Dear Mr. Wall Street

Over the past few years, in the wake of various economic bubbles and huge financial losses…you have maligned us Boomers via Sunday morning talk shows and other Wall Street pundits… telling us how poorly we planned for retirement.

You have repeatedly told us that most of the investment losses would have been recovered by now IF ONLY WE HAD PUT MORE MONEY into those investments when the prices were down.  So if we had $100K and lost $50K…I could go to my spouse and say,” Honey, the market is really down… I think now is a good time to invest.”  To which my ever optimistic spouse would ask what new investment money  I’m referring to, since it took 10 years to accumulate what the markets took away in a week.

Add to that, the fact that the newest bubble on the horizon is the $trillion dollars of student loan debt, (more than the U.S. total credit card debt),of  which an estimated 1/3rd is co-signed by us selfish, free spirited, live for today Boomers.  I think, Mr. Wall Street, it’s not that we didn’t try to prepare for retirement… it’s that we didn’t understand how determined you were to take as much from us as possible.  We didn’t believe that you would intentionally pillage and loot the largest demographic in U.S. history.

So, as a recap…our houses are worth less (even IF we could sell them), our 401K and IRAs have suffered significant losses, we are trying to help pay for student loan debt because our kids & grandkids can’t earn enough, and at this point we are joining a gym…trying to get healthy because we need to work until we’re 80! 

As our financial and economic outlook appears murky at best…and we’re certain that you, Mr. Wall Street,  are working with congress and behind closed
doors at your corporate offices, scheming to get as many of our future dollars
as you can get… we will take control of is our daily health plan.  We will try to eat better, eat less, walk more, add more activity to our lives, reduce computer and television time, and spend more time with family and friends… and this costs me little to nothing!

If we have to work until we’re 80… we’re going to enjoy it!

Keep moving!

Mike