Sticks and Stones
Each year, the Oxford University Press proclaims a “word of the year,” — and this year they chose “rage bait [i] .” Now, even the Oxford proponents admit that this is actually TWO words (all while professing that they are not trying to “rage bait” folks by choosing two words) — distinguishing it from the “etymologically related” clickbait as having a more specific focus [ii] on evoking anger, discord, and polarization. In other words, whereas we once said “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…” Well, now it seems words can. We are, of course, routinely inundated with negative assessments of American workers’ retirement readiness, retirement confidence, and financial acumen. We’re told that the system is “broken,” that there’s a retirement “crisis,” that billions (if not trillions) of retirement savings have been “forgotten,” and that individuals think they will need about twice as much in retirement savings a...