The Fantasy Edition

The dream world that Bush and Congress exist in is a complete mystery to me. How exactly is a person that works at Wal-Mart supposed to save for retirement? It isn't that they don't want to, but how? What about all those people on the minimum wage that hasn't been raised in ten years? How about those who are unemployed because their jobs have been outsourced to some other country? Or the workers were brought here? I'm not Albert Einstein, but I can think and operate a calculator and the math is funky.

Bush to sign massive pension overhaul - Retirement - MSNBC.com: "Lawmakers allowed workers to contribute more to their personal retirement savings accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, in future years. Employers can encourage their workers to save by automatically enrolling them 401(k) retirement accounts.

Financial firms will get greater leeway to offer advice to those 401(k) and IRA savers on how best to invest their retirement nest eggs."

Don't forget to dumpster dive for that perfect gift before you take your date for that walk on the beach, per the advice in the handbook that Northwest Airlines had prepared for the ground workers whose jobs are being outsourced. Maybe they can get jobs at Legal Services, being a member of the board should solve their financial problems.

In addition to contributing to a retirement fund that won't cover their old age, let us not forget health insurance. This is a start, but as the price of gas continues to increase which will cause the price of food to rise, those at the lower end of the financial divide will need that $29 for something else. It doesn't sound like a lot of money, but if you are a creative cook you can make quite a few one pot meals. They won't be fancy, but if necessary that could be a weeks worth of food instead of an appetizer and a cocktail at some fancy restaurant. One they probably work at, in the back where you can't see them. California is working on another plan, we'll see.

What if the economy slows down? Can you save for retirement when you have no money coming in? Ten percent of zero, is zero.

It just costs more money to live, which is easy to miss when all your bills (health, life insurance, retirement and travel) are paid by the very same taxpayers (and lobbyists) that you purport to know how to improve their lives.

This is more of a nightmare than a fantasy.

When will we wake up?

Tags: Bush, food, stupid ideas, economy, retirement, pension fund, inflation, cost of living, Northwest Airlines, Debsweb