It was all about Wall Street all along. Apparently, this whole theater of the absurd

[Honeycombe8]

23. You are mistaken. Millions of people rely on 401ks for their retirement...

the 401ks are primarily invested in mutual funds (the stock market). The stock market is a reflection of the economy. If the stock market is down on a long term trend, we are in a recession.

There are poor people who don't have retirement funds, that is true. There are also poor people who don't have a lot of other things. And that is relevant to this discussion how? Are you implying that a middle class person who is saving for retirement shouldn't save and invest in mutual funds because there is a poor person in town?

As I said, millions of people rely on the stock market for their future. Plenty of DU posters point out how they "lost" their savings when the market went down during the recession.

If you can't afford to save for your retirement, as many young people can't, then you may not realize the importance of it. But believe me, it's not just the wealthy who invest in the market. If you have a 401k, you are almost certainly invested in the market. And the lower the market goes, it is the middle class who feel the pain of it the most, and whose retirements are most affected. Obama knows this. I don't think you have any idea of the vast amount of money in retirement accounts of the middle class.

Pensions are invested in the market, as well, if they choose to do that.

Kids have bonds building value to help pay for college. Lots of older people have corporate bonds and bond mutual funds, all of which are part of the market.