Don’t let them fool u by saying that this is just a correction. A correction needs a catalyst. The catalyst here is the tarriff. Trump created this mess. Rise up. Fight.
You keep saying retirees when I think you mean future walmart door greeters.
oh that reminds me, our local old lady Walmart greeter passed away 😔
R.I.P. Ms Wendy
Well, if you voted for these dumbasses and are now pikachu over how idiotic they actually are…hard to feel sorry for you.
BTW, if you say “I didn’t vote for that”…YES YOU DID. It’s not like donvict was quiet about his love for tariffs.
I mean, I know quite a few retirees who actively voted for his opponent. So I wouldn’t feel right saying that THEY voted for it, no? However, around my area, they definitely are a minority in their age group, so I think statistically speaking you are probably going to be right most of the time.
Oh, of course. I don’t think anyone DESERVES to live in destitution - and this is probably where progressives like me get made fun of, but it’s just how I was raised - even if they voted for donvict.
My lizard brain immediately wants to condemn people that were told not to vote against their own interest, but did anyway because of their hate of wokeness and DEI or whatever the hell. However, though I do rant here and elsewhere, I ultimately have compassion for people, even if it’s from their own actions…
As for those that voted against donvict, of course they don’t deserve it, though I know it’s now quite fashionable to dunk on “boomers” as if they are some monolithic block and that means every single one of them, to a person has caused the Republicans to get worse and worse. Personally, I believe this thinking is goaded on by elites, because it only divides us further…in addition to racism, xenophobia, transphobia, if you can whip up the various age groups and pit them against one another, you can sit back and count your money and be comforted in the notion that few people will cop to the reality…
I agree that we shouldn’t let the oligarchs divide us, and that there are boomers that haven’t been voting towards oligarchy for the past 60 years. But, at the same time, I have a hard time giving any boomers a pass because I think they didn’t fight hard enough. The vast majority of them stuck their heads in the sand and stayed there for most of their relatively comfortable lives. They let their government slide further and further towards oligarchy and didn’t talk about it because talking politics was considered uncouth… Or because they’re religious and “this earth isn’t our eternal home anyways”, or some other hand-wavy bullshit. It’s very hard for me to not feel betrayed by their collective ignorance and ineptitude.
I guess we’ll see if any other generation is different than they are/were. I somehow doubt it. I don’t see Gen X or Gen Y doing all that much. Too early to tell for Gen Z and alpha, I think…I think it’s human nature.
The boomers that I knew growing up mostly lived hand to mouth. My parents were boomers and I don’t really remember them being all that comfortable. They lived a very meager existence, lived extremely frugally (I think it was generational trauma in my own family coming from the Great Depression and my grandparents on both sides) and saved as much as possible. They took almost no vacations and they were some of the first ecominded people. They were leftists (of the older type), not so much the hippie type, and most of their friends were, too. I sure as hell know they wanted nothing to do with the Republicans and the ones that are still alive despise donvict.
So, I think it varies. People born in a certain age group are definitely not a monolith. Not every boomer went to Woodstock and then later did a heel-turn and went all-in on the Reaganites and became a Wall street trader yuppie…as much as that is the common stereotype.
That is how my brain works a well when it comes to Americans. I know that they aren’t all retarded, but I have a hard time dealing with the country and its politics and just how fucking brainwashed the population is.
I also know that if I had been american, I would have voted for Harris despite haaaaating woke shit. To me those are two very separate things. Woke shit is a social trend where one can argue for and against aspects of it and I expected it to find its middle ground with time once the most obnoxious people and companies got over themselves.
But! Ain’t no fucking way I would ever have voted republican as their politics, no matter how much they have catered to my hateboner for woke bs, is fundamentally against pretty much all of my values. Even the democrats are too right wing for me.
I hate America for how it treats its population. I hate that there isn’t free education and healthcare (to the “noThinG iS fREe” crowd = kindly shut up and go jangle your keys in the corner while the adults are talking) and I cannot fathom the work culture over there. To me it is borderline slavery.
To me those issues outweighs my annoyances with Hollywood’s stubborn decision to pump out cringe woke propaganda and call it movies for ten-ish years. I am legit embarrassed for all the dumbasses who voted for trump because of woke entertainment. There is a level of stupidity there that I can’t even begin to unpack.
The fact that you rant about ‘woke’ Hollywood stuff speaks VOLUMES about you and your character.
The irony about the qons that voted against Kamala because “woke”… I mean, donvict and his demons may go after Hollywood, etc…but the thing is, neither the Democrats nor Kamala were or are responsible for a lot of the culture stuff - meaning Hollywood can crank out “woke” trash that makes almost everyone’s eyes roll as long as they can economically sustain it [1], regardless of who is in office. I guess some of the qons really do want donvict to go full Putin/Hitler and make every aspect of life, including movies, bow to his stupid and backwards will.
Imagine if Hollywood has their arm twisted by the magoffs into just cranking out snow-white super xtian Hallmark movie type of dreck for years…gag. Seriously, who the fuck is going to want to watch any of that beyond just a very narrow and stupid demographic?
I honestly don’t understand what upsets a type of person so very much about godawful cultural content to the point that it changes their vote in the political sphere. Lots of magoffs got very GRRRR mad about the latest Doctor Who, but isn’t that the BBC? What the hell would they expect donvict to do, anyway? Ban it somehow? Invade the UK and make them stop? Same for Disney? Who was making them watch anything from Disney? Don’t these people have choices in what they choose to stream? The movies they pay for? I get it - quite a bit of it is unbelievably terrible, but…I don’t remember anyone making me watch anything. The people think something like The Acolyte “ruined their childhood” and now have the knives out for wokeness and Disney, but I have a newsflash - Episode 1 was complete shit and didn’t need “wokeness” to make it so.
These are the same people that cried for decades that they are “made fun of”. Sure, by some content. But also, lots of content completely caters to flyover country/salt of the Earth narratives and always has.
[1] I really don’t understand what the business model is. It looks like Disney especially seems to want to set fire to huge piles of cash? And for what purpose? It almost seems to be creating more reactionaries. And people that they think they are catering to? I don’t know how much they are bound to be customers of things like Star Wars anyway? The term “woke” now is so loaded, unfortunately, but there is miles of distance between having representation and not being nasty to certain marginalized groups, etc., vs hammering in extremely stilted agendas, doing race/gender swapping almost to intentionally alienate the fan base and so on…it’s so cringe that I often wonder if it’s being done in service of oligarchs’ interest in dividing the nation even further, just like corporations doing their silly rainbow/woke-washing stuff.
They did say when they were exporting all the jobs to China that the stock market will do amazingly well, while skeptics were more concerned about jobs and unions. It really blurs the line between the left and the right when the left is complaining about a shrinking 401k while applauding the rich like Musk getting poorer.
Retirees ‘idiots’ as they keep savings they need to live in volatile asset classes such as stocks.
Boomers lived their entire lives failing upwards. Why wouldn’t they expect things to just go their way?
Got what they voted for, didn’t like it? I’m shocked.
You think all the people with 401(k)s voted for Trump? I’m curious as to what leads you to that conclusion?
The elderly vote mostly conservative. This is a known fact.
From what I’ve read, 65+ was about evenly split Harris-Trump in 2024. 40-64 broke decidedly Trump. If the markets (and 401ks) manage to bounce back by the time the 40-64 cohort largely enters retirement, I fully expect they will have learned absolutely nothing.
But it’s so worth it when you remember that he ended all that DEI stuff and stopped those two trans kids from playing women’s sports.
Over two trillion has been wiped out. That’s one trillion dollars per trans kid.
Is America great again yet?
Since inauguration it’s $11 trillion.
Okay, now do it in Count von Count’s voice.
Toooo manie trillyon. Ha ha ha
For a trillion dollars I’ll stop playing any sport you want.
Don’t be a sucker. I’ll continue not playing any sports for $999B
That is really what it came down to for so very many of his base. They believe “go woke go broke” is a thing?
🤣 🤣
Lol, I rolled my 401k to an IRA as part of a actively managed fidelity fund right after Trump got inaugurated. If I hadn’t I would be down about 150k, instead I’m up 35k already, and that was after cashing out just below all time high.
That said,I decided to ride it out in my fuck around E-Trade account. I went from being up 25k on jan 1st to being down 9k today.
Trump’s ‘plan’ is to crash the market so that people with large reserves of cash can buy at all time low. Then he’ll back pedal his bullshit and things will go up, so they’ll sell. It’s not going to go back up to what it was before his watch, at least not with him around. People who don’t have the cash reserves/appetite to buy in a recession will get fucked, and that’s most people in the country
Yeah but you can’t just say “ok the plan worked, tariffs are off now” and expect the rest of the world to be chill about that. It’s too late to backpedal.
If the rest of the world turns on the US then that’s also a win because Krasnov is a Russian asset and part of why Russia and China worked so hard to get him elected was to destabilize the US and remove them as the world leader so China can step in
I really don’t think this is part of some grander plan. I think he really thinks blanket tariffs are a good idea.
Tariff man is an idiot.
It’s almost like this is exactly what we warned them would happen.
People at or near retirement age should have a 401k invested in more safe funds with a higher mix of bonds. Why would they have such a high proportion of stocks that a drop in the stock market would impact their spending habits?
Yeah, exactly my thoughts. At retirement age, most or all your investments should be low risk.
That’s the best part. The baby boomers created this shit and now they can’t retire. Good for them!
So, all of boomers created this?
Good, it’s what my parents deserve.
My mom retired last year. She also voted for Trump. She made her bed …
I love you Internet stranger. And I hope you found some peace after moving out.
“Victor Fettes, 54, of Georgia, who retired last week”
Fucking hell, you guys can retire at FIFTY FOUR?
you guys can retire at FIFTY FOUR?
My cousin retired 2 years ago at 48.
Stock market whiz? Nah: union.
He started working at a local mechanic in high-school, as engines were interesting; just sweeping up. He asked questions. He applied for his apprenticeship and the school district moved him to the ‘trade’ oriented school where the rough kids seemed to end up completely randomly when catchment overlapped. Did metal shop in his final year and found a funding programme to get through his first courses. Displayed a natural talent for adequate work and straightforward math that was apparently everything people needed when paired with his indomitable spirit and happier-than-sadder mood profile. In short: he hustled, he did his fucking work and he was a net-positive to work with.
Now we fast-forward. The union was good to him, and he moved into jobs where his 5’8 size, nimble fingers and “yeah, I’ll crawl in the slushy muck” attitude got him as many opportunities as his quick wit got him out of shitty politics. He went to a place we call Fort McMoney and was able to exercise his options when bosses were dinks; and he did so very quickly and openly, explaining what’s happening on the way out – “We agreed on this vacation time, but you broke that agreement. I’m still getting on the plane tonight. I got a job with the guy down the road, so that’s why I’m clearing out. I’m sorry it went this way, but we both get to learn from this. Good luck, and have a great weekend.”
At 48 he’d done his 25-plus years at one career and many shops, and the half-pay-for-life union retirement kicked in.
He now rides his donorcycle with his adorable wife or they take the little car on trips to climb mountains or see a lake or something. He got a shitty place in a nice place, made some friends and some of them knew how to fix up his place and needed his own skills, and his easygoing attitude provided the glue to get everything fixed everywhere, and he’s kinda set.
He touches grass and trees a lot, and the pics he posts on his cell phone show some great locations and his beaming face in the dawn light. He’s fucking winning so hard and I’m half jealous and intensely proud of him because he is actually an absolute sweetie and a great and caring guy.
Guys, build better unions or build better labour code. Focus on getting into a work arrangement with a group that pretends to like you better than at-will dot-com fat-cat “we’re a family” pizza-party dickheads think they’re pretending.
I’m really happy for this guy and just absolutely despairing over how weak labor generally is. People don’t even imagine a better world, it feels like.
Don’t worry, he won’t stop working. He’ll spend the next 15 years as a ‘consultant’ in his old position and make 100 times more than he did as an employee.
He was senior director of risk management, so I assume more than 100k+ salary a year.
I’m surprised he kept his job so long, seeing how poorly he managed his own risks…
This comment here is excellent - I love it! Thank you for sharing!
ZING!
It probably means that he retired from a job and receives that retirement pay, but he still won’t qualify for social security or other benefits until he hits whatever age they’ve raised it to. Some companies let you retire after 20 years, some even less.
receives that retirement pay
Lol actual pensions are rare in the US these days. Most companies/institutions just do a 401k - the decline of which is exactly what will kill your early retirement plans.
Very very few can. Or do. But yes.
He can’t access that 401k without some pretty significant restrictions or penalties, though.
Clearly they just need to take their own advice:
-
No more avocado toast
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Stop buying so much coffee out. Make it at home.
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???
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Profit.
Simple as.
Don’t forget about the cell phone plan, Internet access, Netflix or large screen TVs. I remember reading about “boomer math”, if I remember correctly - the skewed notion about what really costs what.
Used to be a color TV was a luxury, and that probably made a real imprint on some. Same for coffee - until Starbucks really cracked that market, the idea of paying more than fifty cents or whatever for a cup of coffee was considered ludicrous at one time. And things like cell phones, Netflix and Internet were not really things in their formative years…
Boot straps. Don’t forget about the boot straps.
They could eat the bootstraps.
Also they could just get an easy job at McDonald’s???
They just arent qualified for that job.
Trumps plan is to fix obesity by making everyone too poor to eat… Or something
-
“I don’t want to have to worry that everyone is constantly changing my financial reality,” said Alison Carey, 64, of Oregon, a freelancer in the theater industry. “Let the economy do its machinations, but don’t put me in the gears.”
Sorry you had to learn it this way, Alison, but “the economy” has always been grinding people up in its gears. The main difference is, that it is now reaching you, personally.
The main difference is, that it is now reaching you, personally.
Ah, republicans and not giving a shit until it hurts them, name a more iconic duo.
a freelancer in the theater industry.
I wonder what that means. I’m not in the creative industry, but that sounds like that could be barely-subsistence type of money or something in the stratosphere… ?
“I don’t want to have to worry that everyone is constantly changing my financial reality,”
Welcome to my entire adult life, Alison
I gotta assume a theater freelancer in Oregon probably didn’t vote for him
I was thinking the same, but…people surprise you. I know some lesbians that moved out of one (red) state into Colorado because of how they didn’t feel quite safe there…but then voted for donvict, because “Republican do conomy good” type of reasons, from what I can discern.
Holy fuck.
Oregon is more than the west coast. It’s only recently that the state isn’t literally, legally, run by the KKK.
Theater freelancer is also doing a lot of heavy lifting there, tbf
It’s ok everyone they will all be a lot better off once manufacturing comes back to the US, they can make up the difference by working in a local sweatshop.
Yeah, just hold on and wait for those low paying, low skilled manufacturing jobs that no one really wants to work, and that we don’t have logistics in place to support.
Then you can make minimum wage working 12 hour shifts with no pension and a 401k that will flatline right before you can retire.
When you die next to the assembly line they’ll cover your face with a red MAGA hat right before they wheel you to the Soylent green processing facility
Even that chucklefuck billionaire was talking about how it will be all robots - openly. Meaning, I don’t know how many sweatshop jobs will be on offer 5, 10, 15 years or whatever it takes to build that kind of infrastructure here…
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/03/tech-jobs-robots-lutnick-manufacturing-renaissance
Didn’t you hear? Vance is saying that manufacturing is never coming back to the US.
So even working in a sweatshop won’t be an option. Well, I guess until we’re colonized.
Suppose it does come back, who is going to buy it ?
Once wages undercut China, they can sell stuff to the Chinese.
They don’t want that crap though, nobody does. Who are they going to sell crap to, nobody wants it.
But we don’t have any manufacturing capabilities
