Just over half of Americans are invested in stocks or mutual funds. When the market is posting record highs, that’s great, but here are some questions for you:
Do you have enough invested to retire?
Can you handle the ups and downs of the market in retirement?
How much of the market do you own?
If you are in the bottom 80% in terms of wealth and you own stock, you have a share of less than 10% of the entire market. The top 10% owns more than 80%. In this upside down world, let’s hope you either have a defined pension or are in the top 10%.
If you’re still working, it doesn’t matter what the stock market is doing if you can’t make a living with your job.
The U.S. added 225,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.6%.
The unemployment rate doesn’t matter if you are holding down two jobs to make ends meet.
Maybe your take-home pay went up after the 2017 tax bill went into effect. That happened because employers took less out of employees’ paychecks, money meant to cover future taxes. What happens when the taxes come due?
Some of you expected your wages to rise when corporate taxes went down. Unfortunately, many corporations used their tax breaks to buy back stocks. That improved the value of their stock holdings.
How many shares of your company’s stock do you own?
The president is on the campaign trail, where he’s been since he took office. He’s bragging about low unemployment and the terrific economy, and he’s taking all the credit. Does that mean he’ll take credit for the millions of Americans whose incomes haven’t kept pace with the economy?
Will he take credit for every wage earner who is one illness away from bankruptcy?
Democrats must hone their economic message. A terrific economy for the top 10% isn’t good enough.
Voters must demand an economy that serves all citizens.
This isn’t a right or left issue. This is a moral issue.
You know who has wealth packed at the top and poverty spread out below? Third-world countries. Unless we get our economic house in order, that’s where the U.S. is headed. That truth should help you decide who gets your vote in the upcoming elections.
And by all means, vote!
