How America’s 401(k) Revolution Rewarded the Rich and Turned the Rest of Us Into Big Losers

[JDPriestly]

10. My parents did not earn a lot of money. They really struggled.

But my mother has pensions in addition to a bit of Social Security she earned when she worked after we were grown. She has at least had some security with regard to what her monthly income would be.

In contrast, my generation of WWII war babies and baby boomers have a tiny bit of Social Security and the rest is all insecurity.

Not only is the job of reading and learning how to invest your money overwhelming for most of us (to say nothing of drudgery), but the insiders on Wall Street have manipulated the market and lied to the extent that we can't trust a word they say. And the fast trading they do puts anyone selling or buying an occasional stock on the losing end most of the time.

In addition, the banks charge high interest rates, pay their CEOS and other management royal bounties and depositors virtually nothing. In fact if you have a small account with at least one bank (on its way to oblivion and yet another handout from its federal friends no doubt) in one bank and are an adult, you could quite easily hand over ALL of your small savings account to the bank in monthly fees. It's very easy to do.

Then there are the payday loans.

Our banking and investment system needs to have some ethical rules enforced on it. The ones we have now don't work. They protect only the bankers and investment advisers. I have been in a position to review the financial papers of some very vulnerable ordinary people. I have seen the investments that some of their "advisers" have "advised" them to "invest" in. It is shocking and disgusting in some cases.

If you have a union pension, protect it. You are so much better off than non-union workers.

Wall Street is, in my opinion, a den of thieves. I don't speak for others in my family when I say that, but in my personal opinion, it is just a den of thieves.