Labor

After months of planning and cogitating over how to address the failing public pension systems in their state, which are somewhere between $40 and $80 billion under water, Governor Matt Bevin and the leaders of the General Assembly’s Republican majorities released their plan earlier today and it appears to be nothing more than the same old "kick the can down the road" approach to "pension reform" that has perpetuated the pension ponzi in this country for decades while doing absolutely nothing to address the actual crisis.

So much for the hurricane distortions of the US labor market...

Just a few short weeks after initial unemployment claims jumped in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, in the latest week the DOL reported that filings for unemployment benefits tumbled to the lowest level in 45 years, or since 1973, as all those workers who were unable to work due to the two hurricanes, returned to their jobs.

Back in March we shared the staggering results of a Bankrate survey which found that the average American household couldn't afford to write a measly $500 check in the event of an unexpected emergency (see: "The Reality Is, Half Of Americans Can’t Afford To Write A $500 Check").  Of course, as we note frequently, while the talking heads of daytime financial TV shows love to reference surging economic indicators like unemployment figures, the fact is that the number of Americans not participating in the work force remains near all-time highs and wage growth, despite "full employment" levels,

Authored by Carl Dincesen via StockBoardAsset.com,

Summary

Authored by Patrick Watson via Mauldin Economics,

Wall Street endlessly gushes about retirement. Its TV commercials show how wonderful life will be in our golden years—when we are old, yet still healthy and wealthy enough to go hang-gliding every day.

Meanwhile, out here in the real world, most working-age Americans don’t want to talk or even think about retirement. Often this is because they know they aren't saving enough and probably will have to work until they drop dead.