News Story of the Day: Despite the recent warning from Citibank regarding the world’s $78 trillion pension shortfall (SEE:), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a step back from taking selfies and reading Vogue magazine to announce that he’s rolling back the retirement eligibility age for Old Age Security (OAS).
In 2012, Trudeau’s predecessor, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives, increased the eligibility age for OAS from 65 to 67 in order to sustain the plan. It made sense: people are living and working longer and much of these government retirement vehicles’ funds are being exhausted.
However, Trudeau announced at a Bloomberg TV town hall Thursday that the Liberals will roll it back to 65 as part of its first budget next week. He also confirmed that the government will have a key role in revitalizing Canada’s collapsing economy by investing in “unsexy” infrastructure projects.
Chart of the Day: Are Americans getting richer? For all of the talk of the one percent and how everyone not in the one percent is getting poorer and fleeced, a new chart suggests that Americans’ net worth is actually rising. That’s right. The net worth of American households has nearly doubled in the last 20 years alone from $44 trillion to $87 trillion.
Illustration of the Day: Ever wanted to play Bernie Sanders’s version of the hit game Monopoly? Well, now you can. It’s called “Bernopoly.” Have fun!
Quote of the Day: One could learn a lot from legendary economist Friedrich Hayek. He was an enlightened gentlemen with unique and eloquent viewpoints. It’s too bad that millennials and Generation Yers today aren’t likely to learn about him in government indoctrination, worker-training centers. Here is a quote from Hayek in “The Road to Serfdom.”
“Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the fact that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another. But if we face a monopolist we are at his absolute mercy. And an authority directing the whole economic system of the country would be the most powerful monopolist conceivable…it would have complete power to decide what we are to be given and on what terms. It would not only decide what commodities and services were to be available and in what quantities; it would be able to direct their distributions between persons to any degree it liked.”
Video of the Day: In 2008, Matt Damon ripped apart Sarah Palin and about how she could have been U.S. President if something happened to John McCain. His criticisms of Palin were valid, and likened her to some “bad Disney movie.” But what’s interesting is that you could have changed the name Sarah Palin to Justin Trudeau and it would have been the same video. Trudeau was a ski instructor and substitute before he became a Member of Parliament and then Prime Minister. Anyway, here’s the video:
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. So what if net worth doubled in the last 20 years. Income has not. My income has gone up 60% Rent up 86% Food up 100%, to 200% depending on what you are buying, Steak at $9.99 per pound is off the menu. New car up 150%, Healthcare up 250%. 70% of net worth is locked in people’s house, if they want access to that money it will cost them an interest payment. The only way many families have maintained the illusion of a middle class standard of living is with credit. The high debt load is keeping many from saving anything for retirement.