Red, Blue, and Broke: How Politics Will Make You Poor in Retirement
Wall Street does not care about your party—and will take your money if you let it.
Let me ask you, seriously:
Are you a Democrat? A Republican?
Be honest… most people have a side.
But when it comes to your money, does your politics really help you—or just make you feel better for a minute?
Because here’s what nobody on TV will admit:
Turn on the news and you would think the stock market is just another political scoreboard.
Every headline is spun for Team Red or Team Blue. Every rally gets a victory lap.
Every drop gets blamed on the other side.
But here is the truth you never hear from the talking heads:
The market does not care about your party. It cares about price and profit.
Yet this year, political panic is driving more bad trades than any policy.
Gallup just found the widest optimism gap in over twenty years:
• 59% of Republicans think stocks are going up
• Only 12% of Democrats agree
• Both sides are letting politics run their portfolios, and most are setting themselves up to lose
Real Stories, Real Money
I saw it firsthand this spring.
A wealthy couple, big time Democrats, called up their advisor as soon as Trump's new tariffs hit.
Headlines screaming. Phones blowing up. Get us out. Move it all overseas.
We cannot trust a dime to U.S. markets while this guy is in charge.
I am not exaggerating. They wanted to dump every American stock, every bond, every dollar. The only safe place was anywhere but here.
On the other side of town, a retired restaurant owner—lifelong Republican—was loving the chaos.
Media hype, he called it, brushing off the panic.
He loaded up on Nvidia right as the market swooned in April.
While everyone else was sweating bullets, he saw an opportunity. Now, he is bragging about the bounce.
The Bears Fan Lesson
I will say something you will not hear from Wall Street.
I am a Chicago Bears fan. Always have been. Every year I hope this is the season.
Every Sunday, I believe they can win.
But I learned a long time ago, betting my retirement on the Bears is a sure way to lose twice. Watching them get stomped is hard enough. Losing my savings alongside them is just stupid.
How Most Investors Lose
Yet that is exactly how most investors play the market: betting their money based on which party is up.
If your team is out of power, you panic, run for the exits, hide in cash, or flee to international stocks.
If your team is in charge, you get cocky, load up on every so called patriotic fund Wall Street puts on the shelf.
Either way, you are letting emotion run the playbook.
Here is what the pros know: money does not care who sits in the Oval Office. Wall Street's only color is green.
Their real motto is TINA. There is no alternative.
Money has to go somewhere. With rates stuck at 4.25 to 4.5 percent and inflation hanging around, where else are you going to put your savings?
What the Tape Tells Us
Look at the tape.
The S&P 500 tanked more than 10% this spring on tariff panic. All the headlines screamed crisis. Then the market ripped to record highs.
By June, the S&P 500 finished above 6,100 as tech led the charge.
If you sold in April, you missed a 20% rally in May and another pop in June. The only thing the market punished was panic.
Wall Street is happy to sell "nonwoke" ETFs to Republicans and "progressive" funds to Democrats. It does not matter which flavor you pick—neither wins.
The MAGA ETF lagged the S&P 500 by more than twenty points over the last three years.
Long term, unemotional investing is where the real money is made. Focus on opportunity, not political allegiance.
If you just held stocks since Eisenhower, you would have nearly $2,000,000 for every $1,000 invested. Only held during Republican years? Just $30,000.
That is the cost of betting on your team.
How Wall Street Profits from Your Panic
Wall Street loves it when you trade your beliefs.
They buy low when you panic. They sell high when you chase the next political headline.
The market is not political. It is practical. The tape tells the truth.
Here is the real play.
Before you dump your portfolio because your guy is out of power, or pile into the latest values fund, stop. Take a breath.
Watch what the money is doing, not what the mascots are saying.
If you want to survive and thrive, you have to put your emotions aside and focus on what actually moves the market.
Politics are for the bleachers. Money is made on the field.
Do not let cable news drain your account.
Trade smart. Until tomorrow,
Josh Belanger