“Two recent Gallup surveys show that there are more post-retirement job seekers out there than ever before, mainly because they’ve lost confidence in the economy. The historically destructive recession that started as the president took office and his inability to speed up the recovery have seniors scrambling for ways to salvage what’s left of their retirement. Bear in mind that while the net worth of all Americans has declined sharply during this period, seniors have been hardest hit.”
In one study released a few days ago, Gallup concluded that “Americans’ biggest financial concern is funding their retirement, with 61% worried about having enough money for that. This worry has been exacerbated by the recession’s aftermath, which has perhaps caused more seniors and baby boomers near retirement age to remain in the workforce and postpone retirement until they have replenished their nest eggs.”
Gallup also reported that confidence in the U.S. economy is hovering at lowest levels in five years and that its Standard of Living Index is down to discouraging levels, Weber noted.
The debut of Obamacare, he said, has been an unmitigated disaster and that while there may be fixes for the innumerable so-called glitches in its technological architecture, more substantial troubles may lie ahead.
“News coverage has put a spotlight on the fundamental flaws of the law. For example, people are finding out that their health insurance premiums are increasing faster and higher than anticipated. They are also discovering that deductibles are going to be super high. But, most important, the law is already having a negative impact on the job market—with employers opting for part time workers to avoid staggering new health insurance costs.”
Weber cited yesterday’s New York Times, one of the most liberal newspapers in the nation, which headlined its front page coverage with this banner: Health Care Law Fails to Lower Prices for Rural Areas. The story noted that: “As technical failures bedevil the rollout of President Obama’s health care law, evidence is emerging that one of the program’s loftiest goals — to encourage competition among insurers in an effort to keep costs low — is falling short for many rural Americans.” It went on to note: “rural areas and small towns have far fewer carriers offering plans in the law’s online exchanges. Those places, many of them poor, are being asked to choose from some of the highest-priced plans in the 34 states where the federal government is running the health insurance marketplaces.”
