Watching and listening to the interview on Sunday, April 6, 2025, with NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it a “false narrative” that people close to retiring may be reluctant after their retirement savings dropped last week because of the stock market downturn.

Once again, the elite fail to understand how the wage workers’ 401k retirement plans work. When a retired employee separates from the employer who does not have a Defined Benefit Pension, which more than 90% of private sector workers do not have, the 401K is used to create an income stream. Since most 401k plans will be made up of Stocks and Bond options, it is the most natural thing in the world for the employee to have most of their life savings in stocks, given that the recent Bull Market has been providing the highest return.

Secretary Scott Bessent is out of touch with the work world environment outside the Beltway. “In fact, most Americans don’t have everything in the market,” he added.

The viewing audience scoffed at his words as he told moderator Kristen Welker. “The market consistently underestimates Donald Trump,” Bessent told Welker.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also downplayed the market’s reaction in an interview Sunday on CNN, saying, “We knew there would be uncertainty.”

“But to take Thursday or Friday … and to say, ‘Oh, the world is ending. The markets are crashing — the markets are adjusting,” Rollins said.

Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on the talk show circuit defending the current round of Tariffs announced by The Donald the week ending on Wall Street April 4th! The former head of investment house Cantor-Fitzgerald, rolling out espeed the stock trading device who became a recognizable face following the events of 9/11 after his entire New York firm was killed, instructed his other offices in London and New Jersey using espeed to keep trading that day. Is the number one cheerleader for Tariffs in the Oval Office?

On Friday, President Trump took to the Social Media Platform, calling for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates. This would impack the MS2 Money Supply made up Cash, Currency and everything and everything in the MS1 Money Supply plus demand and deposit and everything up to $100,000.00 or less. Stocks are not part of the MS2 Money Supply.

How this rate cut works is that MS2 would expand, allowing small companies access to available credit. Powell has taken a wait and see attitude, fearing the Tariffs will certainly touch off inflation by increasing prices on consumer goods and slowing growth. Pushing the country towards a recession.

One can only wonder what Louis Rukeyser would say. The host of PBS Wall Street Week. I can remember rushing home on Friday nights as a young bank employee in 1977, purchasing my first Mutual fund shares and eagerly waiting to watch each episode.

Less than half as many stocks remain for sale on American Markets as when Bill Clinton was President of the United States. Every time two companies merge, when the market opens the next day, one less stock is for sale. The wealthy have been putting their money in investment vehicles called Unicorns. I wrote a letter on December 29, 2018, warning about this. They’ve been planning this a long long time. They want slaves out of the worker!

This is an economic tragedy for the American private sector workforce.

(Traubert is a resident of Wellsburg)