Dow soars to 4-year high

[Egalitarian Thug]

59. Two problems with this logic. One a retirement plan is not disposable income with which

to gamble. Two, reaching the age of retirement or being retired at the time of a major contraction drastically reduces account capital. I assume you understand how interest works, so you also understand that this individual has lost ground which cannot be made up without moving capital to riskier investments just when that is the worst move. Any unexpected event sets off a chain reaction resulting in financial deprivation.

The 401(k) scheme effectively extend the years required to work and gives no guarantee of providing sufficient income after a person is no longer able to work, but it does force nearly everybody to participate in the Wall Street casino regardless of the individual's capacity to understand, let alone play in, the game. True that most will do fine and a few will do really well, but the issue are those for who it will, and has, crushed.

The bottom line is that this scam is primarily set up to benefit Wall Street, not the individual. A society that regularly steals the assets of 10% - 15% of the most vulnerable population in order to fund profits for the rest is doomed. Your self satisfied admonitions about those "silly" people is shot sighted, mean, and irrelevant. The facts on the ground are that the 401(k) ensures a significant number of your fellow citizens will, after a lifetime of work, be thrown into poverty so you can pretend that you're smart.

And Wall Street is laughing at you even as you defend them. Thanks for the money sucker.