The point is, half the country lives check to check despite the "Greatest economy ever". 60%, including some middle income folks, couldn't scrape together a thousand bucks if they had to. The point is, 50% of Americans have no retirement account and own no stocks. Of those lucky enough to have such an account, the average balance is a puny 50 some thousand. If you don't see all the pain in America, you don't want too.