I was going to leave a new comment, but decided not to be redundant. I'll add a little to the comment which describes the problem succintly. We have retirement investments because we started without debt and because we had sufficient income to max out our 403(b) plans. We also had top tier medical insurance through our jobs. The statistics show that we are unusual. How do I feel about this? I am glad for me, but I don't think it is fair that we don't have better minimal support for people.
Passkeys are an incredible problem for end users because they are tied to devices. If you don't have the device, you are locked out. And if someone else has the device, let's say your phone, and the can log in to it, now they have access. Also, don't be surprised when AI agents figure out how to access and use or spoof passkeys. We're being sold a technology that makes our lives more difficult and no more secure. I wonder if another strategy to limit losses is to keep a low balance in your checking account and don't pay anyone directly from other accounts. Question: how many keys are required to authenticate for ACH? This sounds like something an AI agent with infinite patience could work through. AI agents don't sleep.
Most people are underpaid. Many are trapped paycheck to paycheck. This includes many people who would otherwise be responsible if they could just have an opportunity to dig out of their debt. It's easy to say, well they should have rented a smaller apartment, but maybe that's not an available or realistic choice. A lot of people have to own cars. It's not a choice to have to buy new tires and gasoline. Even with Obamacare, a huge amount of debt and bankruptcy are due to medical costs. In most cases, the need for medical care is bad luck, not problems caused by personal responsibility. (And why is medical care so much more expensive in the US than other wealthy nations, like across Europe?) People should not be blamed for situations truly out of their control. I'm not saying that a lot of people don't handle finances well or that some need of medical care isn't due to self-destructive behavior. But looking at the systems we have to negotiate, as capitalism gets less regulated, more individuals need to scramble to pay their way. Credit cards are designed by our corporate overlords to make a profit. We own stock in banks and credit card companies. Why? Because we expect them to have high revenue streams of interest and fees and to grow. This is proof that the system is designed to suck money from creditcard holders and that we are well aware of this.
We've contributed to Roth IRAs after maxing out contributions to our pretax 403(b) plans. I don't think anyone here would suggest a better option for additional retirement investing. We are doing some conversions from IRAs from past 403(b) rollovers from past jobs. There's no way to know now whether this will be beneficial in the end. What we do know is that it will give us flexibility in the future whether to draw on taxed or untaxed sources to pay for whatever expenses come along, and if there's anything left over, our heirs would prefer a Roth.
We were burned by TIPS funds. Also, to reiterate my comment to last week's two articles about the $40T debt, can we trust the current gov't to set a fair inflation index on the bonds or will they discount it?
Can we trust the government to properly state the inflation rate? I used to think so, but not any more. Therefore, when inflation increases, I expect it to be officially discounted if not outright denied. This would undervalue the bonds.
I got direct dispatches from inside two of the hospital systems in NYC and the medical examiner's office as well as getting stuck on the street where the freezer trucks were in early May 2020. The shutdown was necessary. However, the biggest mistake was not reopening in early-or mid-2021. There are so many negative consequences from not reopening, financial and otherwise.
The debt could be reduced if there were a true progressive income tax system without deductions. We need this. People making more money than I do could easily afford a higher tax rate. Another piece of this is capital gains. Estates should not be taxed based on value (just as I think a wealth tax is a terrible idea), but I am firmly in favor of taxes on capital gains (except for primary and maybe secondary residences). And there needs to be a way to capture gains in trusts too. The huge capital gains that get stepped up is incredibly unfair and a drag on closing the deficit.
This is precisely my biggest concern every time I think of maybe retiring. You make me want to sit down with the numbers. The numbers you post for COBRA are 1/3 what I've been thinking I have to pay. Also, I have a top tier health insurance plan through work; I could keep it with COBRA even if it's my choice to stop working? Thank you for posting this!
Comments
I was going to leave a new comment, but decided not to be redundant. I'll add a little to the comment which describes the problem succintly. We have retirement investments because we started without debt and because we had sufficient income to max out our 403(b) plans. We also had top tier medical insurance through our jobs. The statistics show that we are unusual. How do I feel about this? I am glad for me, but I don't think it is fair that we don't have better minimal support for people.
Post: A bleak picture for retirement in the future?
Link to comment from September 5, 2026
The issue in this story is that the requests were authenticated.
Post: Financial Fraud
Link to comment from September 5, 2026
Passkeys are an incredible problem for end users because they are tied to devices. If you don't have the device, you are locked out. And if someone else has the device, let's say your phone, and the can log in to it, now they have access. Also, don't be surprised when AI agents figure out how to access and use or spoof passkeys. We're being sold a technology that makes our lives more difficult and no more secure. I wonder if another strategy to limit losses is to keep a low balance in your checking account and don't pay anyone directly from other accounts. Question: how many keys are required to authenticate for ACH? This sounds like something an AI agent with infinite patience could work through. AI agents don't sleep.
Post: Financial Fraud
Link to comment from September 5, 2026
Most people are underpaid. Many are trapped paycheck to paycheck. This includes many people who would otherwise be responsible if they could just have an opportunity to dig out of their debt. It's easy to say, well they should have rented a smaller apartment, but maybe that's not an available or realistic choice. A lot of people have to own cars. It's not a choice to have to buy new tires and gasoline. Even with Obamacare, a huge amount of debt and bankruptcy are due to medical costs. In most cases, the need for medical care is bad luck, not problems caused by personal responsibility. (And why is medical care so much more expensive in the US than other wealthy nations, like across Europe?) People should not be blamed for situations truly out of their control. I'm not saying that a lot of people don't handle finances well or that some need of medical care isn't due to self-destructive behavior. But looking at the systems we have to negotiate, as capitalism gets less regulated, more individuals need to scramble to pay their way. Credit cards are designed by our corporate overlords to make a profit. We own stock in banks and credit card companies. Why? Because we expect them to have high revenue streams of interest and fees and to grow. This is proof that the system is designed to suck money from creditcard holders and that we are well aware of this.
Post: Americans and their credit cards
Link to comment from August 29, 2026
We've contributed to Roth IRAs after maxing out contributions to our pretax 403(b) plans. I don't think anyone here would suggest a better option for additional retirement investing. We are doing some conversions from IRAs from past 403(b) rollovers from past jobs. There's no way to know now whether this will be beneficial in the end. What we do know is that it will give us flexibility in the future whether to draw on taxed or untaxed sources to pay for whatever expenses come along, and if there's anything left over, our heirs would prefer a Roth.
Post: Traditional or Roth
Link to comment from August 29, 2026
We were burned by TIPS funds. Also, to reiterate my comment to last week's two articles about the $40T debt, can we trust the current gov't to set a fair inflation index on the bonds or will they discount it?
Post: Inflation Hedge
Link to comment from August 29, 2026
Can we trust the government to properly state the inflation rate? I used to think so, but not any more. Therefore, when inflation increases, I expect it to be officially discounted if not outright denied. This would undervalue the bonds.
Post: Feeling TIPSy?
Link to comment from August 22, 2026
I got direct dispatches from inside two of the hospital systems in NYC and the medical examiner's office as well as getting stuck on the street where the freezer trucks were in early May 2020. The shutdown was necessary. However, the biggest mistake was not reopening in early-or mid-2021. There are so many negative consequences from not reopening, financial and otherwise.
Post: $40 Trillion of Debt
Link to comment from August 22, 2026
The debt could be reduced if there were a true progressive income tax system without deductions. We need this. People making more money than I do could easily afford a higher tax rate. Another piece of this is capital gains. Estates should not be taxed based on value (just as I think a wealth tax is a terrible idea), but I am firmly in favor of taxes on capital gains (except for primary and maybe secondary residences). And there needs to be a way to capture gains in trusts too. The huge capital gains that get stepped up is incredibly unfair and a drag on closing the deficit.
Post: $40 Trillion of Debt
Link to comment from August 22, 2026
This is precisely my biggest concern every time I think of maybe retiring. You make me want to sit down with the numbers. The numbers you post for COBRA are 1/3 what I've been thinking I have to pay. Also, I have a top tier health insurance plan through work; I could keep it with COBRA even if it's my choice to stop working? Thank you for posting this!
Post: COBRA insurance: No need to fear the bite
Link to comment from August 15, 2026