What makes me nervous is seeing my cherished retirement money head south because the idiots in Washington have decided that sense and logic have no place in running an economy. I could be more direct. I could create new benchmarks for political crudity. But hey, then I’d be just like them.
I’d been resisting logging into the accounts. I try not to micromanage my retirement. I’m way past normal retirement age, and I take pleasure in noting that I am still working and in the contributory stage of life rather than in the collection stage. I still contribute to Social Security and to my retirement accounts. Until inauguration day, that was a winning proposition for me.
Then the Whatchyoumacllits in DC started messing around. A friend had been calling my attention to the dire situation with the national debt, so I was beginning to get agitated as I read through some of the material on it. Then I made the mistake of logging into my retirement account and seeing the damage.
It looked like a cliff—one with lots of rocks at the bottom. Then I began to notice how silent most of Congress has been in the past two or three weeks. Then I noticed how noisy the Town Halls have been—tasing, people screaming and yelling, and the Republican leadership advising their membership not to meet with the constituents.
You know, I find it interesting. If this were some Banana Republic, I’d be watching the airports as the political class departed for unknown points with no extradition treaties. The frantic calls to check on the offshore bank accounts, the little getaway location in a place with a nice, safe authoritarian government.
Have you checked up on your senator or representative recently? Kind of quiet out there. Isn’t it?
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It’s like crickets, Lou. That’s why I’m moving. They are still trying to cut social security and every republican says they won’t. I don’t believe a word. Still hoping for the silent to act in a way that stops this eradication of any glimmer of good sense. We have a Dem governor who is trying to fight back by not signing bills until they restore funding for disabled etc. My poor friend with only 2 fingers that work, can’t get help until he floats to the top of the list of needy. We have all been trying to help and mr pants on fire has zero empathy. I’m at the bottom of my well looking up.
There was an article in the New York Times the other day that pointed out that the elites really are not like us, and are totally removed from our life. Then I recalled a story from a few years ago about how one of the senators had been out and about on a campaign tour. He stopped to buy a coffee and something, but had to borrow the money from an aide because he wasn’t carrying any. It’s very different for them, and they really don’t get it at all!
And then to the other extremes with Kristi Noem having her purse stolen with $3000 in it. Which when asked why she was carrying so much cash, said it was to buy Easter presents. Yeah, totally removed from our life.
My point exactly! We are letting the wrong people govern. It has to change.
Mid terms are coming the best upcoming chance to change things…provided the powers that be haven’t grown so afraid of a turn about that they prevent it. Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but I can’t help but think that they may fear some of what they’ve dished out coming back at them. As they say in DC – Elections have consequences.
DC is amazingly quiet except for the usual hateful spews from MTG and the nonsense (and arm flailing) from Hegseth. FUBAR much?
Yeah, that silence is strange, and unusual.
👌❤️
This is a small thing, but the price of dog food has gone up and that will make it hard for people to donate to our local shelters who depend on us to care for the animals. To me that’s a microcosm of the general cruelty.
An important microcosm. people on fixed income already do a lot contributing to the shelters, and now their funds will be even tighter.
Yeah. I just adopted a dog for someone else. Story tomorrow. 💔
I’ll be looking forward to it!
🐾❤️
That Banana-boat captained by Trump stretches all the way to Australia. At 72, I don’t think I can keep working for long enough for the extraordinary damage to my superannuation investments to recover.
All the best to you.
I hear you. It is harder to replace, and then the losses may continue. You wonder if you might be safer putting into a bank or credit union.
too late now
hold on for the ride
It seems we’re all in a wait and see pattern.
It is so scary. I have two sources of income right now, one for federal pension and one for veteran disability. Both are federal and I do not trust either of them to show up each month. I check my account with trepidation each month. I used to feel safe with the feds, but now they are the scariest of all. So far, I have not checked the change in my retirement account. I assume it’s awful. I am privileged not to have to rely on it to survive.
Part of the anguish is not knowing when or if there is going to be some crisis that we can’t plan around.