There are many ways that African Americans are still disadvantaged in our country, but few of them are as glaring as the disparity we see in retirement savings.

According to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, white workers have almost five times as much wealth in retirement accounts as black workers. And, that disparity has grown substantially since 1980. That's when many Americans lost the protection of an employer-based defined-benefit retirement plan in exchange for a self-funded, risky 401(k).

Thanks to hiring discrimination and other wage disparities, in 1989, white families already averaged about $35,000 more in retirement savings than black families. With the switch to 401(k) retirement accounts, that difference had grown to almost $100,000 by 2013.

And, the percentage of African Americans who even get the chance to contribute to a retirement account is actually declining. In 1983, 52% of black Americans had an employer-based pension plan, but by 2014, only 47% of black workers have a retirement plan of any kind at work.

No American should be forced into poverty just to retire, and it's time close the racial gap in retirement plans.

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... How Big Pharma Got the FDA In Its Pocket (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Free excerpt, read book for free at Truthout, buy the book!

The Daily Stack 

In for Thom today... Progressive Talkers Danielle & Shane-O.

 

Hour One: Will 2016 Bring Us the Next FDR?
- Professor Harvey J. Kaye, The Fight For The Four Freedoms: What Made FDR And The Greatest Generation Truly Great/University of WI at Green Bay  

Book: Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey J. Kaye.

Book: The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great by Harvey J. Kaye.

Event: Minnesota Friday, Feb 26th, 2016 "Blue State Ball 2016!".

Article: "The CNN-Telemundo Republican debate transcript, annotated" by Team Fix, February 25 2016.

Site: "Hardball with Chris Matthews" (look for Bernie Sanders 2/25/16).

Article: "Hillary Clinton Picks N.Y. Park Named for FDR For Formal Campaign Launch" by Carrie Dann.

 

Article: "Bully pulpit" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Bully" by Merriam-Webster.

Article: ""Unintelligible yelling": CNN's closed captioner is fed up with tonight's GOP debate and doesn't care who knows it" by Scott Eric Kaufman.

Article: "New Deal" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Clinton knocks Sanders' college plan: Trump's kids shouldn't get free ride" by Nick Gass.

Article: "Bernie Sanders in Chicago: Need 'political revolution' against wealthy status quo" by Rick Pearson and Kim Geiger.

Twitter: Jane O'Meara Sanders.

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Site: Move to Amend

Article: "The Klu Klux Klan supports Donald Trump in Nevada caucus" by Rachael Revesz.

Article: "Donald Trump supported by former KKK leader David Duke: 'I hope he does everything we hope he will do'" by Adam Edelman.

Hour Two: Big Pharma & the TPP...Profits Over People
- Activist/Cancer Thriver Zahara Heckscher  
- Lori Wallach, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch    

Article: "Cancer Patients Arrested for Protesting TPP's Big Pharma-Favoring Provisions" by Mark Karlin.

Article: "Cancer Patients Who Protested TPP Arraigned in D.C. Court" by Democracy Now!

Site: "Cancer Patients Legal Defense and Advocacy Fund".

Article: "Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): More Job Offshoring, Lower Wages, Unsafe Food Imports" by Public Citizen.

 

Article: "Fairness Doctrine" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Benito Mussolini" by Wikipedia.

 

Talk Media News Segment:
- Victoria Jones 

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman 

Article: "Christie endorses Trump" by Nick Salazar.

Article: "Chris Christie Endorses Donald Trump and Calls Marco Rubio 'Desrate'" by Maggie Haberman.

Article: "Rubio calls Trump a "con artist" 4 times" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Poll: Donald Trump Wins Drudge Report Post Debate Poll, Again" by Alex Swoyer.

Article: "Trump University fraud case becomes campaign issue at GOP debate" by Drew Griffin.

Article: "Trump University's Checkered Past Haunting Candidate" by Stephanie Saul.

Article: "Democratic voter guide: Basic SC primary questions answered" (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27).

Article: "Kansas Gunman Got Court Warning Just Before Attack" by John Eligon, Richard P�rez-Pe�a, Katie Rogers.

Article: "Iran election: Counting starts after high turnout" by BBC.

Tweet: "PT Voting stations open for many more hours, but shorter lines in south are a reminder that economy is key in these elections." by Thomas Erdbrink (Iran).

Article: "Lindsey Graham: "My party has gone bat**** crazy"" by German Lopez.

Event: Mon, Feb 29 12:00 PM EST, Radford, VA, US"Donald J. Trump in Radford, VA".

Event: Mon, Feb 29 Radford University 12:00-13:00 EST: "RU Against Hate: Trump Rally Read-In".

Book: "Unequal Protection: The Battle to Save Democracy" by Thom Hartmann (read online).

Book: "Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became "People" - And How You Can Fight Back" by Thom Hartmann - new updated version out now!

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online).

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Movie: "The Paper".

Article: "Deal by Christie and Rubio camps but no endorsement" by Bob Jordan.

Tweet: "I'm starting to think that if Trump became president, the world would pay to wall us in. #GOPDebate" by Danielle Guilday.

 

Do you have all the info you need to vote for @BernieSanders? Find it here.

    

Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET 

 

I'll be talking to Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center / Author of SPLC's annual report "The Year in Hate & Extremism" about why Donald Trump is Winning His 'Race'.

 

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

 

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

 

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Sincerely,

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