Thoughts from Chairman Carr


If you don’t believe the right wing echo chamber has brain washed the American public just ask

a millennial if Social Security will be there for them! Voting matters and elections have

consequences and the less informed on the issues the electorate is the more likely they will

vote against their own economic and self interests! I am still trying to wrap my head around

the fact that a man like Donald Trump is our commander and chief. The voters have spoke and

now we shall see what comes next. It is never a good idea to give one political party control of

all three branches of our federal government and the future of the Supreme Court. A court

whose rulings will impact our future for decades to come handing down decisions likely to be

anti union which will impact not only retirees and workers but also our children and grand

children.

I don’t consider myself part of a privileged few but my local paper recently ran an article on the

front page titled “ Worry- free retirement is only for a privileged few”. I do agree with the first

line of the article which states “ The American dream of a blissful retirement, free of financial

worries is dying”. The advent of the 401k, IRA defined compensation plans which shifted the

risk and responsibility from the employer to the employee and has lined the pockets of Wall

Street is in my open why the American dream of a financially secure retirement is dying. The

echo chamber which historically has demonized defined benefits as well as Social Security,

Medicare and Medicaid is why a worry free retirement is shrinking more and more! This crisis

is the result of a system that’s increasingly put workers in charge of saving for and managing

their own retirement. Because the U.S. households at the top have reaped most of the income

gains over the past decade- and because they have disproportionately more access to

retirement plans to begin with – experts say the gap in retirement savings is only growing

wider. With traditional pensions increasingly becoming extinct, it's grown even more important

for Americans to save. Decades ago, workers could depend on getting a set, monthly check in

their golden years. In 1979, 38 percent of private sector workers were participating in a

traditional pension plan.

By 2013, only 13 percent of private sector workers were participating in a traditional pension,

most of those workers were participating in both a pension and a 401k or similar program.

Nearly all employer-sponsored retirement plans 94 percent are 401k style programs instead of

traditional pensions. I repeat elections have consequences and a uninformed electorate

influenced by a bias echo chamber with an agenda of profits over people will implement

policies which will negatively impact us all!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *