America’s retirement-savings system is hopelessly broken

Plus: Will Russia's war machine run out of gas? [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a cash-stuffed mattress of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Time to [throw out America’s retirement system](. - Inflation is here. [We’ll get used to it](. - Russia’s economic [fortress has a shaky foundation](bbg://news/stories/RAIX22DWLU6A). - Boise’s [housing market has cooled](. The Ultimatum: Retirement Edition The hot new Netflix binge-watch is “The Ultimatum,” a reality show featuring several young couples in which one partner is in way too much of a hurry to get married and the other is wisely unsure. The show’s evil-genius producers split up and remix these couples for a few weeks so they can decide if they really want to get hitched or flee for greener pastures. Drama and re-pairings ensue. It’s too bad you can’t do this sort of thing with countries. The United States of America, for example, could really stand to be recoupled with some other country’s health-care transportation political education retirement system. As Bloomberg’s editorial board points out, [the nation’s best long-term savings advice]( currently is: “Be rich.” The rest of us are doomed to play a much-less-fun game called “good luck surviving your golden years on Social Security and the few bucks you managed to squirrel away in various paltry 401(k)s and/or mattresses.” As I always say when riding New Jersey Transit: There’s got to be a better way! Fortunately, in this case, there is. Using ideas from the U.K., America’s own Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees, and other sources, the editorial board lays out a plan for a retirement system that is universal, simple, portable and fair. You might want to marry it. Read the [whole thing](. Learning to Live With Inflation It’s been 30 years since U.S. consumer price inflation routinely clocked 3% growth, which might as well be 2,000 years, given how goldfish-brained some of us have become. The prospect of 3% inflation or worse becoming permanent now fills many people with dread, even though the 1980s and ’90s were for the most part an enjoyable era of strong economic growth, wage gains and decent music. Sure, [such price gains will reorder the economy](, but that doesn’t have to be all bad, writes Allison Schrager, especially if we can take advantage of it with higher wages and savings rates. Maybe it will even inspire us to overhaul the retirement system (see above). Transitioning from our blissful stretch of sub-2% inflation continues to be not super-enjoyable for now, of course. You thought milk and gasoline were bad? Wait until you [see the bill for summer camp this year](, writes Alexis Leondis. Counselors are demanding more money to protect your darlings from bear attacks, and have you seen the price of mosquito repellant and marshmallows? But shoppers are [increasingly heading to discount stores for such stuff](, notes Andrea Felsted, a boon to such chains as Aldi, Lidl and Mosquito Spray & Marshmallows 4 Less. We’ll adjust. Bonus Inflation-Fighting Reading: The longer the Fed waits to cause a recession, [the worse the recession will be](. — Bill Dudley Russia’s Fortress Should Crumble Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will soon begin its third month. Though Russia’s troops have been chased to Ukraine’s eastern edge, they are no less [deadly](, launching strikes as far west as the Polish border and bombing Mariupol into dust. Under the circumstances, it can feel as if the West’s economic sanctions are failing. Putin today said Russia’s economy is doing just fine. Then again, Russia is not exactly known for ’fessing up to war losses. And though capital controls and fossil-fuel sales have prevented an immediate collapse, sanctions and isolation are [eroding Russia’s “fortress economy” from the inside out](bbg://news/stories/RAIX22DWLU6A), write Clara Ferreira Marques and Scott Johnson. The war machine will run out of gas someday, though it can’t happen quickly enough. Telltale Charts After years of bonkers price gains, [Boise’s housing market is finally leveling off](, writes Jonathan Levin. Is it a harbinger of what’s to come for the rest of the country? To avoid future political crises, [Pakistan must embrace wind and solar power](, writes David Fickling. Too much dependence on coal and unreliable hydropower keep leading to shortages and anger in the streets. Further Reading India’s [Infosys has long been the poster child of globalization](. Now it’s the symbol of globalization in retreat. — Adrian Wooldridge The hasty embrace of [organic farming and MMT led Sri Lanka to ruin](. — Mihir Sharma Clinging to Covid Zero is [doing China’s economy no favors](. — Niall Ferguson Ending presidential [debates, dubious as they are, will be another blow]( to democracy. — Jonathan Bernstein Given Tesla’s stock price, Elon [Musk must be the world’s best business manager](. — Matthew Winkler ICYMI Tesla’s autopilot is called a [“disaster waiting to happen.”]( Amazon is [getting a “racial audit.”]( Alex [Jones’s companies are bankrupt](. Kickers The [sun had a major flare-up]( on Easter. Scientists create a new material [stronger than steel and light as plastic](. How to painlessly [detangle hair, with math](. A [day in the spending life of somebody]( making $330,000 a year in Orange County. (h/t Scott Kominers for all the kickers) Notes: Thanks to Jessica Karl, James Gibney and Mark Gilbert for improving the newsletter last week. Please send hair detangler and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022