This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

No One Told You When To Run, You Missed The Starting Gun

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

Pink Floyd – Time

I stumbled across two mind blowing charts yesterday that had me pondering how generations of Americans had frittered their lives away, spending money they didn’t have  on things they didn’t need, utilizing easy to acquire debt, and saving virtually nothing for their futures or a rainy day. We are a nation of Peter Pans who never grew up. While I was driving home from work, one of my favorite Pink Floyd tunes came on the radio and the lyrics to Time seemed to fit perfectly with the charts I had just discovered.

We were all young once. Old age and retirement don’t even enter your thought process when you are young. Most people aren’t sure what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they are in their early twenties. Slaving away at your entry level low paying job, chasing the opposite sex, getting drunk, and having fun on the weekends is the standard for most young people. But you eventually have to grow up. Because one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one tells you when to grow up. And based on the charts below, tens of millions missed the starting gun.

I graduated college in 1986 and started my entry level CPA firm job, making $18,000 per year. I did live at home for a year and a half before getting an apartment with a friend. I was able to buy a car, pay off my modest student loan debt, go out on the weekends, and still save some money. I was in my early 20’s and had opened a mutual fund account at Vanguard. Anyone who entered the job market from the mid 1970s through the mid 1980’s, which would be the late Baby Boomers and early Generation Xers, had job opportunities and the benefit of low stock market valuations.

P/E ratios of the market were single digits in the late 70s and early 80s, versus 20 today. Dividend yields on stocks averaged 5% for the S&P 500, versus 1.9% today. The Dow bottomed out at 759 in 1980, while the S&P 500 bottomed at 98. A 20 year secular bull market was about to get under way. Baby Boomers and Generation Xers had the opportunity of a lifetime. Even after six years of the bull, when I graduated from college the Dow stood at 1,786 and the S&P 500 stood at 521. I had just begun to invest when the 1987 crash wiped out 20% in one day. It meant nothing to me. I didn’t have much to lose, so I just kept investing.

The 20 year bull market took the Dow from 759 to 11,722 by January 2000. The S&P 500 rose from 98 to 1,552 by March 2000. You also averaged about a 3% dividend yield per year over the entire 20 years. Your average annual return, including reinvested dividends, exceeded 17%. Anyone who even saved a minimal amount of money on a monthly basis, would have built a substantial nest egg for retirement. If you had invested in 10 Year Treasuries, your annual return would have exceeded 11% over the 20 years. Even an ultra-conservative investor who only put their money into 5 year CDs would have averaged better than 7% per year over the 20 years.

Even with the two stock market collapses since 2000, your average annual return in the stock market since 1980 still exceeds 11%. That’s 34 years with an average annual total return of better than 11%. Every person who had a job over this time frame should have accumulated a decent level of retirement savings. That is why the chart below is so shocking. Over 15% of all people 60 and older and 23% of people 45 to 59 years old have NO retirement savings. None. Nada. Zilch. This means 25 million Boomers and Xers are stuck living off a Social Security pittance and choosing between keeping the heat on or eating a feast of Ramen noodles and Friskies. It seems they let 30 years get behind them. They missed the starting gun.

http://www.mybudget360.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/retirement-savings.png

I’m not shocked that over 50% of 18 to 29 year olds have no retirement savings. With the terrible job market, declining real wages, massive levels of student loan debt, two stock market crashes in the space of eight years, and 4% annual returns since 2000, young people today have neither the means nor trust in the system to save for retirement. Their elders had no such excuse. Just a minimal amount per paycheck saved over the last 30 years would have compounded to well over $100,000, even at modest salary levels. It is disgraceful that 25 million people over the age of 45 have saved nothing for their retirement. Far more disgraceful is the median household retirement balance of $3,000 for all working age households. There are 122 million households in this country and 61 million of them have $3,000 or less in retirement savings.

http://www.mybudget360.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/20130620__figure9.jpg

The far worse data points are the $12,000 median retirement balance of aged 55 to 64 households and the $10,100 median retirement balance of aged 45 to 54 households. These people are on the edge of retirement and have less than one year’s expenses saved. There is no legitimate excuse for this pitiful display of planning. These people had decades to save, strong financial market returns, and if they worked for a decent size organization – matching contributions to their retirement accounts. They didn’t need a huge salary. They didn’t need to save 20% of their salary. They didn’t have to be an investing genius. A savings allocation of just 3% to 5% would have grown into a decent sized nest egg after a few decades of compounding.

We know from the data in the chart, it didn’t happen. The concept of delayed gratification is unknown to the millions of nearly broke Boomers and Xers, shuffling towards an old age of poverty, misery and regret. A 64 year old has a life expectancy of about 20 years. They’ll have to budget “very” frugally to make that $12,000 last. The question is how did it happen. I don’t buy the load of crap that you can’t judge people as groups. I judge people by their actions, not their words. I know you can’t lump every Boomer and Xer into one box. Individuals in every generation have bucked the trend, lived within their means, saved for the future, and accumulated significant nest eggs for their retirement. But the aggregate numbers don’t lie. The majority of those over the age of 45 have squandered their chance at a relatively comfortable retirement. These are the people who most vociferously insist the government do something about their self created plight. It’s their right to free healthcare, free food, subsidized housing, free utilities, higher minimum wages, and a comfortable government subsidized retirement. They are wrong. They had a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was up to them to educate themselves, get a job, work hard, and accumulate savings.

The generations of live for today, don’t worry about tomorrow Americans over the age of 45 have no one to blame but themselves. They bought those 4,500 sq foot McMansions with negative amortization 0% down mortgages. They had to keep up with the Jones-es by putting in granite counter-tops, stainless steel appliances, home theaters, Olympic sized swimming pools, and enormous decks. They have HDTVs in every room in their house and must have every premium cable channel along with the NFL package. They upgrade their phones every time Apple rolls out a new and improved version. They pay landscapers to manicure their properties. They lease new BMWs every three years. They have taken exotic vacations on an annual basis. They haven’t packed a lunch for themselves since they were 16 years old. Eating out for lunch and dinner has been a staple of their existence for decades. That morning Starbucks coffee is a given. A new wardrobe of name brand stylish clothes for every season is a requirement because your neighbors and co-workers are constantly judging you. Nothing proves you’re a success like a Rolex watch, Canali suit, Versace boots, or Gucci handbag. The have it now generations got it then and have virtually nothing now because they acquired all of these things with debt.

Real cumulative household income is up 10% since 1980. Consumer debt outstanding has risen from $350 billion in 1980 to $3.267 trillion today. That is a 933% increase. We’ve had decades of faux prosperity aided and abetted by Wall Street shysters, corrupt politicians, mega-corporation mass merchandisers, and Madison Avenue maggots trained in the methods of Edward Bernays to convince willfully ignorant consumers to consume. And consume we did. Saving, not so much. You can blame the oligarchs, bankers, retailers, and politicians for the fact you didn’t save, but it rings hollow. No matter how much propaganda is spewed by the ruling class, we are still individuals with free will. The older generations had choices. Saving money requires only one thing – spending less than you make. Most Boomers and Xers chose to spend more than they made and financed the difference. When the average credit card balance is five times greater than the median retirement account balance, you’ve got a problem. The facts about our consumer empire of debt are unequivocal as can be seen in these statistics:

  • Average credit card debt: $15,593
  • Average debt: $153,184
  • Average student loan debt: $32,511
  • $11.62 trillion in total debt
  • $880.3 billion in credit card debt
  • $8.05 trillion in mortgages
  • $1.12 trillion in student loans

I don’t blame those in their 20’s and 30’s for not having retirement savings. Anyone who entered the workforce around the year 2000 has good reason to not trust the system or their elders. There have been two stock market collapses and every asset class is now extremely overvalued due to the criminal machinations of the Federal Reserve. There are far less good paying jobs. Real wages keep declining. They were convinced by their elders to load up on student loan debt, leaving them as debt serfs. The Wall Street/Federal Reserve scheme to boost home prices and repair their insolvent balance sheets has successfully kept young people from ever being able to afford a home. So you have young people unable to save, invest or spend. You have middle aged and older Americans with little or no savings, mountains of debt, low paying service jobs, and an inability to spend. The only people left with resources are the .1% who have captured the system, peddle the debt, and reap the rewards of consumption versus saving. They may be able to engineer a stock market rally to further enrich themselves, but they can not propel the real economy of 318 million people. Our consumer society is dying – asphyxiated by debt – shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

I’d love to offer some sage advice on how to fix this problem, but it’s too late. Too many people missed the starting gun. More than ten years got behind them. No one is going to come to the rescue of people who never saved for their future. The Federal government has already made $200 trillion of entitlement promises it can’t keep. State governments have made tens of trillions in pension promises they can’t keep. They can’t tax young people who don’t have jobs. Older generations who think the government is going to rescue them from their foolish shortsighted choices are badly mistaken. Their benefits are likely to be reduced because the unsustainable will not be sustained. The 45 to 64 year old cohort who chose not to save can run and run to try and catch up with the sun, but it’s too late. It’s sinking. Their plans have come to naught. They are destined for lives of quiet desperation. There is nothing more to say.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter; never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I’d something more to say.

Pink Floyd – Time

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:36 | 5471754 HedgeAccordingly
HedgeAccordingly's picture

well.. you can just DRINK another beer .. if you were layed off .........

http://hedgeaccordingly.com/2014/11/anheuser-busch-lays-off-st-louis-emp...

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:45 | 5471775 Anusocracy
Anusocracy's picture

Smothered by government.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:55 | 5471803 kliguy38
kliguy38's picture

Mitch McConnell........just another NWO puppett

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:16 | 5472149 Thanatos
Thanatos's picture

What!

No Retirement Plan?

Shit. Call Me Now!

888-555-5353

Eye Can Help!

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 02:44 | 5472833 BuddyEffed
BuddyEffed's picture

Hey ZH, these would also be great Pink Floyd lyrics to do an economic article around : 

http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/dogs-animals-lyrics.html

You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need.
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street,
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed.
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight,
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

...

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:52 | 5471793 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

A-B and the rest of the macrobrewers can suck a bag of dicks. Support your local microbrewer!

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:16 | 5472148 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

The lyrics from Pink Floyd's "Time" stuck in my head the first time I heard them in the summer of 1973.  I have come to realize that this song had the greatest influence on my life. 

Late boomers and Gen Xers had a better economy but also a pretty good warning.  "Dark Side of the Moon" is filled with several important warnings.  I heeded them all and any young person today should listen to the album and get educated.

In terms of its influence on me it is easily the greatest album of my life.

 

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:18 | 5472161 Thanatos
Thanatos's picture

Yeah man.

Lots of deep and dark stuff.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 12:30 | 5473965 detached.amusement
detached.amusement's picture

yeah, I got lots of great advice back in those days, many of it would have made me a lot of money, if I had much of any to have invested in the first place.  get rich and invest?  ok thanks yellen.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:13 | 5471869 gimme-gimme-gimme
gimme-gimme-gimme's picture

Well maybe you can take some initiative! If you know you are scheduled to run go and ask!

People who take some initiative are more likely NOT to get laid off.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 06:41 | 5472993 thunderchief
thunderchief's picture

I think this article misses a few very important things.

Most people don't have full time jobs from youth till retirement and the system in the USA is very predatory, designed to ensure you are broke by retirement.

Layoffs, healthcare bills, lawsuits, Wall Street scams, the list is endless, and if you talked to all those broke people its a few simple things that broke them throughout the years with no safetynet.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 09:34 | 5473250 skipjack
skipjack's picture

Bull. All they had to do was live below their means. They didn't, still don't. You can't fix stupid, but you can try.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:43 | 5471767 Buster Cherry
Buster Cherry's picture

Lost me.when you said you graduated.in 1986 making 18000 a year in your accounting firm.

I made more than you as an apprentice building engineer during the same time period.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:48 | 5471784 moonshadow
moonshadow's picture

wow i'm so impressed

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 00:56 | 5472681 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

A "building engineer" is what, a euphemism for janitor?

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 09:37 | 5473265 skipjack
skipjack's picture

If you were working in 1986, then you know that $18k bought you quite a lot. In 1986 I was making 15k as a junior programmer at IBM. It was a good salary for the time; I had a house with a 15 yr mortgage and a paid-off car on that money. Not to mention the 13+ % interest I was making on savings.

 

Good times :)

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:52 | 5471789 Rikeska
Rikeska's picture

Waters is a brilliant lyricist.

Makes me want to take about 5 hits of blotter and spark up the bong.

Probably not a bad idea at this point.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:53 | 5472283 wendigo
wendigo's picture

I wonder what percentage of the posters here have done psychedelic drugs. I know I'm gulty. 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:07 | 5472350 stacking12321
stacking12321's picture

guilty of what? wanting to connect with the world around you and within you more directly, without preconceived notions and social conditioning?

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 03:38 | 5472882 Par Contre
Par Contre's picture

Stick to 1 hit for a start, and then if it's a good trip you can do a second hit a couple of hours later.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 04:11 | 5472907 Buck O Five
Buck O Five's picture

"The folded paper holds their faces to the floor, and everyday the paperboy brings more"

There's something in that for all of us

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:54 | 5471801 Longarm
Longarm's picture

Wish you were here....

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:58 | 5471807 Wilcox1
Wilcox1's picture

The ramen noodles might be affordable, but no way to afford the name brand Friskies.  Its gonna have to be the Aldi store brand catfood for the protein

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 20:58 | 5471815 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

Are we not going to ask WHY the markets have enjoyed such a spectacular rise, or for those with timely luck, just sit back and enjoy your brilliance? The moral delimma.Play in the corrupt market for fast cash and faster women, or stay the fuck out.

I'm out. If I can't invest in myself and make it, then I just don't deserve to make it. Why are we so intent on investing in other people and their schemes? Are we that weak or stupid? Is there nothing worth having that comes from our own hands and minds? Does anyone see any correlation to our outsourcing of our security to government rather than retaining our rsponsibility for ourselves? How does this end well for anyone?

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:41 | 5471824 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

Dogs.

"And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw
around.
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,
Dragged down by the stone.

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused.
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this
maze?

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend.
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun,
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer.

Who was born in a house full of pain.
Who was trained not to spit in the fan.
Who was told what to do by the man.
Who was broken by trained personnel.
Who was fitted with collar and chain.
Who was given a pat on the back.
Who was breaking away from the pack.
Who was only a stranger at home.
Who was ground down in the end.
Who was found dead on the phone.
Who was dragged down by the stone."

 

 

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 01:07 | 5472699 AGuy
AGuy's picture

"The Dogs Of War"

Dogs of war and men of hate
With no cause, we don't discriminate
Discovery is to be disowned
Our currency is flesh and bone
Hell opened up and put on sale
Gather 'round and haggle
For hard cash, we will lie and deceive
Even our masters don't know the web we weave
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world
Invisible transfers, long distance calls,
Hollow laughter in marble halls
Steps have been taken, a silent uproar
Has unleashed the dogs of war
You can't stop what has begun
Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
We all have a dark side, to say the least
And dealing in death is the nature of the beast
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world
The dogs of war won't negotiate
The dogs of war don't capitulate,
They will take and you will give,
And you must die so that they may live
You can knock at any door,
But wherever you go, you know they've been there before
Well winners can lose and things can get strained
But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain.
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:03 | 5471826 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

When you are systematically raped every ten years by the banksters and don't have a government pension to rely on it is difficult to have a six figure retirement account set aside. Not everyone screwed themselves.....

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:18 | 5471881 Bangalore Equit...
Bangalore Equity Trader's picture

Listen A L,

Yea, so we have to take a minute to analyze the framework surrounding pension dynamics.

It's time to see more on The Hedge regarding .this

Many people are all-in. It will be the catalyst in USSA for violent change.

Thanks Bagalore Equit...

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:12 | 5471863 ChanceIs
ChanceIs's picture

Retirement schmirement.

Don't bother about it.  The government will take care of me.  Why just look.  We have a Messiah who just fed 10 million criminal barbarians - oopps, I mean illegal aliens, ooooops, I must have meant  undocumented immigrants with two loaves and five fish.  Why worry about saving for retirment?  This is the land of plenty.

I have become just so comfortably numb.

What was that?  If I don't eat my meat, I can't have any pudding?

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:14 | 5471865 AwkwardReader
AwkwardReader's picture

Welcome to the Machine MotheFkers.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:27 | 5471927 SubjectivObject
SubjectivObject's picture

That's OK

We know where you've been.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:19 | 5471885 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"I had just begun to invest when the 1987 crash wiped out 20% in one day. It meant nothing to me. I didn’t have much to lose, so I just kept investing."

 

That was not the way i looked at it.  The October 1987 crash was equivalent to the 2 day 1929 crash.  After the 1929 crash, the DOW didn't stop going down until it had lost a total of about 90 percent from the 1929 peak.

Quinn can spout off all the numbers he wants about how high the market went over the last 35 years, but 1987 had a profound negative effect on me, going forward.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:23 | 5472180 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

It was the tech crash that did me in.  Nobody knew about bubbles then.  Except the Japanese, I guess.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:18 | 5471886 drdolittle
drdolittle's picture

What a fucking coicidence, just happened to be listening to Dark side of the moon

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:36 | 5472456 stacking12321
stacking12321's picture

there are no coincidences in the matrix.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:26 | 5471902 gswifty
gswifty's picture

Hindsite is 20/20. Another 'genius' who thinks everything worked out for him because he's deserving and anyone else who it didn't is a fool. Factor in catastrophic illness, loss of a job or a divorce, or some other unseen event and things didn't work out so great. The runs not done yet dickhead. Hope karma catches up to you before your days are done. You don't have the answers and your words reak of social darwinism. Fuck off.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:04 | 5472090 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"Hindsite is 20/20."

 

Isn't it.  Wait until Quinn wakes up some day and "it's just gone", just like happened in the early 1930's.

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:35 | 5472225 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

"Factor in catastrophic illness, loss of a job or a divorce"

Definitely an oversight by Quinn. 

As someone who faced these things as a child, I vowed to avoid these things as best as I could as an adult.  I paid for an 'education', so I made sure I got an education.

But dealing with these things if they come your way is no joke.

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:16 | 5472390 malek
malek's picture

Another dumbshit going along the lines of "Because I know a single case or two where taking responsibility and saving didn't work out in the end, I declare all such attempts to be futile." (a/k/a I have self-absolved my irresponsibility)

You're full of shit.

Sat, 11/22/2014 - 09:41 | 5476527 gswifty
gswifty's picture

That's not what I said. You're creating a dialogue that's just not there. You should re-think who's full of shit. May I suggest a mirror.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 01:34 | 5472756 AGuy
AGuy's picture

" Factor in catastrophic illness, loss of a job or a divorce, or some other unseen event and things didn't work out so great."

1. Unhealth eating habits (Pizza, Burgers, lots of process foods) lead to illness

2. Marry for looks, Sex, or just to impress your friends (aka keeping up with the jones). The Pretty Wife wants fancy things and contributes little to your financial well-being. She drowns you in debt. When you got nothing left or you need to take that second job just pay down the debt, she kicks you out, and uses the state to sieze any remaining wealth and your future income (alamony, child support).

3. You choose your career poorly, Decided to party in college and settled for a degree that has an oversupply in the jobs market. You took the easy path. After college you muddled through (going on vacation, knocking up the wife and having kids you couldn't really afford). You avoided your career future, and tuned out, watching useless TV and sports. You choose a life of instant gradifcation, using debt and never really considering your long term financial needs.

That said, it probably doesn't really matter how much money you saved. When times get tough, they'll start a nuclear war, and it will be all over for billions in a matter of a few hours. The World will be turned into a giant radioactive cesspool. As Bill Paxton famously said "Game over man, GAME OVER!" Recall that everytime there has been a financial crisis in the making, there has been a Big War. WW 1 was when imperialism ran its course, and the Elites wanted "Moar", Then the Great Depression seeded WW2 as the masses selected luntics that promised them change, but only brought war. Now we are facing the same problems: end of American Imperialism (no more places for the US to control), Another great depression, Cheap energy depletion, and Masses choosing ever greater luntics to lead them over the cliff.

Those under 55 need not apply for retirement as they never will reach retirement age. As Rufus (George Carlin) said "Party On Dudes!" Party on before the planet is turned into a living hell.

"Hope karma catches up to you before your days are done."

Karma is catching to the entire world and no one will be spared except for those that have already passed away.

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:26 | 5471903 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

Nice article.  I often think and talk about these very same numbers.  People seldom believe me because the facts are so incredible.

Do keep in mind that some people intend to, and actually do, sell real estate or a business to fund retirement.  A very small group of people have their retirement funds in precious metals that do not show up on any government survey.  Some whacky parents plan on having their children take care of them in retirement.  Not everyone is counting on Wall Street or the government.

Peace.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:23 | 5471912 Ban KKiller
Ban KKiller's picture

America is lawless if you are a serf...well it works against you anyway. I used to wonder how "those folks" got radicalized and now I know. The constant onslaught of corruption and the lack of redress is going to take its toll. Just remember when you go "nuts" go after banksters. Know any banking criminals who escaped "justice" by just being banksters? 

As noted...welcome to the machine, indeed. There is no way out of here. 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:26 | 5471928 Wilcox1
Wilcox1's picture

If you take a step or two back and look at what happened, it appears the best course was to stay with the group, load up on debt, and have a life. The investor/saver/conservative might be able to hold on to a feeling of morality for awhile, but it will wane when the savings disappear due to no interest on bonds and no dividends on quality equities. Its over. That which can't be paid won't be paid. Policy will have to recognise the plight of the (100% minus 0.01%) huge majority and restructure/forgive the debt hangover. Its inevitable. Responsible people have been at the table more than 15 minutes and havn't identified the patsy. Well we know now.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:57 | 5471940 SweetDoug
SweetDoug's picture




Graduated in spring of ’87. Nice…

That $12-15K job I was hoping to get as a runner in a big shiny tower in the finance business? Well, if I would have taken it, it would have been gone that fall.

I bounced in a bar and tried starting some businesses, making way more than 12K.  Then ’89 hit.

People lost homes and sawed values off by 50%. The home value never recovered until ?2003.

By the late 90’s I had a bit of a nest egg, $27K and turned it into $50K on all those crazy P/E ratio’d stocks and such.

Then I turned it into $23K by 2001.

But I kept going. After listening to Glenn Beck, I pulled out in August of 2008. Good move. I haven’t been back in since, much due to ZeroHedge articles.

My generation, for the most part, has had shitty jobs, shitty luck and every bunch of years, get taken out at the knees, to start over again.

We’ll see how funny everybody thinks they are, the winners right now, as it all feels like 99/2000 again all over again.

Good luck… You're going to need it.

Blind, simple, stupid, doo-dah luck.

•?•
V-V

 

Oh yeah, and for all you grey-hairs out there that have earned SFA on your income because of the ZIRP?…

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:36 | 5472235 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

Hey, I'm livin large on my .5% interest income. I just got a free box of saltine crackers this month!

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:30 | 5471942 skbull44
skbull44's picture

Thus we have more and more retirement-aged workers taking jobs from the youngsters helping to fuel anger and resentment, a sure recipe for increased friction and eventual social chaos.
Things are going exactly as planned....

http://olduvai.ca

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:52 | 5472041 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"Thus we have more and more retirement-aged workers taking jobs from the youngsters."

 

Who is taking jobs from youngsters?  Hewlett Packard lays off 30,000 people under Carley Fiorina.  Multiply by X number of companies and X number of jobs lost.  The people at HP would be glad to be still working there, rather than being downscaled into a lower paying job that might be commonly called entry level.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:04 | 5472325 rejected
rejected's picture

Your right. The corp I work with has laid off thousands. Many retired... None were ever replaced. Workforce in my area went from about 50 to 11. I could retire tomorrow and they would not replace me.

They get their bonuses by laying off people and buying their own stock. This is not going to end well for any group.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:11 | 5472123 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

I made my job..wanna buy it?...didn't think so...

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:33 | 5471962 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"The far worse data points are the $12,000 median retirement balance of aged 55 to 64 households and the $10,100 median retirement balance of aged 45 to 54 households. These people are on the edge of retirement and have less than one year’s expenses saved. There is no legitimate excuse for this pitiful display of planning"

 

You are absolutely full of yourself, Quinn.  Life happens to people.  Divorces, lost jobs eating up savings, etc.  Life isn't just a career path written in stone.

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:18 | 5472395 malek
malek's picture

Another dumbshit. See my comment above.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 10:36 | 5473497 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"Another dumbshit. See my comment above."

 

Don't speak ill of yourself.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 21:48 | 5472018 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"The generations of live for today, don’t worry about tomorrow Americans over the age of 45 have no one to blame but themselves. They bought those 4,500 sq foot McMansions with negative amortization 0% down mortgages. They had to keep up with the Jones-es by putting in granite counter-tops, stainless steel appliances, home theaters, Olympic sized swimming pools, and enormous decks."

 

I suggest Quinn watch some HGTV.  Lots of young people being shown buying McMansions and the first thing they want to do is remodel- "it's outdated".

What Quinn also doesn't bother talking about is that people consuming, produce jobs.  How many people would be out of a job if people didn't buy cars and cell phones and computers, take vacations, etc.  Just how would Quinn have saved up his nest egg without those who consumed whatever they were buying from the company Quinn worked for?


Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:13 | 5472137 moneybots
moneybots's picture

Up yours red arrow.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:00 | 5472067 Kreditanstalt
Kreditanstalt's picture

Get ready for the start of the BLAME GAME.

EVERYONE will be seeking to portray themselves as innocent victims...and they'll be searching for VILLAINS, real or imaginary.   They might be governments, banks, Republicans, Democrats, "legal" immigrants, "illegal" immigrants, Boomers, central banks, unions, the Chinese...whatever. 

But they are really responsible for their own plight. 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:01 | 5472075 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

By age 30 I realized debt was a four letter word and slavery. I vowed to get out, which I did by 35. As for the markets, I got out in 2006-7. Now all my cash is invested in myself, via a small business and a contract business I do for others. In the end, zero money goes in markets, all money goes in my private enterprises. Fuck Wall-Street and all the jerk off, rip off cunts who skim people money and manipulate everything there is a market it. Wall-Street has no say in my life, and no hold on my money. Fuck 'em.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:03 | 5472079 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

yeah, I agree with Yellen, get rich or get rich parents....good advice...yep...

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:10 | 5472116 didthatreallyhappen
didthatreallyhappen's picture

I look forward to retirement as a walmart greeter, lolololol

 

WELCOME TO WALMART

 

 

JK

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:10 | 5472122 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"The 20 year bull market took the Dow from 759 to 11,722 by January 2000. The S&P 500 rose from 98 to 1,552 by March 2000."

And what happened in 1929-1932?

 

"Just a minimal amount per paycheck saved over the last 30 years would have compounded to well over $100,000, even at modest salary levels."

What would another 90% loss in the DOW do to $100,000 dollars?

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:29 | 5472205 matt1021_98
matt1021_98's picture

All these articles and you guys still don't get it. For decades the market has been one of the few ways to actually protect yourself against inflation and the declining dollar

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:52 | 5472276 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"All these articles and you guys still don't get it. For decades the market has been one of the few ways to actually protect yourself against inflation and the declining dollar."

 

In hindsight that sounds all well and good.  I don't remeber people being thrilled at the end of the trading day on October 19, 1987.  They had suddenly lost 22% of what they had the day before.

Take out the ongoing financial fraud and what would the DOW be worth today?

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:56 | 5472296 homebody
homebody's picture

Only get in the game with money you can afford to loose - cash out your initial investment and enjoy the winnings.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:34 | 5472220 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

De Rothschild bank missed the starting gun March 10th 2008 @ 11:00am Bear Stearns time. It no longer matters if millions of Americans missed

the starting gun back in their twenties because the entire global economic

system is imploding before our very eyes. Retirement is now a mugs game.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:40 | 5472239 homebody
homebody's picture

Who could not see that living with growing debt would eventually sink them.  The country has gone the same way - greed and laziness.  It was evident that one should become as self-sufficient as possible and then play their stupid game on their money - if you loose it; fall back on your land, garden, livestock, preps, and friends of the same mind.  Fuck the selfish idiots that bought their toys, vacationed on the islands, and relied totally on government to provide for their future - Darwinism at its best.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:38 | 5472240 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"No one tells you when to grow up. And based on the charts below, tens of millions missed the starting gun."

Or not.

 

How adult was it for millions of French, Brits and Germans to slaughter each other in 1914-1918?  How adult was WW2?

How adult was the American Civil War? How adult was segregation?  How adult was prohibition?

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 22:40 | 5472245 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"I don’t blame those in their 20’s and 30’s for not having retirement savings."

 

But you should Quinn, if you are going to blame anyone else.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:05 | 5472329 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"I don’t blame those in their 20’s and 30’s for not having retirement savings. Anyone who entered the workforce around the year 2000 has good reason to not trust the system or their elders. There have been two stock market collapses and every asset class is now extremely overvalued due to the criminal machinations of the Federal Reserve."

 

Try 1987 Quinn, that you so flippantly dismissed as being a non event and kept on investing in stocks.  You shouldn't have been trusting the system way back then, either.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:31 | 5472443 DipshitMiddleCl...
DipshitMiddleClassWhiteKid's picture

Those in their 20s these days are going to fall even further behind than their parents because there are no jobs for them.

 

There are record numbers of young men out there in their early to late 20s who are NOT working, and if they are, many are working the same menial jobs they had when they grew up.

 

This is REALLY BAD because it stunts their earning growth and potentially kills off any (by never becomining a professional or getting skills).

 

 

I cosnsider myself lucky because im employed at the moment and I have a few friends who are.  We know we're lucky to have what we have, even if its only temporary or has no benefits. 

 

 

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:33 | 5472444 besnook
besnook's picture

on the other hand......the last 80 years have been a miracle of legerdemain. at no time in the history of man have so many people in idle endeavor been taken care of by so few productive people. it is a feat of epic natural accomplishment. in a natural world that punishes the unproductive with unceremonial death man has extended the essence of the seperation of man and beast, a loving kindness, to his fellow unfortunate humans...........while killing and starving other humans for no good reasons.

of cockroaches and men.

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:42 | 5472477 SweetDoug
SweetDoug's picture

'

'

'

Everyone should read this article over at BusyInsideher…

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-conversation-with-a-supermarket-cashier...

 

Here's a hint:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Not really," he said. "I get off at 6. But then I have to walk an hour and a half until I get home."

My face dropped.

"An hour and a half," I said. "What the f---. Why?"

"I don't make enough money to take the bus," he replied.

"How much do you make?" I asked.

"After taxes and after child support," he said, "I make about $100 a week."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a dozy.

 

There are winners and there are losers. And it is a big deal.

 

•?•
V-V

Thu, 11/20/2014 - 23:53 | 5472504 SKY85hawk
SKY85hawk's picture

Jim,

It's nice that you knew what to do at a young age.  Did your parents guide you to success?  If so, great!

I toally agree with "living within your means"

For the benefit of younger people, please explain how you would have invested under the nightmare that started in 1999, thanks.

 

I've forgotten the exact quote, but,  "After you Break down the walls and the Devil comes for you, Who's gonna PROTECT YOU?"

The Great Ones have eviscerated most common sense financial rules. 

Is it any wonder that the Financial markets have not blownup yet? 

Look at the ‘traditional’ stuff that’s ignored!  Consider what would happen if the OLD Ways came back:

1999 Glass/Stegall gutted, cancelled.  Comml banks can use depositer funds for speculation;

2001 ClearingHouse review of Security on Derivatives shelved.  Counter-Party Risk ignored;

2002 Issuance of Derivatives contracts goes wild;

2003 Mark-to-Market cancelled.  Investment ‘mistakes’ don’t get reported or used in Financial

 statements.  Losses stay SECRET!

2004 Zero% interest rates on Federal Debt  explained as GOOD!

2005 Bankruptcy laws changed.  CounterParty failures superior to Depositer losses.

2008 Banks get Bailed out by Treasury/Fed-Reserve for their Stupidness.   TBTF widely believed. 

Huge failures in Collateral Chains IGNORED;

2009  European problems become much more visible;

2010 Federal Reserve starts buying short term Treasury debt from TBTF banks, QE1;

   All purchases at original Issue price, no review of payment timeliness

    Disagree?  Show how it c/b done with 1 day between 'auction' and settlement!;

2011 No one DARES to look under the sheets to review fianacial adequacy of those purchases;

2012 Obama/Eric Holder say TBTF banks Too Big To PROSECUTE.

Fed starts buying MBS crap from TBTF banks No recognition of investment quality.

Draghi has published a PLAN that ignores these issues as well as the feasibility of ever implementing it. ;

2013 Banks get penny on the $Thousand  fines for Civil charges, No Criminal charges;

2014  NEW concerns about CDS on Sub-prime Auto loans from Dave Stockman!

         Most High yield ETF charts are in Topping/Downtrend patterns!

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 00:27 | 5472617 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

All strong points, SKY85hawk. Don't forget the dark pool derivatives universe clocking in at $1.4 Quadrillion with a 'Q'. The 99% need not victimize themselves over the victimization by the 1%. The blame game is directed at the 1%er and it will certainly stay there until they helicopter drop gold bullion and cocaine n' hookers for the 99%. Of course, the 1%er will talk about helicopter drops, but they will introduce weaponized Ebola instead. Clearly, the 99% is at war with the 1% and their totalitarianism.

 

NOTE: 'We the people' will win this war eventually.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 01:37 | 5472764 Uber Vandal
Uber Vandal's picture

One should not forget about these either:

Pets.com'd: (November, 2000) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com

Enroned: (October, 2001) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal#Causes_of_downfall

Madoffed: (December, 2008) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal

Corzined: (October, 2011) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MF_Global

Cyprused (March, 2013) http://www.globalresearch.ca/bank-deposits-confiscation-the-cyprus-exper...

Negative Interest Rates (June, 2014) https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/faqinterestrates.en.html

 

In the forward of the 1966 Edition of the 1940 Jesse Livermore's Classic, How To Trade in Stocks, this was written:

For all during the years that Livermore worked on his Key system he yearned desperately to make his life meaningful; not only to himself, but to his fellow Americans - people who he he knew played the stock market against professionals hplding marked cards.     

 

Obviously, if one if NOT RICH, it is clearly one's fault.

If one is rich, it is just a matter of time before it gets donated to a nursing home anyway........ (Hint, average nursing home cost in 2013 was $90K)

 

 

 

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 10:50 | 5473578 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"Obviously, if one if NOT RICH, it is clearly one's fault."

 

In Zimbabwe, everyone became rich in Zim dollars.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 00:05 | 5472552 moneybots
moneybots's picture

"Consumer debt outstanding has risen from $350 billion in 1980 to $3.267 trillion today. That is a 933% increase."

 

What is a reserve currency and how does one aquire it?  By selling exports to the country with the reserve currency.  Thus the country with the reserve currency, becomes a debtor nation

After 1980, interest rates started falling.  When something is cheaper, people buy more of it.  Debt got cheaper and cheaper.

In 1998, when Greenspan  dropped the FED rate to 4.75%, Americans became the consumer of last resort, to bail out the Asian contagion. 

When Greenspan dropped the FED rate to 1%, consumers ran out and bought houses.

When Bernanke dropped the rate to ZIRP, corporations ran out to buy back stock.

 


Fri, 11/21/2014 - 00:26 | 5472614 bshirley1968
bshirley1968's picture

Sounds like a braggadocios prick who was one of the first to get in on a ponzi scheme.

I am from the same time and have above the average he mentions here.  It is not in stocks and damn sure not a 401k.  Either way I am not looking to build a pile of money so I can hope to continue this consumerism game later in life.

Retirement is the last chapter of the lie called "the American Dream".  That phase is almost over so the ponzi is about done.

He needs to quit worrying about those of us who didn't get on the retirement/slave conveyor belt and start worrying about the gov that is about to come and take what he saved.  It was all saved for them in the first place.  Not my fault he is just realizing it.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 01:18 | 5472730 Increasingly Annoyed
Increasingly Annoyed's picture

I guess I was listening to a differnet station. I heard the Creedence Clearwater song Fortunate Son. I think the younger people are the followers. They will go with the flow. Whichever way is the strongest at that moment.

If you think large numbers of people are going to be broke, you sould be scared, not smug.

Because those people's retirement plan is you.

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 02:14 | 5472802 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

My advice:

1-Don't be smug.

2-Learn survival techniques.

3-Put faith in Jesus Christ.

4- Retirement is a fantasy, like skittle crapping unicorns.

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 02:12 | 5472800 nowhereman
nowhereman's picture

At the turn of the millenium I was emersed in this bull shit.  I owned outright, two houses, one a rental, and a summer home on 5 acres on a lake.  My wife and I both had good jobs and great retirement savings.  We were miserable, we had to keep working just to maintain and pay taxes on the stuff we owned.  So I said to the woman I had lived with for 35 years, "why are we doing this?  We are not happy, why don't we get rid of some of this stuff and start enjoying life?"

  Unfortunately, she was quite enamored with the stuff and could not bring herself to part with any of it.  Then I made the decision that changed my life.  I told her I was unwilling to continue in this perverse accumulation of unhappiness.  I let her have it all, and I walked away.  And have not looked back.  As far as I know, she is still working to maintain the stuff.  Me, I have travelled extensively, seen things I always wanted to see, and did it without having to consider anyone elses wims but my own.

Shit, freedom is the easy part, letting go was one of the hardest things I ever did, but taking the leap was worth it.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 02:18 | 5472806 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

I can relate to that, nowhereman.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 10:46 | 5473561 Mi Naem
Mi Naem's picture

Without knowing your wife or that part of the story, it sounds like you walked away from the accumulation and maintenance of real assets (which may have helped secure your future) so that you could have a more satisfying present. 

I hope that works out for you as the sun begins to set. 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 03:54 | 5472895 Flagit
Flagit's picture

 

We are a nation of Peter Pans who never grew up.

 

I don't wear leotards, but guilty as charged. I have often wondered what would happen if everyone acted like me. I guess we have finally found out : (

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 04:34 | 5472916 AE911Truth
AE911Truth's picture

The increase in wealth (by $Trillions) of the richest 1% is equal to a relative decrease in wealth (by $Trillions) for millions of middle class, and poor.

This transfer of wealth is theft, using many deceptive methods. During past financial crisis, millions of workers lost $Millions. Many retirees and near retirees can no longer survive. This is not just theft. This is attempted mass murder.

If someone attempts to murder you, you have every right to defend yourself. The only defense is to regain the stolen wealth.

 

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 07:35 | 5473047 Brazen Heist
Brazen Heist's picture

Haha the first thing when I read the heading was Pink Floyd's Time starting to play in my mind.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 08:04 | 5473087 Badself
Badself's picture

This is heartbreaking for all of us. Those that did save will be forced to give it up so it can be divided amongst all. The govt will devise sinister ways to take our savings through higher taxes and higher structered expenses for those with incomes over 50K a year. It may be wise to buy diamonds and gold now to leave to your decendants.

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 10:00 | 5473349 bugsmashers
bugsmashers's picture

Who will buy the stocks that the boomers plan to sell to fund their lives without ZIRP fuelled buybacks?

Fri, 11/21/2014 - 10:23 | 5473435 TheShiznit
TheShiznit's picture

Gen Xers already realize saving is futile, not that they have anything to save.  They aren't idiots, despite their youth.  They can see their parents equity and net worth erode with the pop of every synthetic asset bubble.  The trick now is to spend as much as you can before all the money is completely worthless.  Accumulation phase is over.  Pop that housing bubble so Jr. can walk into a McMansion on the cheap.

Sun, 11/23/2014 - 11:30 | 5478838 Head_Shots_Work
Head_Shots_Work's picture

WHAT THE FUCK? You mean my plan to win the lottery to fund my retirement isn't going to work out? On the other hand - at least I wasn't one of those chicken littles who saved up all of this money only to watch it get stolen by the government through - lets see what will be coming: inflation, more inflation, taxes, more taxes - OR - investing it into the stock market only to see it get wiped out when I miss the 'ending bell'. 

Actually - I'm in pretty good shape - sitting in the middle of 40 acres of hills and woods, with deer, chickens, turkeys and gardens, wells, thousands of gallons of propane, wood stoves, a pond, on top of a mountain in a concrete house in an excellent defensible position, miles and miles away from any population center or highway. As well as having built up a community of like minded individuals ready for the downturn. You people in the cities are screwed.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!