Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary Warns: 100 Million Americans Have No Retirement

Even before the virus-induced downturn wiped out the savings of tens of millions of Americans, more than one hundred million folks throughout the country had nothing saved for retirement.

Called the "retirement crisis," the assumption today is that Americans are in deeper financial turmoil than ever.

It was 2018 when we informed readers that more than 100 million Americans of working age did not have any retirement account assets in an employer-sponsored 401(k) type plan, individual account, or pension.

This means that the American dream of a modest retirement after decades of work is now a middle-class nightmare. In a world where the virus-pandemic is resulting in a "great reset," small and medium-sized enterprises are being wiped out in droves as permanent job loss soars into the millions.

Making sense of this all and how we got here is Kevin O'Leary, star of Shark Tank and chairman of O'Shares ETFs. He spoke with Kitco News' David Lin about the retirement crisis where the average working person has no wealth due to "the lack the financial literacy."

"I think you've hit on a huge issue in America today there are a hundred million people that have nothing set aside for retirement - they have no investment account that is a failure of financial literacy that started as far back as the 1970s. We never taught kids in high school - we teach them reading, math, jobs, and sex education - nothing about investing - nothing about debt - nothing about credit cards - a huge mistake," O'Leary said.

O'Leary continued by saying education reform is a must if you want societal change.

"We really need to change the curriculum in high school, at the ages of 13 and 14, to start to explain how a credit card works, how the market works, that needs to be mandatory, not supplemental," he said. "The state of Florida has brought it into their curriculum, it's mandatory. We need to see that in New York, Texas, and California, they're the majority of where the schools are and then the rest of the states will follow."

Without further adieu, O'Leary speaks about the retirement crisis.

Expanding more on why educational systems nationwide at the high school level need to include financial classes, we noted a couple of months ago that "financial education decreases the likelihood of holding credit card balances."

Maybe financial elites keeping the population in a perpetual financial daze while they rack up credit card bills is just part of the American way.

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/shark-tanks-kevin-oleary-warns-100-million-americans-have-no-retirement

Attorneys General From 16 States Push Back on Soros-Funded New York AG’s Plot To Dismantle The NRA

New York’s activist Attorney General is getting push back in her attempt to damage the Second Amendment

The State of New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James (D), who was aided in her election bid by groups funded by George Soros, is receiving some push back from Attorney Generals across the nation in her effort to dismantle the National Rifle Association (NRA).

James filed suit against the NRA on August 6, 2020, asking the courts to dissolve the Second Amendment advocacy group. James based her request on outlandish allegations of financial irregularities and self-dealing among the group’s executives.

“We are seeking to dissolve the NRA for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities laws and undermine its own mission. The NRA diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership,” James stated in the suit.

“Our lawsuit charges the NRA as a whole and four senior leaders, including Wayne LaPierre, with failing to manage the NRA’s funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws,” James continued. “These actions contributed to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA.”

In response, 16 State Attorney Generals from across the nation have come together to file an amicus brief with US District Court for the Northern District of New York, opposing James’s suit and backing an NRA counter-lawsuit against James alleging that activist New York Attorney General is seeking to violate the advocacy group’s constitutional rights under the First Amendment.

Sixteen Republican attorneys general on Tuesday filed a brief in support of the National Rifle Association’s federal lawsuit against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James https://t.co/UboOOFofYs

— Paul Beckett (@paulwsj) December 23, 2020

“New York’s lawsuit is a political stunt by a liberal Attorney General who promised in her campaign to go after the NRA. It is designed to undermine our Second Amendment right,” Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement. “Even if it makes me unpopular in places like New York, I stand committed to protecting the Constitution — particularly Arkansans’ right to bear arms. That is why I oppose the New York Attorney General’s political stunt and am proud to lead these 16 States in supporting the NRA’s lawsuit against New York.”

The Attorneys Generals of Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia all joined Rutledge’s amicus brief against James.

In response to the overwhelming pushback to her lawsuit – and as a retort to being called out for her political opportunism, James responded to the brief, saying: “The NRA has been a breeding ground of fraud, abuse, and brazen illegality. Simply put, the rot runs deep, which is why our lawsuit to dissolve the organization will continue undeterred.”

https://nationalfile.com/attorneys-general-from-16-states-push-back-on-soros-funded-new-york-ags-plot-to-dismantle-the-nra/

California Has Some Of The Strictest Restrictions In The U.S., Yet COVID-19 Is Surging

It’s almost as if lockdowns do nothing to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

California has some of the nation’s strictest restrictions when it comes to COVID-19, yet it is one of America’s epicenters for the virus, Politico reported. The state has at times instituted “a complete ban on restaurant dining to travel quarantines and indoor gym closures.”Politico reported this “hasn’t been enough,” even though these measures have decimated California’s economy while clearly doing little to stem the virus.

“America’s most populous state has become one of the nation’s worst epicenters for the disease, setting new records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths almost every day. Things are so bad in Southern California that some patients are being treated in hospital tents, while doctors have begun discussing whether they need to ration care,” the outlet reported.

To date, California has had 2.06 million known confirmed cases of coronavirus and 23,964 deaths in a population of 39.51 million. To put that in perspective, New York has had 909,000 confirmed cases and 36,739 deaths (24,889 deaths in New York City alone) in a population of 19.45 million. Florida, which has been under attack from the media for its handling of the pandemic because the state has a Republican governor who hasn’t taken unconstitutional and extreme measures to lock down the state, has seen 1.25 million confirmed cases and 20,994 deaths in a population of 21.48 million.

Politico reported that California’s case rate – “100 new daily cases per 100,000 residents” – is second only to Tennessee’s, a state that hasn’t done all the economy-killing restrictions of California. Tennessee, for example, doesn’t mandate mask wearing (though most businesses require it anyway) and allows up to 10 people to gather indoors.

California officials blame the residents for not following the crushing restrictions to the letter, Politico reported.

“In Los Angeles, officials have said all along that people were gathering too often. They blamed celebrations and postseason viewing parties when the Dodgers and Lakers won championships this fall,” the outlet reported. “Some have blamed the strict rules themselves, saying that cooped-up Californians couldn’t take it any longer and decided they need to live their lives. Others have said congregant settings remain a severe concern in a housing-constrained state, especially in low-income communities where residents live in tight quarters and must continue to work in-person to survive.”

http://www.scoopyweb.com/2020/12/california-has-some-of-strictest.html

Joe Biden Tells Trump to Sign COVID Bill and Send Money to Foreign Nations

Handlers for Beijing Biden released a statement on Saturday demanding President Trump sign the COVID relief bill and give money to foreign friends and foes.

President Trump vetoed the bill after Congress only allotted $600 per American but gave away money to Venezuela, Central America and numerous other countries and American organizations.

Via News Nemo:

Days after President Donald Trump suggested that he would not likely sign a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package unless it increased individual direct payments to $2,000, President-elect Joe Biden issued a searing statement condemning his soon-to-be predecessor for his “abdication of responsibility.”

“It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don’t know if they’ll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority,” he said in a statement.

Listing the ramifications of not signing the bill, including the end of an eviction moratorium, a lack of small business and individual relief and funding for vaccine distribution, Biden said the bill is “critical” and “needs to be signed into law now.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/joe-biden-tells-trump-sign-covid-bill-send-money-foreign-nations/