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An out-of-touch academic, writing a column for Bloomberg Opinion, demonstrated just how out of touch the country's elites are as inflation hits every sector of the country. Instead of hiding the mess, or better yet, just not printing it, Bloomberg Opinion tweeted its existence out with a handy tip sheet: (tweets at link) Inflation stings most if you earn less than $300K. Here's how to deal: ➡️ Take the bus ➡️ Don’t buy in bulk ➡️ Try lentils instead of meat ➡️ Nobody said this would be fun Which was about as amateur-hour as it gets on the age-old topic...

An economics professor has a solution for the little people dealing with the country’s inflationary woes: Use mass transportation, eat more veggies instead of meat, and cut back on unnecessary care for your pets.In a Bloomberg.com op-ed, the New School’s Teresa Ghilarducci says these tips are a good idea for anyone making less than … $280,000 per year. “To deal with gas prices, it’s worth reconsidering public transportation if it’s an option where you live,” Ghilarducci says. After all, mass transport fares are up only 8 percent compared to 38 percent for gasoline. And don’t think about getting a new...

A BLOOMBERG Opinion piece is getting backlash after a 'tone-deaf' tweet saying that inflation 'stings most' for those making under $300K a year. "Nobody said this would be fun," the controversial tweet by Bloomberg Opinion reads, sparking thousands of people to react to the March 13 article by Teresa Ghilarducci. Ghilarducci makes suggestions in the piece like pivoting to vegetables in order to avoid inflated meat prices, and taking the bus to avoid inflated gas prices. "I expect those most affected will adjust to inflation in the classic way by shifting away from relatively expensive items toward close substitutes." The...

snip Economist Teresa Ghilarducci, director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, says she offered assurances at union board meetings and congressional hearings that employees would have enough to retire if they set aside just 3% of their paychecks in a 401(k). That assumed investments would rise by 7% a year. snip Ms. Ghilarducci wants to ditch the 401(k) altogether. She and Blackstone Group President Tony James are recommending a mandated, government-run savings system that would be administered by the Social Security Administration and managed by investment professionals. While both are Democrats, they believe their solution has bipartisan appeal....

America is heading into a retirement crisis, an economist says. Most retirees haven't saved enough money to retire and Teresa Ghilarducci blames America's entire system for retiring. It’s been 30 years since the Individual Retirement Account model became the standard way for Americans to save for retirement. But many people who saved for three decades watched a lot of that money disappear during the financial crisis. And now, more than half of American workers have saved less than $25,000 for their golden years, and about 30 percent have saved less than a thousand dollars. Overall, the system is failing, says...

Teresa Ghilarducci: The 401(k) Retirement System Has FailedJanuary 30, 2009 03:51 PM ET | Emily Brandon **SNIP** Under Ghilarducci's plan, outlined in her book When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them, all workers who don't have a traditional pension would be required to contribute 2.5 percent of their income to a government account with a 2.5 percent employer match. A 3 percent return above inflation would be guaranteed by the government. U.S. News asked Ghilarducci about her controversial retirement plans. Excerpts: **SNIP** How will GRAs fix the retirement system? After 30 years of experience...

Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts - including 401(k)s and IRAs - and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House...