The Dow is on pace to do something today it hasn't done since 1897

[Lisa558]

They make power strips that are supposed to prevent a power surge from a lightning strike, most just have a circuit breaker already on them, so it wouldn't fry your iPad if plugged in to that strip. Not plugged in poses no risk, obviously.

Thx again. I never thought an unplugged device would be a risk - since there’s no conduit for the electricity - but someone told me just last week that you shouldn’t talk on a cell phone during a thunderstorm. Seems like the same concept.

 

[Superbadbrutha]

They had a much better chance at it.

So they didn't have it 5yrs ago either.

 

[airplanemechanic]

The best that I can tell, is that you're blowing things way out of proportion. Food up, gas up, does not make for financial hardship in most families. We're Americans, we can take it. This is not the Great Depression.

Oh really?

More in U.S. Say Inflation Is Causing Financial Hardship

Three in five Americans say recent price increases have caused them financial hardship. Inflation is mentioned most often as their No. 1 financial problem.

news.gallup.com

Three in five Americans, 61%, say recent price increases have caused financial hardship for their household, marking a six-percentage-point increase from the last reading in November 2022 and the highest since 2021 when Gallup first tracked this measure.

 

[g5000]

You’re not serious right? You do know the vast majority of Americans aren’t invested in the stock market, or have very little money invested. Those invested are the top 10%.

Since when did you become a corporatist?

You do know the combination of government and business is Fascism.

Anyone who has a 401k is invested in the stock market.

 

[ralfy]

Market's been rigged for more than a decade, i.e., that was needed to "recover" from the 2008 crash.

 

[lennypartiv]

Biden is doing a bangup job!

I should have invested in marijuana companies. Liberal Democrats are as high as a kite.

 

[gipper]

Anyone who has a 401k is invested in the stock market.

What? Really?

Again…The top 10% own 90% of the stocks.

 

[Lisa558]

What? Really?

Again…The top 10% own 90% of the stocks.

Not sure of your point, but about half of all Americans own stocks - mostly in retirement funds. Sure, the total pales in comparison to the top 10%, but middle-class American have seen their retirement funds drop by a third under Biden and his war on business.

I’ll be glad when Trump is re-elected, reduces the business regulations, keeps the lower corporate tax rate in place, gets us back to energy dependence, and gets people back to work.

 

[gipper]

Not sure of your point, but about half of all Americans own stocks - mostly in retirement funds. Sure, the total pales in comparison to the top 10%, but middle-class American have seen their retirement funds drop by a third under Biden and his war on business.

I’ll be glad when Trump is re-elected, reduces the business regulations, keeps the lower corporate tax rate in place, gets us back to energy dependence, and gets people back to work.

My point was made in my first post in this thread. Most Americans own little to nothing of the stock market. The top 10% own 90% of the stocks.

 

[Lisa558]

My point was made in my first post in this thread. Most Americans own little to nothing of the stock market. The top 10% own 90% of the stocks.

Yeah, but half of all Americans depend on their stock funds for retirement. That other people have more is actually irrelevant to them.

 

[gipper]

Yeah, but half of all Americans depend on their stock funds for retirement. That other people have more is actually irrelevant to them.

It’s rather hard to depend on stock funds for retirement when the balance is so small.

 

[Lisa558]

It’s rather hard to depend on stock funds for retirement when the balance is so small.

Depends on your definition of small. To many in the middle class, a retirement fund of….say...$600,000 together with SS provides a livable, if modest, retirement. (That would be $2,000 a month from the stocks and around $2,000 a month from SS.) If the house is paid off, $4,000 a month is doable.

 

[gipper]

Depends on your definition of small. To many in the middle class, a retirement fund of….say...$600,000 together with SS provides a livable, if modest, retirement. (That would be $2,000 a month from the stocks and around $2,000 a month from SS.) If the house is paid off, $4,000 a month is doable.

Please tell me the percentage of Americans who currently have a retirement fund of $600k?

 

[Lisa558]

Please tell me the percentage of Americans who currently have a retirement fund of $600k?

I don’t know, but wouldn’t that be middle class? If a 60-year-old approaching retirement simply invested $2,000 in his IRA for 40 years, at an average return of 10%, he’d have $900,000.

These fe the people I’m concerned about - responsible, middle-class earners.

 

[gipper]

I don’t know, but wouldn’t that be middle class? If a 60-year-old approaching retirement simply invested $2,000 in his IRA for 40 years, at an average return of 10%, he’d have $900,000.

These fe the people I’m concerned about - responsible, middle-class earners.

Yes but again, what percentage of Americans have done this? I suspect it’s very few.

It’s been reported for years that many Americans have little money saved.
6 in 10 Americans don't have $500 in savings

 

[Harpy Eagle]

I don’t know, but wouldn’t that be middle class? If a 60-year-old approaching retirement simply invested $2,000 in his IRA for 40 years, at an average return of 10%, he’d have $900,000.

No IRA gets an average of 10% every year.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Yes but again, what percentage of Americans have done this? I suspect it’s very few.

It’s been reported for years that many Americans have little money saved.
6 in 10 Americans don't have $500 in savings

and then there is this...

Average 401(k) Balances By Age

An employer-sponsored 401(k) plan is your best tool for retirement investing. High contribution limits, employer matching contributions and automated investing options make for an unbeatable way to save. Retirement investors understandably have plenty of questions about this valuable tool. How mu

www.forbes.com

 

[odanny]

I don’t know, but wouldn’t that be middle class? If a 60-year-old approaching retirement simply invested $2,000 in his IRA for 40 years, at an average return of 10%, he’d have $900,000.

These fe the people I’m concerned about - responsible, middle-class earners.

When I started investing in 2000, I poured money in for a few years and then didn't contribute, and then I started again and then quit investing for years, only to start again, and then in my last few years I didn't have the money to invest as I put an addition on the house.

The moral of the story is to start early. Even if you only invest for a couple years, it's time that is your greatest asset when it comes to investing. If you start late you don't give your nest egg time to grow.

 

[Lisa558]

When I started investing in 2000, I poured money in for a few years and then didn't contribute, and then I started again and then quit investing for years, only to start again, and then in my last few years I didn't have the money to invest as I put an addition on the house.

The moral of the story is to start early. Even if you only invest for a couple years, it's time that is your greatest asset when it comes to investing. If you start late you don't give your nest egg time to grow.

Yes, this is true. You’re better off saving $2000 a year from age 21 to 35 (14 years) and then stopping than if you first started at 35 and saved until 63 (28 years). Such is the power of time with compound interest.

 

[Lisa558]

Yes but again, what percentage of Americans have done this? I suspect it’s very few.

It’s been reported for years that many Americans have little money saved.
6 in 10 Americans don't have $500 in savings

I don’t know what percentage, but my main concern is with responsible, middle-class earners who made sacrifices to save for their retirement via regular, consistent contributions and now have been screwed.