With Low Wage Jobs Growing No Way For Most Workers To Save For Retirement

[TheMastersNemesis]

The largest job growth is the low wage job with no benefits and no future. And chances are that low wage job will be part time and not full time or a contract job where the middle man gets 30% of your salary. Because of the anti labor and anti union sentiment that keeps pro corporation politicians in office, this scenario is what the voters keep buying in key regions of the country.

And it will only get worse as American citizens are forced to compete with countries that have NO labor standards. The reason so many workers are not saving for retirement is that they are not making enough money and face pandemic job security. In a "work at will" labor environment that includes virtually every state you can be terminated without reason and without notice.

And forget the multiple career garbage, it does not exist for a vast majority of the work force. The cost of training and the terrible condition of the full time job market means that very few workers end up making more money. The usual outcome with multiple career path is less income and more job insecurity as one ages and moves forward in the labor market. The touted success stories are a very small percentage of the work force. And your multiple career choice will be in service or retail.

We are living in an economy where $14 an hour is now the top rate and the minimum wage is about to disappear if the wrong people get full power. An American worker simply cannot compete with the global economy or "immigration work visas" where workers will work for less.

The present Reaganomic path means a lower standard of living and a bleak future for younger workers. Unless we fundamentally change the direction of this country and scrap these trade agreements we will eventually be on par with places like Africa which is where corporations are looking after they finish with Asia and India who now "make too much money".

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. And the Republicans want to get rid of Social Security

Social Security was enacted in the 1930s because for many people, old age meant penury. The Republicans want to return to those days. And getting rid of Medicare will mean that it will not only mean penury, but also no access to healthcare.

I have been saying for years that the bases of American conservatism are greed, rampant egotism and loathing for their fellow Americans. I have seen precious little to make me change my mind.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. And while wages are falling and more and more families slip into poverty, they are told,

"You're not poor. Look at those people in Africa living in mud huts with dirt floors and no electricity. Now, that's poor."

The 1% don't care how the rest of the population lives (or dies) as long as they get to keep their wealth.

[HughBeaumont]

9. And not just told by the likes of the Kochs . . . .

. . . But by the likes of their "useful idiots" who carry their water for them.

[duffyduff]

20. It isn't "their" wealth to begin with. Furthermore, these parasites are trying to squeeze

every last dime from everybody else.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Good post, when Paul Ryan is proposing a budget which would do away with Social Security

and saying everyone needs to prepare for their retirement, I guess it will have to be done on the food stamps, another program they want to cut. When so many are qualifying for food stamps WTH is someone like Paul Ryan thinking. Ryan also benefited from Social Security. There is not enough money to support a house hold on $14 an hour.

[awoke_in_2003]

18. and the choices are 401ks...

(better odds in Vegas) and IRAs with crappy interest rates.

[Thinkingabout]

30. I don't think there will be a lot available funds on $14 an hour to put into a 401k

[awoke_in_2003]

33. true, and they will kill SS in my lifetime. nt

[Orrex]

4. Now more than ever we need deregulation & permanent tax cuts for the wealthy

Nothing else can save us.

[KansDem]

5. You're right! Repeat after me... TRICKLE DOWN!!!, TRICKLE DOWN!!!, TRICKLE DOWN!!!...

Trickle Down!, Trickle Down!, Trickle Down!, Trickle Don!, Trickle Don!, Trickle On!, Trickle On!, Trickle On!...

[Thinkingabout]

31. None of these items will get the minimun wages increased. Deregulation and permament tax cuts

have been occurring since Reagan was in office and only increasing the minimum wages increased the wages.

[earthside]

6. Developing Crisis

The population bulge of baby boomers -- born in the mid to late 1950s -- is going to be hitting retirement age in less than ten years.

What are we going to do then?

Millions and millions of folks 65 years old and over who have virtually no retirement savings, limited job prospects and no resources to pay for health care?

Before Social Security, old folks lived with their children or ended up in county 'Pioneer Homes' living in poverty.

The issue is going to be how much are we as a country going to raise Social Security benefits and provide 100 percent Medicare for those 65 years old and over?

If we don't, then we are going to see an economic crisis of immense proportions brought on by younger generations so burdened with student loan debt and low wages that they cannot provide for their own parents coupled with a population of tens and tens of millions of senior citizens without enough financial resources on which to live.

We've worked ourselves into quite a hole -- and it can be blamed mostly on the Walmartization and financialization of our economy that promotes low wages, low taxes and low education.

[LiberalEsto]

7. Don't worry

With fracking causing poisoning of the water supply, global climate change, genetically modified frankenfoods, mutated viruses, etc., maybe they won't need to save for retirement.

[CrispyQ]

8. Is $14 an hour a state minimum wage somewhere?

Many of the part time jobs do not give the employees a schedule - the employee has to be 'on call,' making it extremely difficult to get another part time job. The young woman at the bagel shop I go to gets around it by working the bagel shop, which closes at 4pm & a bar which opens about the same time.

The multinational corporation is the most powerful entity on our planet right now & it needs to be reined in. Corporations are a tool for the 1% to behave however they want without consequence, or very little consequence. "The Corporation" should be required viewing. For anyone who hasn't seen it, Netflix has it. The words Ray Anderson spoke were moving, may he rest in peace.

There was a thread a week or so ago where the DUer stated that his/her niece didn't know anything about the labor movement of the 1900's. She was taught, in a public school, that the gains that labor got were because of . . . are you ready for this? The entrepreneurial spirit! Oh, & unions are bad, of course.

They have rewritten the history books. If you were born after 1980, all you have ever heard from politicians & the media is that unions are bad. My exposure to unions was from 1975-1985 & the difference was stunning! By the time I left, the union had lost power, wages were going down & benefits were being cut. Thank you trickle down Reagan. I know a lot of well off dems who were happy to drink from the greed-is-good-trickle-down-fountain. And here we are.

You cannot have social justice without economic justice. While the dems throw us a few more social justice crumbs than the repubs do, economically both parties serve the 1%. We need a labor party that focuses on economic justice for everyone.
Personally, I don't think we are going to get our government back via the ballot box. The electoral process is too corrupt & compromised on too many fronts.

I don't where it has to go or how bad it has to get before more Americans wake up & realize both parties are fleecing us.

The system isn't broken. The system is fixed.

[Harmony Blue]

10. They really don't teach labor history in American schools.

Even in high school in American history classes they barely touch upon the subject. I had exposure to labor history because I did live outside the U.S. for some time.

[CrispyQ]

14. I was fortunate to have an incredible western history teacher in 11th grade,

Last edited Tue Aug 20, 2013, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)

who managed to merge history & economics, throughout the year. He was one of those teachers you never forget! He loved the topic, knew it well & made it interesting. We covered the labor movement in detail. His daughter was in our class. That made for some interesting moments, too. There was a lot of eye rolling on her part.

I don't have kids & what I read about our educational system today amazes me & not in a good way. My heart breaks when I hear of cities shutting down public schools. It also pisses me off!

eidt post: I graduated HS in 1975, to give a timeline.

[tabbycat31]

22. I was not taught labor history in school

(I was born in 1980). Most of what I know about labor comes from when I dated a union guy and my experience on a Wisconsin state senate recall.

[kestrel91316]

11. Lazy moochers who only make minimum wage just need to learn to

live within their means, make sacrifices, and save up for retirement anyway.

[AzDar]

12. Seems to me this coincides with the explosion of 'Reverse Mortgage' lenders...

No retirement savings for the 99% means they'll have to resort to slowly giving back what little equity they've worked hard to build...just to survive. "All Your Assets Are Belong To Us"

[KansDem]

13. or...

"All Your Assets Are Belong To Asses"

[Cryptoad]

15. The Demotarians

tear down the Democratic Party while the GOP guts us!

[East Coast Pirate]

16. And since they're making less they'll receive less social security each month.

[shanti]

27. I'll add to that

Another class of people who will be getting less SS every month will be the large contingent of people in their 50's who are unable to find work due to their age. Every year you don't work, means less SS for them too...right before they will need it. No wonder there are so many people on SSDI. a person has to survive, and they'll do anything to accomplish that!

[pampango]

17. "An American worker simply cannot compete with the global economy where workers will work for less."

How is it that Australian workers ($16/hour minimum wage and a trade surplus) and German workers (average manufacturing wage 20% higher than the US and a trade surplus) manage to "compete in the global economy"? And both countries have a much more equitable distribution of income than we have.

As you posted:

... Because of the anti labor and anti union sentiment that keeps pro corporation politicians in office, this scenario is what the voters keep buying in key regions of the country.

... The reason so many workers are not saving for retirement is that they are not making enough money and face pandemic job security. In a "work at will" labor environment that includes virtually every state you can be terminated without reason and without notice.

Our real problem is that, unlike Australia and Germany, our culture and legal environment is anti-union. The existence of 'right-to-work' states means that unions will have a difficult time prospering and our wages will continue to stagnate or decline unlike in other developed countries.

[TheMastersNemesis]

28. Those Countries Protect Their Workers And Their Economy By At Least Blunting Give Away Free Trade.

[pampango]

32. They protect their workers by supporting strong unions and safety nets - 2 things we don't do.

However, international trade is a much bigger part of their economies (80% in Germany, 40% in Australia) than it is here (22%). Trade does not kill unions or high wages.

[duffyduff]

19. The problem is there is nobody representing the people

The billionaire/Wall Street/neoliberal mob control BOTH political parties with their sociopathic beliefs.

The biggest challenge is for people to realize there is no "left-right," "Democratic-Republican" division anymore.

It's the tiny number of elites versus everybody else, with them using the "social issues" as a diversionary tactic while they continue to squeeze every last dime from the 99.9 percent of the American people.

[JRLeft]

21. This is how the capitalists keeps workers scared. Low wages and protections, right to e fired at

will. Predatorial capitalists view this as production. You working out of fear is a good thing.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. I wonder how many superior acting managers are getting $14 over a bunch of $7 employees.

[midnight]

24. The immigration bill is a High tech give away to bring in low wage workers to rep ace high paying

jobs.... It is only going to get worse once the secret TPP reforms service....


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/senate-immigration-bill-visa-tech-companies_n_3529241.html

TPP would even ban "Buy America" procurement policy. The TPP also includes aspects of SOPA, the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-wallach/tpp-what-you-dont-know-wi_b_1499993.html

[senseandsensibility]

25. Cheap labor is virtually all the one percenters care about

Until most Americans get that through their heads, we are going to continue our downward slide. Efforts to divide and conquer the working class have been very successful, and workers now resent anyone with a pension or a living wage. Incredibly, they see their fellow workers as the enemy, not the corporations and politicians that caused this mess. It's disheartening to say the least. The fact that "Democratic" politicians, with very few exceptions, don't speak plainly about this is very telling.

[TheMastersNemesis]

29. If You Run As A Democratic Pro Labor Socialist You Get Your Ass Creamed

The Churches go after you as a God hating religion hating atheist.
Businesses go after you for killing jobs and being anti business.
The RW goes after you for being a Marxist Leninist Communist.
The gun nuts go after you for taking away their guns.
And the media shuts out your voice.

[blackspade]

26. well said