Page 160 - Ready Set Retire

Stephen J. Kelley

matter who said it, it bears reflection. Ask yourself, does this
apply to the way you manage your money? For many people it
does. They know what they are doing isn’t working. They know
they are riding a bubble that will burst. They’ve seen it happen
repeatedly, but they are so caught up in fear they just keep on
doing it. And by way of “comforting” themselves, they say,
“Well, everyone else has lost money, too.”

The Big Lie

The truth is everyone else hasn’t lost money. Your broker hasn’t. He
or she makes money whether or not you do (when was the last
time you got out of paying fees and commissions just because
you lost some money? The mavens on Wall Street haven’t.
They fly around in private jets paid for by your 401(k).
Members of Congress haven’t. They get big donations from
Wall Street to keep things going the way they are (about $2
billion a year). The corporate media haven’t. They get
advertising billions from those very same people.

Am I saying these people are all Madoffs and out to get you?
Not at all. All I am saying is the system has been so tilted in
their favor for so long that it led inexorably to the meltdown
that crashed the housing market, put 8 million people out of
work, and overnight wiped out $17 trillion in retirement
savings and wealth…twice in 10 years. Now a lot of that is

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