Americans have taken to borrowing from whatever sources they can find, to try to survive the recession, and maintain their standard of living.  At the same time, Americans actually increased their household spending, while retail sales declined, something that has the Federal Reserve and Economists puzzled.

The reason Americans are spending more, raiding their retirement accounts, and using credit cards, while retail sales are declining, is simply due to increased costs for food and fuel.  It is Federal Reserve policy of keeping interest rates at zero, while engaging in quantitative easing (creating more dollars), that has led to a rise in food and fuel prices.

Americans are cutting out shopping, vacations, dining out, medications, and other spending, to cover the higher cost of gas and bread.  The Federal Reserve keeps food and fuel out of their inflation index, allowing them to make the ever more dubious claim that their is low inflation in the U.S., which allows them to keep interest rates at zero to keep the big banks they serve solvent.

The increased spending on food and fuel is what accounts for positive GDP growth in the United States.  If Americans were not spending more for food and fuel the country would be back in recession.  So, the Federal Reserve can say they are doing their job, while President Obama can trumpet growth in the economy.  Meanwhile Americans continue their struggle to survive the recession.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that interest rates will not be raised until late 2014.  Screwing seniors who depend on  U.S. Treasury Bonds, CD’s, and money market accounts for their retirement income, for another two years.

Retirees who depend on bonds and CD’s, to provide income for their retirements, have already suffered through four years of artificially low interest rates.  The Federal Reserve is promising retirees and seniors a total of six years of pain.

Why is Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates artificially low?  To save the banks.  Remember, the Federal Reserve is literally the big banks, and acts in the interest of the big banks.  If the Federal Reserve allows interest rates to naturally rise, the big banks are screwed, in two ways.

First, higher interest rates will crash the housing market, as mortgage payments and the cost of borrowing go up, and the value of the mortgage portfolios the banks hold go down.  Secondly, higher interest rates will also cause the stock market to fall, and along with it the stock prices of the big banks.  Potentially driving big banks and investment companies into insolvency and/or bankruptcy.

In effect, the Federal Reserve is bailing out banks on the backs of seniors, by keeping interest rates artificially low.

How does the Federal Reserve keep interest rates artificially low? It buys U.S. Treasury Bonds through a process known as Quantitative Easing QE, or in non-fed speak, it increases the quantity of dollars.  The negative downside to this policy of Quantitative Easing is inflation.  The price of commodities such as gas, food, cotton, metals, orange juice, goes up.

Creating a double squeeze on seniors and retirees.  Not only do seniors receive less income from their bond holdings, a larger percentage of their reduced income, will be spent on gas and food.

What can you do to protect yourself from the Federal Reserve?  Your options are limited to reducing your spending to offset the loss of income and higher prices, and/or, increasing your bond holding risk to increase your retirement income.  Talk to your investment adviser, we don’t sell investments or give investment advice, about high yield corporate bond funds.

While the yield on a U.S. Treasury Bond is less than 1%, the yield on the Vanguard High Yield Corporate VWEHX is currently 7.13%   The Federal Reserve is hell bent on screwing seniors and retirees to bailout the banks, however, there are steps seniors can take to mitigate the financial pain.

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Is the recession causing your depression?  An alarming report out of England, shows that anti-depressant use in that country has soared by 28% in the past three years, coinciding with the start of the recession.

Layoffs, lost retirements, and overall economic insecurity has sent many in England to their doctors in search of a cure for their recession depression.  Here in the United States, the most depressed country in the world, where besides hypertension, depression ranks as the most common general medical issue, the baby boom generation nearing retirement has the highest rates of depression. Read more.

While the study out of England, clearly indicates a link between the economic recession and personal depression, could there also be a more correlative and direct link between perceived retirement loss and depression?  Would this explain why Baby Boomers trapped in stressful jobs, a major cause of depression, with no prospect of relief are the most likely to suffer from depression?

Do you suffer from recession depression?

If so, then I have the cure for recession depression, Free Retirement Software.  Download one and leave a comment for me in the morning.  Most common side effects users experience are giddiness, joy, and uncontrollable smiling.  Seriously, a Swedish medical study has scientifically proven that, early retirement  can cure depression.  Free Early Retirement Software may be the only non-medicine medicine you need to cure your recession depression.

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Free Early Retirement Software cures recession depression by enabling users to control when they want to retire.  Simply choose when you want to retire, and Free Early Retirement Software calculates how much you need to save each month, and how much you can safely spend each month when you retire.

As an added benefit, users of the Free Early Retirement Calculator will discover they need much less savings to safely retire compared to traditional retirement planning.  Some of you, will be instantly cured of your recession depression, when you discover that you can retire today!

Traditional retirement planning causes recession depression by over-estimating how much savings a person needs to retire.  Sometimes by up to a million dollars or more.  Forcing millions of baby boomers  to work longer than necessary, trapping everyone into a life of wage slavery.

Example:  A couple aged 55 with a net worth of $600,000, earning $80,000 per year, using traditional retirement planning needs $1,600,000 to retire.  If the couple creates a $2,250 per month retirement budget, using the Free Early Retirement calculator they need $600,000 to retire, a million dollar difference -  they can retire today!  Can you retire today?

Compare and Calculate How Much Savings You Need to Retire.

Are you ready to end your recession depression, take back control of your financial future, and retire years earlier than you dreamed possible?

Visit and download: Free Retirement Software

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For many people, especially in 2012, retirement planning is their top new year resolution.  If you have heard yourself saying things like “This is the year that I get serious and create a retirement plan.”  Or, “It’s time to stop kidding around, we need to create a retirement plan, create a budget, and find the savings we need for retirement.”

Then I have some good news, achieving your 2012 retirement planning resolution, is now free and easy.

Free Early Retirement Planning Software 2012 enables anyone and everyone, to easily plan, manage, achieve and maintain, their retirement goal for free.  This amazing new retirement software package offers something no other financial planner can, the ability to retire when you want.

When do you want to retire?  With Free Early Retirement Planning Software 2012, you simply choose when you want to retire, and in less than half an hour, you can create an individual retirement plan that calculates how much you need to save each month, and how much you can safely spend in retirement to achieve your goal.

And, you get simple budgeting tools, that put you on track to achieve your goal.

If you are planning to retire in 2012, or you are already retired, Free Early Retirement creates a 30 year retirement plan that adjusts for inflation, and includes budgeting tools to insure you maintain a safe retirement.

One more pleasant surprise awaits retirement planning resolution procrastinators in 2012, the discovery that you need much less savings to successfully retire, than traditional retirement planners would have you believe.

Try the Free Early Retirement Calculator to find out how much savings you really need to retire.

To learn more and download visit: Free Early Retirement

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Everything about the payroll tax holiday is a scam.  From the unconvincing performance, and poor acting skills, of the White House and Republicans.  To the minimal impact the payroll tax holiday will have on creating jobs.  And, the fact that the payroll tax holiday robs Social Security, to give workers a meager and temporary income increase today.

You can read a good summary of the non-economic impact of the payroll tax holiday here, and watch the video above, to get an excellent summary of the political charade taking place.

To make the payroll tax holiday scam even more toxic to America’s future, the tar sands oil pipeline is being thrown into the mix, in a cynical ploy to hold a horrible idea hostage to a polluted proposal. Look, it should be obvious to everyone bye now, that the government is owned by the 1%, and together they want to rob your retirement, so it is time you Occupy Retirement.

Start by getting the tools to achieve financial freedom.

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State security regulators are sounding an alarm over a surge in retirement fraud targeting baby boomers.  Regulators expect to file a record number of enforcement actions involving investors over age 5o reports the Wall Street Journal. Why?

Desperate Baby Boomers nearing retirement, who have seen their retirement savings wiped out by the housing and stock market collapse, are easy prey for fraudsters promising “risk-free” high investment returns.  It’s a double robbery on Baby Boomers, who were suckered into a housing and stock market ponzi scheme, and are now having what’s left of their retirement savings picked on by financial vultures.

I have some good retirement news for baby boomers, who want to be able to retire one day, but first let’s get the risk free high return investment thing out of the way.  There are only two ways to get risk free high investment returns.

1.  401k Matching
If your employer offers you matching 401k contributions, for instance 25 cents for every dollar up to 5% of your salary, you instantly earn a 25% return on your investment, even if you put your contribution into a money market account.

2. Paying off Credit Cards
If you have credit cards with high interest rates, for instance a credit card charging you 18% annual interest rate, every extra dollar you put into paying off your credit card is the equivalent of earning an 18% annual return on your investment.

Those are the only risk free high return investments available to investors.  Anyone who promises or guarantees a risk free return on your investment higher than a U.S. Treasury bond is either incompetent, a liar, or a thief.

Now, the good news for baby boomers who want to retire, even after the housing and stock market collapse – the thieves are lying.

One of the reasons why many baby boomers fall victim to financial con-artists, is that they believe that they need more savings to retire, than they actually need.  Wall Street mutual funds and financial planners use a guess, 80% of your salary, to calculate how much savings you need to retire.  It is a wildly inaccurate guess, which can over-estimate the amount of savings you need to retire, forcing you to work years longer than necessary.

Example: If you earn $80,000 per year, Wall Street financial planners calculate you will need $1,600,000 in retirement savings, before you can retire.  On the other hand, if you create a $2,500 per month retirement budget, using the Free Early Retirement formula you only need $600,000 to retire - a million dollar difference!

The truth about retirement planning is that you, not your salary, controls how much savings you need and when you can retire.  Believing you need a lot more savings to retire than you actually need, lures you into a high risk investments, making you easy prey for financial fraudsters promising high returns.

The best way to avoid financial fraud, is to avoid financial planners completely, and do your own retirement planning.   The good news here is that you can do your own retirement planning for free.  Using Free Early Retirement Software, in less than half an hour, you can easily create your own retirement plan for free.

Why pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars to a financial planner whose odds of success are worse than a monkey throwing darts, and who gives you a worthless retirement plan?   Or even worse, giving your life savings to financial fraudster, who falsely promises to make you rich in retirement?  Free Early Retirement makes retirement planning free, easy, and safe.

Learn more at Free Early Retirement

Seniors should join the Occupy Wall Street movement to protect Social Security and Medicare, end the on-going bail out of bankers on the backs of seniors, and to save democracy for their children and grand children.

3 Reasons Why Seniors Should Join Occupy Wall Street

Protect Social Security and Medicare
On November 23, 2011, unless seniors rise up and join Occupy Wall Street, the undemocratic super committee in Congress in cooperation with the Obama administration, will recommend reducing Social Security and Medicare benefits to balance the budget.

If you do nothing, if seniors do not join Occupy Wall Street, you will see your Social Security and Medicare benefits reduced, and your children and grand children will be forced to work longer and receive less than they are entitled to when they retire.

Fortunately, the Occupy Wall Street movement is mobilizing to prevent the robbery of Social Security and Medicare, by the 1% owned politicians in Washington.  On November 17th 2011, a national day of action to stop the super committee is being organized, and Occupy Wall Street could use your help to save your retirement.

End the Senior Bank Bail-Out
Since the economic collapse began in 2008, the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration,  have been bailing out the banks on the backs of Seniors.  The Federal Reserve, by keeping interest rates artificially low, has robbed billions of dollars from Seniors, in the form of interest payments on Treasury Bonds and CD’s, and passed this money on to banks who then give their executives billion dollar bonuses.

The Occupy Wall Street movement aims to reform the Federal Reserve and put an end to the senior bail out of banks.  Joining Occupy Wall Street could literally increase your retirement income.

Save Democracy for your Children
Democracy is dying in America.  The wealthy elite 1% and their corporations have bought most local and national politicians.  We are entering a draconian phase in our nations history, a return to taxation without representation, not seen since our founding in 1776.

The Occupy Wall Street movement and others, are working towards a Constitutional Amendment to take money out of politics, and end the corporate and special interest dominance of our democracy.  There are more reasons why seniors should join Occupy Wall Street, but saving Social Security and Medicare, ending the bank bail-outs, and saving democracy, are the most urgent and important.

Contrary to what you may see on the news, the Occupy Wall Street movement, is not just a bunch of dirty hippies camping out in the park.  The Occupy Wall Street movement contains people of all races, ages, incomes, professions, a true representation of the 99%, including seniors.

Visit Occupy Together to join an Occupy Wall Street in your area.

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Is there is a connection between the MF Global Collapse, and the surprise decision by the Greek Prime Minister, to hold a referendum on the Greek Debt Deal?

Did MF Global “go all in” on a Greek debt default, purchase credit default swaps on Greek Sovereign debt, and was forced to cover margin calls due to investor liquidation when the European Greek debt deal was announced?

Why did the Greek Prime Minister, who up until now had sacrificed his people and agreed to everything the Bankers wanted, suddenly and inexplicably decide at the last minute to put the  Greek debt bail out up for a vote?

Did Goldman Sachs, fearing another Lehman Brothers style collapse of the financial system, ask the Greek Prime Minister to throw a wrench into the deal, to bolster the balance sheet of MF Global?

How many other Goldman Sachs / J.P. Morgan affiliated hedge funds are in a similar situation as MF Global?   How many hedge funds have credit default swap exposure to Greek and other European sovereign debt, and will likewise collapse, if the Europeans can save the Euro and their Union?

These are a few of the questions I have, regarding the MF Global collapse and the inexplicable decision by Greek Prime Minister Papandreou to hold a referendum on the Greek Debt bailout.

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What is the Occupy Wall Street message?

If you get your news and information from the Main Stream Media, no doubt you have been hearing hosts and pundits, asking the question “What is the Occupy Wall Street message?” Seriously!?!

It is a shameful attempt by the main stream media, to purposefully give their viewers and listeners the impression that the Occupy Wall Street movement either has no message, or can not articulate a coherent message. The Occupy Wall Street movement has had the same message since it started:

The wealthiest 1% have bought the government, courts, and the media, and use them to rob the 99%

That’s it, pretty simple, not a complicated message.  The reason the Main Stream Media pretends as though the Occupy Wall Street movement has no message, is because the Main Stream Media is owned by the wealthy 1%, and they do not want you to hear or see the message.

Unfortunately, for the main stream media and the wealthy 1% who own them, you just did.

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Why does the Occupy Wall Street movement have no leaders or demands?  How does the Occupy Wall Street movement keep growing when nobody knows what it wants?  As someone who has been involved with Occupy San Francisco, allow me to explain, why we have no leaders and no demands.

Why Occupy Wall Street Has No Leaders
This is not true.  Everyone involved with  Occupy Wall Street, We the People, are the leaders.  We practice direct democracy, bottom up, not top down decision making.   Another reason why Occupy Wall Street has no leader, is because we tried the leader thing (Obama), and it (he) failed.

In the living memory of most of the participants of Occupy Wall Street, there has never been a leader in the United States, who has put the interests of the 99% over the top 1%.  All the leaders have either been co-opted, corrupted, or coerced into furthering the elite 1% class war agenda.  Leaders make promises to get elected, break promises once elected, and generally betray the people who voted for them.

Why Occupy Wall Street Has No Demands
The reason why Occupy Wall Street has no demands, is because you can not make demands, of a system you intend to replace.  What is the point of making demands?  One demand, one law or action, will not fix a financial and political system that is corrupt at it’s core.

Systemic corruption requires systemic change.   Right now, the Occupy Wall Street movement is engaged in a mobilization effort, a democratic gathering of the people.  Join us, be a leader, and create the change you want to see.

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