Presidential advice is easily given

As I wrote yesterday, in this Labor Day weekend almost 15 million Americans are jobless. Today, in his weekly radio and Internet address President Obama announced a series of what he called “common-sense steps to save for retirement.” There is something here which does not have much common-sense, specially if you are one of those jobless persons. In fact if any of them heard or read the president speech, I will think they are not full of joy and understanding. How is anybody going to save if they don’t have a job and therefore do not received a pay-check? People will answer that he -the president- was addressing the workers and that he was just trying to help a situation that has become chronic in the US, the lack of savings for retirement. The changes that Obama outlined were meant to encourage workers to put any extra pay or cash, including tax refunds, directly into retirement accounts, rather than spend it. Mr President, many of these workers who count themselves lucky to have a job, can barely make ends meet much less save. That is why many homes are still going into foreclosure and people don’t get health insurance. Also, I believe Americans were encouraged to spend their tax rebates in order to help the economy. And now they are told to save their extra money (well assuming there is extra money!). Things don’t simply add up.
Then, in his speech, President Obama, admitting that people before the recession were struggling, said:
“The fact is, even before this recession hit, the savings rate was essentially zero, while borrowing had risen and credit card debt had increased. Many were simply struggling to stay afloat as incomes were stagnant — or falling — and jobs were scarce.” And then he tried to show us, kind like a little warning, “But there were also those who spent beyond their means (which in some cases he was right),” to finally letting the citizens know that we could not continue like that, and throwing a carrot by saying: “If you work hard and meet your responsibilities, this country is going to honor our collective responsibility to you: to ensure that you can save and secure your retirement.”
Words are so easy to say… Before we believe the government will ensure a secure retirement, what we would like to see are jobs, universal health insurance and an end to the Afghanistan war. About this I will write tomorrow.