The rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer -- and all the while the corporate-owned U.S. government finds new ways to assure that this inhumane trend will continue indefinitely.

---

BillMoyers.com / By Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers: We Are Living in the United States of Inequality

"A petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government."

April 12, 2013 | From BIll Moyers.com:

The unprecedented level of economic inequality in America is undeniable. In an extended essay, Bill Moyers shares examples of the striking extremes of wealth and poverty across the country, including a video report on California’s Silicon Valley. There, Facebook, Google, and Apple are minting millionaires, while the area’s homeless — who’ve grown 20 percent in the last two years — are living in tent cities at their virtual doorsteps.

“A petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government,” says Moyers, “while millions of people keep falling through the gaping hole that has turned us into the United States of Inequality.”

[Full Transcript Available at Original]

Blogger's Note: Americans with insufficient retirement savings to get by in the U.S. should seriously consider retiring in Mexico. You can live much cheaper here ...and see 4th video on right hand side.

---

Headlined to H4 3/13/13

America's Retirement Crisis
By Stephen Lendman (about the author)                               Permalink
OpEdNews Op Eds 3/13/2013 at 02:16:41

opednews.com

America's Retirement Crisis

by Stephen Lendman

Crisis conditions exist.

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.

The percentage of those expecting to retire after age 65 increased to 37%. In 1991, only 11% expected to do so.

One-third of US workers expect to retire at age 70 or older. Growing numbers expect never being able to do so.

Over two-thirds expect to work at least part-time past age 65. At the same time, health and economic crisis conditions keep many of them from doing so.

Nearly one-third are woefully unprepared. Their savings are less than $1,000. Many others have nothing in reserve. Around 60% have less than $25,000.

Fewer than half of working Americans calculated how much they need in retirement. About two-thirds feel they're behind schedule preparing for it.

Only 14% believe they're adequately prepared. Only one-third have defined benefit plans.

Few understand retirement healthcare costs. Medicare is eroding as treatment expenses soar.

Protracted economic crisis conditions, high unemployment, growing poverty, and other concerns create enormous uncertainties. Most workers approaching retirement haven't prepared. Covering expenses is harder than ever.

Economics Professor/retirement expert Teresa Ghilarducci says maintaining living standards in retirement requires 20 times annual income in savings. 

Few Americans are prepared. Three-fourths nearing age 65 have less than $30,000 saved. "For the first time in US history," she says, "every source of retirement income is under siege."

Professor James Russell discussed it, saying:

" The great 30-year experiment in 401(k) and similar retirement financing schemes that depend on stock market investments has failed." 

Even before the" 2008 crash, clear signs showed "that very few workers would be able to accumulate enough wealth through these accounts to insure retirement financial security."

Since the 19th century, every generation was better off than previous ones. No longer. Institutionalized inequality victimizes most Americans. It's been that way since the mid-1970s.

Examples include eroded unionization, stagnant wages, lost benefits, Social Security and Medicare under siege, and high-risk defined contribution plans replacing secure defined benefit ones.

The 1978 Revenue Act changed things. Sections 401(k), 403(b), and 457 let retirement plan contributions be made with pretax dollars.

Employers bait and switch. They exploit workers advantageously. They replace defined benefit plans with defined contribution ones. 

They often don't work. They falsely claim worker investments provide secure retirement income. Evidence shows otherwise.

Lifetime obligations exceed what most people save. Financial services industry con artists skim huge profits off the top. They do so in large commissions. They add up over time. 

Social Security, public pensions, and defined benefit plans work as intended. They support retirement security. Marketplace uncertainty is eliminated.

Money power runs America. It controls Obama and congressional majorities. It's destroying the future of millions. A new Senate study explains more.

Most retirees face financial trouble. They're worse off than their parents and grandparents. Protracted Main Street depression conditions destroyed 40% of personal wealth. 

High unemployment compounds trouble. So do stagnant wages, eroding benefits, and savings paying virtually no interest.

Stock market gains go mainly to rich elites. Progressive economists express concerns. Americans are increasingly on their own sink or swim. Retirement security is fast disappearing.

America's social contract is under siege. Class war rages. Social Security and Medicare are targeted for elimination. Wealth, power, privilege, and dominance alone matter.

Fiscal cliff doublespeak duplicity conceals what's planned. Bipartisan double-dealing targets America's middle class and millions most disadvantaged.

A new Senate report says America faces a huge retirement savings deficit. It's about $6.6 trillion. It's about $57,000 per household. It's double or more what most households have in savings. It assures current crisis conditions worsening.

Based on Federal Reserve data, the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) estimates 53% of US workers aged 30 or older woefully unprepared for retirement.

In 2001, it was 38%. In 1989, it was 30%. Other studies confirm CRR's findings.

Alicia Munnell serves as CRR director. "There is a mismatch between retirement needs rising and retirement benefits contracting," she says.

Current conditions are polar opposite earlier ones. From Social Security's 1935 enactment through the mid-1970s, things improved for most Americans.

No longer. Most people are increasingly on their own. They're woefully unprepared. They earn and save too little. Trouble awaits them later on. Dire economic conditions exacerbates things.

Recent retirement policy changes contribute to growing inequality. Washington grants at least $80 billion annually in tax breaks to encourage 401(k)-type accounts. 

Benefits go largely to upper-income households. The system is rigged for them. It's done at the expense of most others.

Those earning $200,000 annually and contributing 15% of pay to retirement savings reap an additional $7,000.

Workers receiving $20,000 and contributing the same percentage get nothing. They don't earn enough to qualify. Others earning $50,000 get about $2,100.

Workers in defined benefit plans face uncertainty. They're underfunded and eroding. Benefits are frozen and disappearing. 

Public pensions have similar problems. They're being looted. They're targeted for eventual elimination. They may be gone in another decade or sooner.

Most households today have few options. Government scoundrels target them. Austerity substitutes for help. Dire conditions are worsening.

One worker spoke for others. He's aged 60. He thought he'd be comfortable in retirement. In 2002, he was laid off. "People talk about a lost decade," he said. "That's what I've been through," he stressed.

He spent the last 10 years struggling. He was in and out of low pay/poor benefit/part-time contract jobs. He drained his savings to get by. Doing so excludes retiring when he planned.

Growing millions suffer similar hardships. Nothing is done to help them. Bipartisan harshness substitutes. America's future looks grim.

Power politics replaced fairness. Corporate empowerment and privilege are institutionalized. Wealth is disproportionately shared. Ordinary people are exploited. Growing millions are left high and dry. 

America is rife with corruption and gangsterism. The criminal class in Washington is bipartisan. Kleptocrats run things. They're complicit with corporate crooks. Poverty, unemployment, hunger and homelessness are at near record levels.

Social justice are four-letter words. Police state harshness confronts resisters. Big monied interests alone matter. Obama's committed to serve them. So are party bosses and most congressional members. 

America's unfit to live in. It's unprincipled and morally reprehensible. It force-feeds hard times. The worst by far is yet to come. 

America's "going to crash big time," says Paul Craig Roberts. Humanity hopes it'll happen in time to matter.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at Email address removed . 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

Hear it from a thinking Democrat: "Throughout his tenure, Obama's done what supporters thought impossible. He's governed to the right of George Bush. He mocks rule of law principles and other democratic values. He prioritizes wars on humanity. He's waging multiple direct and proxy ones. War on terror subterfuge disguises them."

---

Headlined to H3 1/16/13
Obama: Money Power's Point Man
By Stephen Lendman (about the author)          Permalink      
OpEdNews Op Eds 1/16/2013 at 01:29:21

opednews.com

Obama: Money Power's Point Man

Obama menaces humanity.

by Stephen Lendman

Throughout his tenure, Obama's done what supporters thought impossible. He's governed to the right of George Bush.

He mocks rule of law principles and other democratic values. He prioritizes wars on humanity. He's waging multiple direct and proxy ones. War on terror subterfuge disguises them.

He plans more. He's sending US special forces to 35 African countries. They already infest most others. CIA elements operate everywhere. They come to destabilize and disrupt, not help.

France attacked Mali. Obama offered support. Ravaging another another northern African country is planned. Expect others to follow. 

Obama prioritizes replacing independent governments with pro-Western puppet ones. He mocks legitimate governance.

He challenges Russia's military strength. He targets China's growing economic might. At the same time, he's in bed with rogue Israeli governance. He supports some of the most ruthless corrupt tyrants.  

He's economically and socially destructive at home. He spurns popular interests. He looted the nation's wealth. He wrecked the economy. He consigned growing millions to impoverishment without jobs. 

He institutionalized tyranny. He targets dissenters. Challenging political corruption, corporate crooks, or abuse of power lawlessness endangers anyone who tries. 

He's a con man. After all the harm he caused, half the country still supports him. He gets away with murder and much more. 

Most people haven't a clue. They're out of touch. They don't understand what harms them. They ignore their own welfare. 

Some perhaps don't care. Others are dismissive. They know more about bread and circuses than vital major issues to address.

Obama takes full advantage. He governs lawlessly. He's in bed with corrupted monied interests. They own him. 

He plans throwing most Americans under the bus. It's his scheme to give them more. America is more hypocrisy than democracy.

Obama is money power's point man. He takes orders and salutes. He prioritizes destroying America's social contract. Domestic budget cuts will be made on the backs of ordinary people.
 
On January 14, he did what he does best. He lied. He's a serial liar. He's a moral coward. In the White House East Room, he held his final first term press conference . Duplicity substituted for truth.

Republicans and Democrats agreed years ago to erode vital social benefits en route to eliminating them altogether. Obama pretends otherwise.

"They (Republicans) will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy," he said.

"The financial well-being of the American people is not leverage to be used. The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip."

Remember years earlier. He stressed "shared sacrifice." Left unexplained then and now is who shares and who sacrifices.

Things haven't changed. Rhetoric belies hardline policies. Political theater conceals harsh realities.

Duopoly power runs America. Global monied interests own it. Not a dime's worth of difference separates Democrats from Republicans. On issues mattering most, they're in lockstep.

Ordinary Americans have been targeted for decades. Since the mid-1970s, average inflation adjusted incomes for most people fell. 

People struggle to get by. Growing millions are impoverished. Real unemployment is 23%. It nearly matches Great Depression levels. Hunger and homelessness are major problems. Force-fed austerity is planned when stimulus is vitally needed.

Obama doesn't explain. Media scoundrels don't hold his feet to the fire. Right-wing ones attack him for the wrong reasons. The Wall Street Journal headlined "Obama Escalates Debt Fight," saying:
 
His message was "confrontational." He drew "battle lines." They've "hardened ahead of the next budget fight." The Journal warned about hitting America's "borrowing limit."

The nation's debt ceiling is more illusion than fact. It's practically automatically raised when reached or shortly after.

Neither party wants voters blaming them for crashing the economy. Reality takes precedence over bluster, scoring political points, and one-upsmanship.

Journal editors said more. They editorialized " The Next Tax Increase ," saying:

"The new tax hike is barely law and Obama already wants more."

"He won't negotiate with Republicans," he claims. Spending cuts and higher taxes go together like ham and eggs.

He larded the yearend agreement with tens of billions of dollars in corporate benefits. He's got lots more in mind. He's doing it on the backs of ordinary people.

"Once upon a time," said Journal editors, "the Democratic political strategy was 'tax, spend and elect.' And then tax some more. Republicans" better get the message "or they'll end up having to raise taxes again."

A second editorial headlined " They Have Suspicions ," saying:

"Obama demonizes anyone who disagrees with him."

If "fiscal negotiations are going nowhere, perhaps it's because the president simply won't make an honest argument."

If Journal editors won't tell readers about bipartisan complicity to destroy America's social contact, perhaps it's because they don't want them to know.
 
Nor does Bloomberg . It headlined "Congress Can Resolve the Debt-Limit Crisis. Really," saying:

The "absurd has become sadly commonplace in Washington."
Obama "compar(es) Congress to a bunch of deadbeat diners who refuse to pay their bill."

At the same time, he "was careful to say this was a crisis Congress would have to solve."

The criminal class in Washington is bipartisan. It's longstanding. It's worse now than ever. Media scoundrels substitute bluster for plain truth.

Fiscal cliff hype reflects doublespeak duplicity. Financial crisis conditions don't exist. Bloomberg, Journal editors, and other media scoundrels won't explain. Stoking fear, concealing truth, and blaming victims furthers their agenda.

Obama, complicit Republicans, and most Democrats operate the same way. Demagoguery substitutes for telling it like it is. Both parties are two sides of the same coin.

Neither one explains. Media scoundrels duck and cover. Grand bargain betrayal was planned long ago. Political theater conceals its harshness.

At issue isn't deficit cutting. It's destroying America's social contract. It prioritizes what bankers, other corporate favorites, and super-rich elites want most. 

It's third-worldizing America. Neo-serfdom is planned. Most Americans haven't a clue. Dark forces take full advantage. 

Obama's their point man. He's got four more years to finish what his first term began. Worse than ever times loom. They've been happening gradually for decades. 
 
They're planned incrementally. It's like boiling a frog. Eliminating America's social contract is on the menu. It'll be dinner when served. 

America already isn't fit to live in. Imagine how much worse ahead is planned.

                                                   ******
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at Email address removed . 
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
click here
click here

I was born in 1934, am a retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.