Kiss Your Retirement Goodbye!

Here’s Why [The Daily Reckoning] December 06, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Kiss Your Retirement Goodbye! Annapolis, Maryland [Brian Maher] BRIAN MAHER Dear Reader, Do you own a 401(k) retirement account? Do you own an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)? Gobs of Americans own either or both — oftentimes both. Let us assume you are among them. How well have these retirement accounts done you these past 2½ years? How much have they expanded your wealth? Here we refer not to nominal wealth but to “real wealth.” That is, nominal wealth subtracted by the inflation rate. We need not remind you that inflation has enjoyed a lovely spree in recent times. A man’s portfolio may deliver him $1 million across 2½ years. Yet what if the dollar in which he trades loses 50% across the same span? In inflation-adjusted terms — in real terms — he has taken in $500,000. $500,000 is handsome. Yet it is not $1 million. It constitutes a 50% sawing. Five Choices Again we ask: How has your portfolio performed… in real terms… these past 2½ years? Your choices are these: - Your real retirement account has increased 50%. You wallow gorgeously in clover. - Your real retirement account has increased 25%. - You have stood in place — your gain is zero.. Whatever nominal gains you have acquired, inflation has claimed. - You have actually lost 25% in real terms. - You have lost an impossible 50% in real terms. Have you made your selection? Your answer is forthcoming. Let us first look in on the stock market under present consideration… Long Faces on Wall Street The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 70 points today. The S&P 500 gave back 17 points and the Nasdaq Composite surrendered 83 points of its own. Thus the overall market has yielded territory for the third consecutive session. CNBC in summary: Wednesday’s moves follow back-to-back losses for the Dow and S&P 500. The declines raised questions around whether the late 2023 rally was taking a pause or if the market had run up too far, too fast. Why have stocks lost their courage? We are informed that markets are anxiety-ridden against Friday’s release of November’s unemployment report. Perhaps it is even true. Gold — should it concern you — advanced $8 and change today. [🚨 Crash Warning 🚨 The ONLY Way to Beat a Recession in 2024?]( The stock market’s next big drop has just begun, which could leave millions of Americans to watch their retirement accounts spiral toward new 52-week lows. The only chance you have at protecting your accounts from this market death spiral is to take immediate action. In this short video, a retired hedge fund manager known as “The Banker” breaks down his simple strategy that thrives during extreme volatility and could even significantly boost your income before the new year. [Click Here For More Details]( The Answer, Revealed Yet to revisit today’s central question: How has your portfolio performed… in real terms… these past 2½ years? Once again your choices are these: A)Your retirement account has increased 50% or more. You wallow gorgeously in clover. B) Your real retirement account has increased 25%. C) You have stood in place — your gain is zero.. Whatever nominal gains you have acquired, inflation has claimed. D) You have actually lost 25% in real terms. E) You have lost an impossible 50% in real terms. Here is your answer: Option D. Your portfolio has absorbed a real 25% gouging these past 2½ years. Your $100,000 is really $75,000, your $500,000 is really $375,000, your $1,000,000 is really $750,000. How do you like it? Forget About Retiring Anytime Soon Let us assume you are nearing retirement. You believe — naively perhaps — that $1 million will see you through to the grave. To your everlasting delight your financial statement reports that you are the owner of $1 million. You have attained your target. Yet in real terms you have not attained your target. In real terms you are not the owner of $1 million. You are instead the owner of $750,000. And do your retirement dreams go upon the shelf. Inflation has claimed them. How many additional years must you toil to attain your real $1 million target? You can scarcely bear to consider it… and plunge into a despairing slough. You are undone. Thanks, Joe A certain E.J. Antoni is a public finance economist at the conservative-oriented Heritage Foundation. From whom: Bidenomics has reduced the real value of the average 401(k) by a quarter in the last 2½ years. The study, published with the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, examined individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and pension plans and found shocking losses under the Biden administration, enough to delay many Americans’ retirement plans for years… Stratospheric inflation, brought on by government spending, borrowing and printing too much money, has… eroded the value of 401(k) plans by $16,200 on average, for a real (inflation-adjusted) loss of around $33,200, or 24.8%. Here this Antoni fellow trains his cannons upon the White House — rather, its principal occupant: If Biden had simply allowed one-time COVID spending to expire, the federal deficit would’ve disappeared amid soaring tax receipts while inflation remained low. Instead, Biden led the way in championing more wasteful spending and multitrillion-dollar deficits became institutionalized. The impact has been devastating. Between lost purchasing power from inflation and higher borrowing costs from interest rate hikes, the typical American family has lost the equivalent of $7,300 in annual income under Biden. [Secret Gold Back currency RUINING Biden’s plans for a digital dollar?]( There is a secret currency that’s beginning to spread across America. And you only have a limited time to claim one of these “Gold Dollars” for yourself. [Click here for more...]( And since you’ll be getting it as part of an upgrade we want to make to your account… You’ll be receiving one of these “Gold Dollars” as a FREE gift. You just have to watch this short 2 minute video recorded for you and respond by tonight at midnight. [Click Here To Watch Now]( More: Families have racked up a record $1.1 trillion in credit card debt while savings have plummeted. Sadly, a record number of Americans are also using hardship withdrawals to tap their retirement savings because they can no longer afford necessities like rent and groceries. Even those who are getting by have seen their savings crushed. Again: How do you like it? Look on the Bright Side Yet all is not grim. The unemployment rate — for example — dangles at a lovely 3.9%. Americans are massively employed. Is it because they are happily employed? Or is it because many Americans have chased secondary employment to keep body and soul together? Here is a run of recent headlines: “More Americans Are Working Two Jobs to Make Ends Meet”... “More Americans Have Two Jobs or More, a Sign of Inflation's Burden”... “Survey: 39% Have a Side Hustle, and 44% Believe They’ll Always Need One.” The Unemployment Reduction Act Thus we rechristen the administration’s Inflation Reduction Act… the Unemployment Reduction Act. That is because the Inflation “Reduction” Act kindled so much inflation it forced millions into secondary employment. Do you disbelieve in the efficacy of government programs? Well, friend, here is one example of success — success beyond measure. We refer you once again to the 3.9% unemployment rate. Thus the president can take to the campaign trail and holler that he is a veritable jobs factory. “Look at all the jobs I’ve created!” Greater genius we have rarely — if ever — glimpsed. A dozen Einsteins chained together could scarcely conceive of it. Economic Nirvana We hazard more of it will one day reduce the unemployment rate to zero. And so today we issue a thunderous demand. A thunderous demand, that is, that the Inflation Reduction Act be renewed in perpetuity, each and every year, world without end. Must Americans work two jobs, three jobs, four jobs to attain zero unemployment? Perhaps they may. Yet it makes no nevermind. Zero unemployment is zero unemployment. And zero unemployment is economic nirvana, an economic El Dorado. Thus today we issue our impassioned plea… to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell… to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen… to Joseph Biden himself… Deliver us greater inflation — the nation’s salvation requires it! Regards, [Brian Maher] Brian Maher Managing Editor, The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Editor’s note: Every day, 10,000 people reach retirement age in America. But according to statistics, only 12% of these people actually have enough money to retire. That means 8,800 people leave their retirement dreams behind — every single day. And considering the state of our economy — this problem is only getting worse. Consumer prices are high… markets are unstable… and the U.S. dollar is losing favor. But according to Jim Rickards, you aren’t hopeless… [Jim believes there is ONE thing you can do — right now — to maintain a financial edge.]( And if you do not already have three or four powerful income streams… then we urge you to [follow this link immediately.]( Nearly nine out of 10 Americans do not have enough income right now. Are you one of them? If you are, this may be one way to change that. [Go here for details.]( Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) [Brian Maher] [Brian Maher]( is the Daily Reckoning's Managing Editor. Before signing on to Agora Financial, he was an independent researcher and writer who covered economics, politics and international affairs. His work has appeared in the Asia Times and other news outlets around the world. He holds a Master's degree in Defense & Strategic Studies. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your The Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Reckoning, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@dailyreckoning.com. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We allow the editors of our publications to recommend securities that they own themselves. However, our policy prohibits editors from exiting a personal trade while the recommendation to subscribers is open. In no circumstance may an editor sell a security before subscribers have a fair opportunity to exit. The length of time an editor must wait after subscribers have been advised to exit a play depends on the type of publication. All other employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of a printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. The Daily Reckoning is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. Please read our [Privacy Statement.]( If you are having trouble receiving your The Daily Reckoning subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox by [whitelisting The Daily Reckoning.](