coverage and run ads want everyone to be distracted.

I’d like to hear a candidate speak to the issue in the way that you’ve framed it. I doubt I’m alone there. A real leader would help people understand how they’ve been cheated and/or would do something about it.

lordy this is good masaccio, sincere thanks for fleshing this out

All your financial security are belong to us.

I bet they prefer to think of it as Constitutional pruning.

The problem is having followed obsessively the policies suggested by the fiction writer Ayn Rand for 30 years.

Those policies only work in Rand’s fictional world, which is populated entirely by two classes: cold-blooded workaholics and the anonymous lumpenproletariat. And they only work because Ms. Rand created that world and drew up the rules.

The problem there is that candidates largely rely on MSM to distribute their message to larger audiences. The folks who are willing to run on the issues and sincerely address the underlying causes aren’t getting any coverage. They would upset the establishment.

Why would the media cover something that would harm them? Doesn’t make sense. Without widespread attention, nobody stands a chance against Obummer and whoever the Rs trot out next year.

This is progress?

It’s been marketed as progress. Supposed opponents decry it as socialist. And, unless something is done, most Americans will vote for Democrats again out of fear of and/or disgust with Republicans as the cycle continues and nothing changes other than to get worse.

Also in the Kiplinger report citation of the ERBI study, the figures showing the decline of participation in 401ks from 54.6 million in 2000 to 48.4 million in 2009, also indicate a projected decline in participation from 59.8 % in 2000 to 50% projected particpation in 2012.

So much for the second or is the third leg of the retirement three legged stool.

I’d like to see a solid progressive candidate running against Obama in the debates. That has to be something we can accomplish.

Obama announces new policy for seniors, ” Die quickly.”

Help me out here.
how can you have more stimulas and QE, which the purpose of this is
to drive down interest rates, to incourage investment in companies, to
expand and hire and at the same time you expect a higher return from your
savings? I don’t think you can have it both ways.

I’m sure we can field someone. FDL has proved to be a key part of larger grassroots organization here on the web. But what chance do we have that Obama will actually sit down and debate someone? He could just ignore them. It will probably result in his losing the general, but I don’t think we could successfully beat him in a primary.

We have to remember his base as it was in 2008. Large portions of the independents, large portions of racial minorities, huge percentages of the youth vote, party democrats and progressives. Of all of these, how many can we really effect in a primary battle?

I think the independents can be reached, but they don’t vote in primaries as much as the general election. The youth vote, of which I am a part, is really fucking angry, but also disillusioned. I doubt there will be anywhere near as much attention to the 2012 race as there was in ’08. Of course we can rally progressives and some party Dems, who I’m sure two years from now will finally see some of what we’re saying about Obama and begin to change their minds.

This leaves us with minority voters. One could argue that a number of people in the African American community will vote for Obama again, in spite of what he’s doing to the lower class. Hispanics are upset and he’s losing support there, I think we’d have a good chance if we could forge strong bonds with the progressive hispanic groups online.

I think a strong primary challenge will almost assure Obama’s loss in the general, but I don’t think we can beat him in the primary.

M. There is movement in the figures in chart/Figure 15. Looks like savings increased for groups in the last several years. From 2008-9 3% more people joined the 50 to 99 K group and from 2009 to 2010 5% joined the 100 to 250K group. Looks like they sold their mutual funds and increased their savings. Maybe they were forced to bail out of their 401ks if they lost a job? IDK. Just saying.

If we had more stimulus, QE would be unnecessary. Stimulus drives demand, demand drives business revenue, business revenue drives profits, and profits drive employment and spending. Maybe even inflation — a long way down the road.

OE is not a substitute for Fiscal policy (stimulus), nor does it make sense to pursue them simultaneously at near-zero interest rates.

David Dayen has a fresh cross-post already in progress: Uninsured Rise to 59 Million in 2010

Sorry, no edit function. A simpler answer would have been that the purpose of stimulus is not to drive down interest rates.

I’d like to hear a candidate speak to the issue in the way that you’ve framed it. I doubt I’m alone there. A real leader would help people understand how they’ve been cheated and/or would do something about it.

That is the essence. No leadership representing the “general welfare.”

M. I am fascinated at how diabolical they are about stealing from our kids (40 and younger). I read today how one group is scheming to trade eliminating the payroll tax for a specified period in exchange for raising the retirement age. They projected that they could create 500 billion dollars per year in induced ‘demand’ for the market by eliminating payroll taxes. Workers would perceive a 6.2 percent raise, employers would realize a 6.2 % benefit, and future retirees would get screwed.

The word is diabolical. Good call.

Yep and I promise people will buy it. They don’t want no gumnint managing their money for them.

I voted against every tax cut on the ballot last week, and for every tax increase :) It felt good.

The majority of the measures included in the ARRA act of 2009,
were expansion of unemployment, increase in health care spending,(what??)education, energy and infrastructure.
While I agree most of this is necessary, This is not what
fuels an economy for the long run. The original proposal was $827 billion versus $787 which included $275 billion tax cuts, mainly to workers making under $70000

This post is primarily directed at people who have already retired.

The savings rate has increased dramatically in the last couple of years, from 1 or 2% to around 6%, but we don’t know how much of that is going into retirement savings and how much is debt reduction. The latter doesn’t increase the amounts available to retirees but we hope it will make it easier for people to start saving for what is bound to be a lousy retirement environment.

The Catfood Commission is making it clear that they want to “save” Social Security by reducing payments and making it unnecessary to repay the “loans” the Trust Fund made to the Treasury. The Rs want to slash spending, and the only way they can do that is to cut Medicare. Any person who can is going to increase savings as much as possible.

This is shaping up to be a real disaster.

Good point. We have too much money for unneeded private investment, and to little for mandatory public investment. QE II doesn’t solve either, it worsens the first by increasing the amounts available for speculation and overseas investment.

I agree, and I don’t understand how QE II is supposed to fix that. Bernanke can’t explain it either. In the close to his Op-Ed, he says he needs help on the fiscal policy front, but it comes across as pathetic.

And the first two years are up, and that was the historic moment. Foolish sigh of relief (for status quo) – he did not do a damn thing.

It was not a failure, it was to plan.

Get someone how can even the crash of R’s and bounce back to the two party lies, rather than addressing the problems.

Someone noted that when the Unions lost all their power the D’s jumped ship into the finance/etc – and for some reason thought they could do R better than R – well that is not the case since the greed is absolute. Sadly that means both parties go to the same sources of funding – and everyone that is not rich is now out of money, and many underwater. Governments don’t save drowing humans, only drowning interests.

eCAHN, you are the kewlest! I’m proud to “know” you.

Anybody looking at what is happening and not realizing that the purpose is to destroy the middle class, and this country, is either blind or stupid IMO. The Fed is driving up inflation and destroying the dollar so that those on fixed incomes will be forced to live on their savings since there will be cuts to SS and Medicare coming from the Gov’t at the same time, while those with jobs will see no pay raises. Heavy hitters have all moved into gold, or put their savings into foreign currencies, while ordinary people with their dollar denominated savings will be forced into volatile markets or have their diluted dollars eaten up by inflation.

The near-zero interest rate is a good thing for government financing. I agree with Randy Wray that the federal fund rate should be locked in at .025% permanently, if we refinanced all federal debt at that rate, it would cut by 95% the $5 trillion in projected debt service this decade (a trillion more than is cut by the Bowles-Simpson chainsaw plan).

How do we help seniors overcome this loss of interest income? You must be widen your gaze masaccio. Nearly every senior is enrolled in Medicare Part B and pays $110 a month in premiums deducted from their Social Security check. Most are also nrolled in Medicare Part D its another $40 or so a month. If Congress simply had all Medicare premiums paid out of general revenue, that would effectively increase average Social Security benefits by $1800 a year. which, of course, would provide the most help to those lowest on the income scale). Want to do still more for seniors (and who doesn’t? I should call my mom). Then reduce the deductible (Part A, $1112, Part B $146, Part D, $350) and put in a catastrophic cap on Medicare spending (no Medicare cap presently). DoD’s Tricare has $50 a year deductible with a $1000 a year catastrophic cap , that’ll work.

After all, Uncle Sam can certainly afford to buy more when the cost of money is nothing. Alas, no one in Washington seems to understand that.