L-ackademia

From the New York Times, we have a report on A Contrarian View: Save Less and Still Retire With Enough.

Could it be possible that you are saving too much for your retirement?

Nevertheless, a small band of economists from universities, research institutions and the government are clearly expressing the blasphemy that many Americans could be saving less than they are being told to by the financial services industry — and spending more — while they are younger. The negative savings rate, they say, is wildly distorted.

Nevertheless, the loose confederation of well-regarded economists, who have not been working in concert, say their research points to the startling conclusion that many Americans are saving too much, not too little. Indeed, their studies of the savings and spending habits of the generation born between 1931 and 1941 revealed that at least 80 percent had accumulated more than enough wealth for retirement.

These "economists" are so fucking stoopid that it's hard to know where to begin.

Yes, the generation born between 1931 and 1941 probably saved too much because they were traumatized by the Great Depression.

But what does that have to do with today?

Every indicator shows that Americans are not just living beyond their means, but they're living way beyond their means! They're going into debt to fund an unsustainable lifestyle.

I'm working on a longer article, and have plenty more to say about this subject.