For decades we were warned that when the Baby Boomers started to retire that this country would be facing a retirement crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Well, that day has arrived ladies and gentlemen. Back on January 1st, the Baby Boomers began to retire and more than 10,000 of them will be retiring every single day for years to come. Most of them have not saved up nearly enough money for retirement. At the same time, private sector pension plans are failing all over the place, hundreds of state and local government pension plans from coast to coast are woefully underfunded, and the Social Security system is on the road to complete and total disaster. A massive wave of humanity is hitting retirement age at a moment in history when the U.S. economy is coming apart at the seams. We do not have the resources to keep the promises that we made to the Baby Boomers, and most of them have not made adequate preparations for retirement. What we have is a gigantic mess on our hands, and millions of Baby Boomers are going to find retirement to be very bitter and very painful.
A lot of younger Americans just assume that Social Security is enough to take care of the needs of elderly Americans. But that is just not the case.
Have you ever tried to live solely on a Social Security check?
It is not easy. The truth is that those checks are just not that large.
The following comes directly from the Social Security Administration....
The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,177 at the beginning of 2011.
Could you live on less than 300 dollars a week?
And keep in mind that the $1,177 monthly figure is just an average. Many receive a lot less than that.
In addition, Social Security benefits have been seriously squeezed by inflation in recent years. The cost of food and other basics has risen briskly and Social Security benefits have not.
Today, many elderly Americans have to make a choice between buying food, heating their homes or buying medicine that they need. They simply do not have enough money to do all of them.
It would have been nice if all of the Baby Boomers had been busy saving money for retirement all these years, but that just did not happen. In fact, the Baby Boomers as a group are trillions of dollars short of what they need for retirement.
So why doesn't the U.S. government step in to help them out?
Well, the reality of the situation is that the U.S. government is flat broke. The federal government is now over 15 trillion dollars in debt. During the Obama administration so far, the U.S. government has accumulated more new debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.
Lawmakers are already looking at ways to make the Social Security program less costly. No, the federal government is not going to be riding to the rescue.
In fact, it will be a minor miracle if the Social Security program is able to survive until the end of this decade, and it will be a major miracle if the Social Security program is able to survive until 2030.
As for myself, I do not believe that I will ever see a single penny from Social Security, and many other working age Americans feel the same way.
Retirement is supposed to be a fun time, but sadly most Americans that are approaching retirement age are not going to have any "golden years" to look forward to.
Rather, millions of elderly Americans are going to find the years ahead absolutely agonizing as they struggle just to survive.
The following are 25 bitter and painful facts about the coming Baby Boomer retirement crisis that will blow your mind....
#1 According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.
#2 According to a recent poll conducted by Americans for Secure Retirement, 88 percent of all Americans are worried about "maintaining a comfortable standard of living in retirement". Last year, that figure was at 73 percent.
#3 A study conducted by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research has found that American workers are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire comfortably.
#4 Today, one out of every six elderly Americans lives below the federal poverty line.
#5 On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers started to retire. For almost the next 20 years, more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will be retiring every single day.
#6 At the moment, only about 13 percent of all Americans are 65 years of age or older. By 2030, that number will soar to 18 percent.
#7 Right now, there are somewhere around 40 million senior citizens. By 2050 that number is projected to increase to 89 million.
#8 Back in 1991, half of all American workers planned to retire before they reached the age of 65. Today, that number has declined to 23 percent.
#9 According to one recent survey, 74 percent of American workers expect to continue working once they are "retired".
#10 According to a recent AARP survey of Baby Boomers, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop".
#11 A poll conducted by CESI Debt Solutions found that 56 percent of American retirees still had outstanding debts when they retired.
#12 A study by a law professor at the University of Michigan found that Americans that are 55 years of age or older now account for 20 percent of all bankruptcies in the United States. Back in 2001, they only accounted for 12 percent of all bankruptcies.
#13 Between 1991 and 2007 the number of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 that filed for bankruptcy rose by a staggering 178 percent.
#14 What is causing most of these bankruptcies among the elderly? The number one cause is medical bills. According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States. Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, approximately 75 percent of them involved individuals that actually did have health insurance.
#15 Public retirement funds all over the United States are woefully underfunded. For example, it has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of complete collapse.
#16 Most U.S. states have huge pension obligations which threaten to bankrupt them. For example, pension consultant Girard Miller told California's Little Hoover Commission that state and local government bodies in the state of California have $325 billion in combined unfunded pension liabilities. When you break that down, it comes to $22,000 for every single working adult in the state of California.
#17 Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua D. Rauh of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management have calculated the combined pension liability for all 50 U.S. states. What they found was that the 50 states are collectively facing $5.17 trillion in pension obligations, but they only have $1.94 trillion set aside in state pension funds. That is a difference of 3.2 trillion dollars. So where in the world is all of that extra money going to come from?
#18 According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security system paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes in 2010. That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016. Sadly, in the years ahead these "Social Security deficits" are scheduled to become absolutely nightmarish as hordes of Baby Boomers retire.
#19 In 1950, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 U.S. workers. According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now only 1.75 full-time private sector workers for each person that is receiving Social Security benefits in the United States.
#20 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run out five years faster than they were projecting just last year.
#21 The total cost of just three federal government programs - the Department of Defense, Social Security and Medicare - exceeded the total amount of taxes brought in during fiscal 2010 by 10 billion dollars. In the years ahead expenses related to Social Security and Medicare are projected to skyrocket dramatically.
#22 The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is the agency of the federal government that pays monthly retirement benefits to hundreds of thousands of retirees that were covered under defined benefit pension plans that failed. The retirement crisis has barely even begun and the PBGC is already dead broke. The PBGC says that it ran a deficit of $26 billion during the fiscal year that just ended and that it will probably need a huge bailout from the federal government.
#23 According to a survey by careerbuilder.com, 36 percent of all Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings.
#24 More than 30 percent of all investors in the United States that are currently in their sixties have more than 80 percent of their 401k plans invested in equities. So what is going to happen to them if the stock market crashes?
#25 A survey taken earlier this year found that 20 percent of all U.S. workers admitted that they had postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the last 12 months. Back in 2008, that number was only at 14 percent.
Our politicians should have addressed the retirement crisis decades ago before we got to the point of being in debt up to our eyeballs.
It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will hit 344% of GDP by the year 2050, and the Congressional Budget Office says that U.S. government debt held by the public will reach a staggering 716% of GDP by the year 2080.
Obviously those figures will never be reached because our financial system would totally collapse long before then.
So what do we do?
We have tens of millions of elderly Americans that are completely and totally dependent on Social Security and Medicare, but those programs also threaten to bankrupt us as a nation.
Anyone that believes that there is a "quick fix" to these issues is being naive.
The "supercommittee" was supposed to address this problem, but they failed so spectacularly that they have become a national joke.
Sadly, most of our politicians just keep kicking the can down the road. They hope that somehow things will just magically "work out".
Well, the truth is that things are not going to "work out". The poverty level among the elderly is going to continue to increase. Pension plans all over this nation are going to continue to fail in staggering numbers. Social Security and Medicare are going to bleed more red ink with each passing year.
Something should have been done about this problem a long, long time ago.
But it wasn't.
This crisis was ignored, dealing with it was put off time after time and all the doomsayers were laughed at.
Now the crisis is here, and we are all going to pay the price.
Another reason why social security is such a fraud and so evil. It gives people the false expectation that the government can take care of them. The truth is the public would have a better chance of Bernie Madoff taking care of them. The retirement date for receiving this promised entitlement will constantly be moved to a later and later year. Inflation each year will make it buy less and less. For most people they will be lucky if they ever see a social security check. If they do, they will be lucky if it will be worth enough to buy them a bag of dog food.
You have no idea what you are talking about….swallowed the right wing propaganda hook, line and sinker – social programs do not remove a persons obligation to look after themsleves, etc. You should focus on all the theft that has been taking place in terms of using public funds to fund stupid wars and pay out corrupt banksters.
Cost to date of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: $1.2T.
Politico is reporting that the price of the bailouts could cost as much as $23T.
Current unfunded liabilities of social security, prescription drugs and medicare: $116T
So even without the wars and bailing out of corrupt banksters, we’re still $98T short.
What was that about propaganda?
I know, I was just saying you are not counted as unemployed on purpose so as not to embarrass Obama and his socialist party.
You don’t know what you are talking about. Read it again.
Public Employee Unions….America’s Death Star.
Just like you expect your 401k subsidized with tax breaks, etc. to take care of you. Social Security is another program.. I think they’ll both get wiped out…
OO7 I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE THINGS YOU SAID BUT IT WASN’T A BAD IDEA TILL PRES JOHNSON PUT OUR SSI IN WITH THE REST OF THE POT SO OUR POLITIANS COULD RIP ALL THE MONEY OFF. INFACT IF THEY WOULD OF LET IT STAND BY ITSELF IT WOULD OF NEVER RAN OUT OF MONEY, AT LEAST NOT IN THIS CENTURY.
Your point of view is akin to someone having the most detailed maps imaginable, but with the unshakable conviction that the sun rises in the west. Neither has much of a chance of finding the correct way.
From on point in reply to people who post right wing trash talking points.
Hmmmm, everyone is planning to work later in life because they have to. However, the labor department claims we have the largest percentage of our adult population in history that has voluntarily dropped out of the labor force and decided not to work. I wonder who is telling the truth.
We haven’t voluntarily dropped out of the work force. There aren’t jobs for us. Companies don’t want to hire us. If and when the economy picks up again, we’ll be the last hired.
Duuhh. “Dropped out” like it was high school or something. hahaha. There is way more adults than jobs. Jobs go down, Adults numbers stay same. do the math.
Michael I’ve been wondering for the longest time now about this SS issue. What the heck is the point of having SS taken out of paychecks for the specific purpose of “being there for us later”? This makes no sense how all of the sudden… it’s gone or not enough. How? When everyone is forced to contribute, so why is then considered an entitlement? It’s not. It’s owed for what we paid in. Not too long ago I heard SS was running a surplus, never having had an issue. Even more I find it quite suspicious that all of these “problems” occurred at about the same time. When has the U.S. ever faced “austerity” measures? Me thinks this is the same tactic that was used to sink Argentina. Of course, Argentina being used as the test bed for tanking a large scale society. Bankers/Governments put a country into financial trouble (Odious Debt), then force said country into a debt load that can never be repaid, and the only convenient method of repayment is to suck the life out of paid into entitlement programs while privatizing and stealing the very country right from underneath the noses of the people. Sickening.
Social Security taxes withheld from working Americans’ paychecks do not go into the so-called Social Security Trust Fund. Those withholdings are used to fund the federal government’s operations, including paying current Social Security recipients.
There are two components of our national debt: debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt holdings. Intragovernmental Debt Holdings represent the balance of Treasury securities held by federal government accounts including the Social Security and Medicare “trust funds.” These “trust funds” are bascially just accounting mechanisms. There is no money in them.
Interestingly, intragovernmental debt holdings are not shown as a liability on the consolidated balance sheet of the U.S. Government as they are considered debts owed by one part of the government to another.
godsofold,
SS receipts were in surplus to benefits paid for decades. Congress spent those annual surpluses on other programs and issued the SSA an IOU. Those IOUs are just another debt held by the taxpayers. SS and other unfunded federal liabilities that will come due in the next 10 to 20 years are somewhere north of $50 trillion. Anyone who expected DC to take care of them (‘entitlements’) was fleeced long ago. Everyman, woman, and child for him/herself. Government against all.
“This crisis was ignored, dealing with it was put off time after time and all the doomsayers were laughed at.”
Nobody wants to hear Cassandra.
Yep, there is no trust fund surplus. If we can’t borrow it the checks will not go out. We can print the money and that will just cause dollar for dollar inflation.
GODSOFOLD: SS is not taken out of paychecks to “be there for us later”. It is taken out to pay current retired persons: exactly like in a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. You pay for them now, later others pay for you. Problem: later there will NOT be enough others to pay for you – and the Bernie Madoff SS Ponzi scheme collapses. Got it?
Reagan raised Social Security taxes. What happened to the money? The politicians have spent it instead of letting SS invest the money.
“Anyone that believes that there is a quick fix to these issues is being naive.”
The New World Order has a quick fix:
(1) Euthanasia and the demise pill.
(2) Limiting access to affordable medical care make eliminating elderly easier.
(3) Planning the control over medicine.
(4) Elimination of private doctors.
(5) New difficult to diagnose and untreatable diseases.
(6) Suppressing cancer cures as a means of population control.
(7) Inducing heart attacks as a form of assassination.
http://100777.com/nwo/barbarians
An alternative solution
The USA has a large inventory of vacant factories and commercial buildings. Many of these may have to converted into dormatories for senior citizens.
This world is already here: who has medical insurance in America, and who of thos who hasn’t can actually pay for medical treatment?
Who can pay for fuel in Winter?
How would you like a flu breakout in America’s tent cities?
No need for cancer cure – people won’t get old enough to get cancer anymore.
Social Security was never ment to be your only pension. Read the court case Helvring vs Davis from May of 1937. There never was to be a trust fund or lock box. The money collected was to go into the general fund and could not be earmarked for a special purpose. The average age to die in 1937 was about 59 years old. You did not start collecting until you were 65 years old. It sure looks like it was a cash cow for Washington in the begining. Then they started these cost of living raises, folks living longer and it is out of control.
You wanna know what happened to your social security? The government took the money and used it to build weapons and to kill Iraqis. They thought that it was a worthy investment to get the oil, but freedom fighter attacks against the real terrorists of the US army and smart investment by India, China, Iran, etc. made it so that the US didn’t get the money back. Now its Americans that are going to pay for the US fascist military dictatorship’s mistakes.
Shouldn’t you be out on a ledge somewhere?
You forgot the most important fact-the first people to receive benefits when the program rolled out didn’t contribute one cent! The program was flawed to begin with!
That’s hardly the most important fact.
Yes, Earnest Ackerman, who retired the day after Social Security went into effect, recieved the first SS payment— a lump sum payment of 17 cents. A nickel had been withheld from his last paycheck so a 17 cent return wasn’t too bad.
It hardly broke the SS bank, however.
Ida May Fuller was the first to draw SS monthly payments in Nov 1939. She had only paid in a total of $24.75 but lived to be 100 and collected a total of $22,888.92
Many others did not live to collect at all, so there is a balance to this.
Let these bastards rot, it is their generation that sold us feminism, homosexuality, communism, liberalism, socialism, and all the other modern bullshit.
They deserve to suffer without any respite. They are the ones that created this mess, and now they have to deal with it. They destroyed the economy with their bullshit, and now they have to reap the fruits of what they have done. Once these assholes end up living on the streets homeless, then they will realize what bad choices they made.
I feel no pity at all for these bastard baby boomers. They are getting exactly what they deserve.
BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN
Why American men should boycott American women
Boycott American Women
I am an American man, and I have decided to boycott American women. In a nutshell, American women are the most likely to cheat on you, to divorce you, to get fat, to steal half of your money in the divorce courts, don’t know how to cook or clean, don’t want to have children, etc. Therefore, what intelligent man would want to get involved with American women?
American women are generally immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste. The behavior of most American women is utterly disgusting, to say the least.
This blog is my attempt to explain why I feel American women are inferior to foreign women (non-American women), and why American men should boycott American women, and date/marry only foreign (non-American) women.
Tens of millions of American men have had their lives completely destroyed by American women through the following crimes:
1. False rape accusations (it has been proven that up to 80 percent of rape accusations are FALSE)
2. False DV charges (same as above)
3. Financial RAPE of men in divorce courts
4. Emotional destruction of men by ex-wives who have stolen their children from them and forbidden contact
5. Divorced dads who commit suicide as a result
Not one single American woman has EVER condemned their fellow American women for committing these crimes against men. Silence means consent. Therefore, American women support and enjoy destroying men’s lives and causing men to commit suicide. Therefore, is it any surprise that a huge percent of American men no longer want anything to do with American women, other than using them for easy sex and then throwing them away?
Over 50 percent of American women are single, without a boyfriend or husband; so the fact is most American men no longer want to marry American women. Let these worthless American women grow old living alone with their 10 cats.
BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN!
Sincerely,
John Rambo
Hey Rambo,
I worked all my life and had nothing but objections to the policy making decisions that got us ALL into this mess; both the poor financial decisions and perverse views on so called social issues. I hate the fact that the weak political whores that have gotten us here are saddling posterity with the bill for the mess we’re in. But every now and then a hateful miscreant like you comes along to remind me not to feel too bad about letting you pick up the tab.
YOu can suck it, because I ain’t picking up your tab. Why should I pay for women, you women are EQUAL to us men, therefore ACT LIKE AN EQUAL and take responsibility for your own life.
You American women are such disgusting hypocrites.
WOW! do you talk to your Mother like that? I didn’t know there was so much anger in men towards women and I am truly sorry for all you guys out there that feel this way. Please I do beg of you to find a good foreign girl to marry, because with an attitude like yours you would not survive long in the real grownup world.
OH HOW CUTE! POOR WITTLE BABY IS UPSET BECAUSE MEN ARE BOYCOTTING HER!! BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
Over 50 percent of American women are single, without a boyfriend or husband, so the fact is, MOST MEN DO NOT WANT YOU WORTHLESS AMERICAN WHORES ANYMORE!
You still have two options though:
1. become a lesbian
or
2. get used to living alone with your ten cats
THOSE ARE YOUR TWO OPTIONS, WHORE!
As for us American men, we are sick of you and millions of us are marrying foreign women. I married a nice young asian girl, and I would NEVER even think about touching one of you disgusting American women ever again. Asian women are 1000 times better than you, this is why so many American guys are rejecting you and going for asian women.
Have fun growing old alone with your 10 cats, whore.
Sincerely,
John Rambo
Mr. Rambo, I wish to congratulate you for finding and marrying the love of your life. You are truly blessed.
Best wishes
Emily
Here are 30 similarities between feminism and Nazism.
Feminism and Nazism have both …
1. discriminated against individuals on the basis of their genetic code.
2. promoted the view that the targeted group was inferior genetically and behaviourally, e.g. see AH’s Men Bear a Striking Resemblance to Slugs.
3. promoted propaganda that led to the targeted group being labeled as ‘parasites’, e.g. see AH’s Steven Jones – A Parasite?
4. promoted propaganda that led to the targeted group being constantly ridiculed e.g. see Incredible Shrinking Y by Maureen Dowd
5. promoted propaganda that led to the targeted group being laughed at even when mutilated e.g. Bobbit jokes.
6. demonised the target group by labeling them as perverts and sexual criminals, e.g. see Put Up or Shut Up by Wendy McElroy
7. sought to break the target group away from their families e.g. see The Federal Bureau of Marriage? by Professor Stephen Baskerville.
8. promoted the view that the targeted group was responsible for most of the major ills in society.
9. disseminated lies and disinformation about the targeted group in order to further promote their own ideology, e.g. see Msinformation by Professor Christina Hoff Sommers
10. disseminated lies and disinformation about historical matters, e.g. see AH’s Did Women Really Want To Go Out To Work?
11. used intimidation, threats and coercion to prevent their opponents from speaking out e.g. see AH’s Feminists are nasty things.
12. promoted the lie that the privileged group consisted of innocent ‘victims’ of the targeted group e.g. “women have been oppressed throughout history.”
13. demanded special privileges in the workplace for members of the privileged group e.g. preferential job placements for women
14. discriminated against the targeted group in educational matters and in the workplace e.g. see AH’s Well Done the Girls?
15. perverted the justice system so that members of the targeted group were easily discriminated against in the law e.g. in family courts.
16. arranged matters so that accusers from the privileged group could be shielded by anonymity in the courtroom e.g. in sex-assault cases.
17. arranged matters so that defendants from the targeted group had to ‘prove’ their innocence e.g. in sex-assault and domestic violence cases.
18. arranged matters so that members of the privileged group could capriciously define what, legally, was to be deemed ‘a crime’, e.g. where nowadays the ‘feelings’ of women rather than the behaviours of men are the determinants of what constitutes ‘a crime’ e.g. see The Real Goal Of Feminism by Antonia Feitz – 18 min
19. arranged matters so that members of the privileged group could capriciously define how the law was to view certain matters e.g. a fetus inside a woman can now be deemed by her – at her whim – to be a worthless piece of tissue or a prospective baby – with all the ramifications of this – regardless of how the father might feel about it all e.g. see AH’s Rant Against the Child Support Agency. (Also sexual harassment etc.)
20. arranged matters so that the law punished members of the targeted group more severely than members of the privileged group for the very same crime e.g. in domestic violence and murder cases.
21.arranged matters so that members of the targeted group were made responsible for the choices and behaviours of members of the privileged group e.g. in paternity fraud cases where duped fathers still have to pay child support.
22. arranged matters so that members of the privileged group who harmed, or even murdered, members of the targeted group were shown undue leniency – and were often actually applauded for their actions, e.g. see Killer given domestic violence award and AH’s Loose Women.
23. arranged matters so that the law punished members of the targeted group severely for even trivial offences – e.g. domestic violence, sexual harassment.
24. arranged matters so that members of the privileged group earned a right to the property of members of the targeted group for no other reason than that they were members of the privileged group e.g. alimony, child custody.
25. arranged matters so that certain speech or attitudes directed against the privileged group were criminalised e.g. biased ‘hate speech’ laws.
26. demanded subservience to the prevailing ideology and to the government.
27. effectively controlled the mainstream media and the academic institutions and arranged for them to present a dishonest and dishonourable point of view in support of their ideology.
28. consistently highlighted and exaggerated the achievements and the suffering of the privileged group while downplaying the achievements and the suffering of the targeted group e.g. see Human Rights are not for Men by Melanie Phillips.
29. ran government-funded educational courses in universities (e.g. Women’s Studies, Title IX) and in schools to promote the privileged group at the expense of the targeted group.
30. persisted in a long term campaign of hatred toward the targeted group, e.g. “Women need men like a fish needs a bicycle.” “Men think about sex every 15 seconds.” etc. Also see AH’s Permanent Menstrual Tension.
Well, John, you sound like a well rounded guy.
So who are you recommending a well rounded guy like yourself marry? Just anybody foreign?
Somebody who has no idea of community property rights would be a plus no doubt.
Could you give us a source for your claim that 80% of rape reports are false? I hadn’t read that?
And the same for the DV claim?
I can’t say that too many American women will be saddened by your boycott, frankly.
And what again does this have to do with boomer retirement?
And here is even more facts for you:
70% of DV is initiated by women. FACT
80% of DV Weapon violence is committed by women. FACT.
89% of DV Gun Violence is committed by women. FACT.
93% of DV Knife Violence is committed by women. FACT.
60% of child abuse is committed by mothers, 76% by women. FACT.
64% of child muder is committed by mothers, 79% by women. FACT.
70% of divorces are filed by women. FACT.
87.3% of custody awards go to the mother. FACT.
98% of men pay child support, EVEN when THEY have custody. FACT.
MINIMUM 40% of rape allegations are false by women, 80% according the the Airforce. FACT.
60% to 80% of rapists were molested by their mother. FACT.
And your sources for these facts are….?
Meaning–let me spell it out for you—where can we go read the research that proves these statistics are facts?
Other than your own opinion, of course.
And again–what does this have to do with either Social security or boomers?
John is a very bitter person
Try growing a pair.
You need some serious psychotherapy!!!!
No, YOU need some serious mental help if you support feminism. Feminism is a mental illness! But you are such a fool, at the same time you say Down with Libs, you are supporting liberal nonsense like feminism.
Try getting some help, so you can think straight.
LOL! Psycho!!!!!!!!!!!!
John-focus on taxing the rich and spreading the wealth!
Take every last penny from the top 5% and you’ll have enough to cover 1 year of the bloated 1.5 trillion deficit of BHO/congress. What do you propose to do for the next year? Only a fool believes….
Gary,
As Margaret Thatcher said “Socialism is a great sytem, that is until you run out of other peoples money”. Please tell us Gary, what do you do for a living that makes you feel entitled to someone elses money? Be honest now!
I notice new comments carry the label “awaiting moderation”
Is this supposed to mean someone is reading them and choosing whether they should be posted or not?
If so, how in the world are Rambo’s rude remarks getting through?
Especially when they arn’t even on topic?
All comments go through moderation, but I try to let everyone have their say as much as I can.
The things that get filtered out are spam, foul language and violent talk.
Michael
You sure?
Homosexuality is as old as the animal kingdom.
Communism is almost 200 years old. Try to read Engels some day: “The poor have donated more money to the poor than the rich ever did.”
And without the women in the factories producing ammunition and weapons America wouldn’t have won any war.
“Therefore, what intelligent man would want to get involved with American women?”
Well, why do you condemn homosexuality then? LOL
Is it any wonder that no other occupational group has as many homosexuals in them as IT and software developers?
Not even hairdressers.
And, btw, the highest rate of homosexuals you have in warrior states. It’s a hormonal reaction of the women to the state of affairs, which affects the fetus.
Here is my retirement plan:
1. Open a free gold savings account
2. Convert all my assets to gold or silver bullion not coins
2. Place my gold in vaults in Switzerland for free
3. Obtain a passport.
4. Use my gold as necessary when necessary to buy or barter for what I need.
5. Relocate to a safe secure location where the air is breathable, water is drinkable and food is eatable.
6. Avoid poisonous junk food that make you ill
7. Forget about Social Security
Where does one open a Gold Savings account? Do you have physical possession? Why bullion and not coins?
Physical is the way to go but at this stage don’t buy gold until its goes below $1,000 per ounce. Instead buy physical silver in the form of bullion or rounds.
2. What good is your gold in Switzerland, when you do not live there?
1. How do you go there for free?
3. Why don’t you have a passport already? Every free man and woman should have one as soon as s/he reaches the age.
5. Air and Water are OK on the mountains, but no food grows there.
6. You don’t need to wait until retirement to dump junk food.
That sounds like a real fail-safe plan.
UK Business Secretary Vince Cable released news today suggesting many of us in the UK may not even make it to retirement – http://economicsurvivor.net/2011/11/23/cable-announces-employment-rights-for-gimps/
Many SS benficiaries were forced into early retirement. When the layoffs were in full force, the older workers were laid off in much larger proportions. Then we couldn’t buy a job because of our age and the expensive health insurance coverage that went with it. We were told we were either over-qualified or under-qualified, or we were unemployable because we weren’t prolific in Spanish. Being forced into early retirement cut our benefits over half, and if we can find a minimum wage job, the SS benefits we receive are subject to being reduced or cut-off completely. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, I lost 97% of my 401K — too bad for me, my retirement was stolen and that’s just the way it is. I have worked since I was 14 and SS payments were deducted from each and every paycheck. Now I am told that I don’t deserve that “entitlement.” So who am I allowed to rob to make up for this grand theft? There are lots of pissed-off people in this country, and they won’t forgive or forget.
A lot of this is Uncle Sam’s fault with a SS short of funds. Remember however that the older Baby Boomers worked when good money was to be made. If they bought their home in the 1970s / 80s even with the decline in values they are way ahead of the game. Investing wasn’t too difficult either assuming they invested of course. The reality is many spent and worse of all went into debt. I seen people actually make a joke about it saying, “I’m a good American in debt up to my ears” and laughing about it. These people made good money in industry with a white collar pay check in a blue collar job. They bought toys and their wife’s decorated their home to the 9s. Their kids would only wear designer clothes and went to college for interior decorating.
You often reap what you sow.
My mother used to recieve 230.00 a month for social security when she retired, and she worked hard to support 8 kids, where there was no such thing as welfare, but she did it. Some years later there where food commodity’s for those who remember those days, you worked or you didn’t recieve anything from the goverment and you could just about forget child support you took care of youself, period!!! I have worked since a teenager and now I am one of those baby boomers and I gave up on social security a few years ago because I know it is a means for the goverment to take more from you and by law they do not have to pay you social security, you can research that for yourself. There are many older folks that are great people and I am not harpping on others, but where I live retired folks that is most, all drive new cars want to take their vacations in there huge rv’s are rude and expect everybody to wait on them. Have handicapped decales on there cars, but nothing is wrong with them. Even the baby boomers live way beyond their means.
Basically, the entitlement mentality started with the Boomers and has trickled down to the kids and grand kids.
What would be the point for young people (like my self) to save for retirement if there is all this talk about a dollar collapse on the horizon. If the dollar does collapse (which I think it will) then all that money we saved for retirement is going to be worthless. People who save in 401k and other stocks will end up loosing it when the market does crash. I made a goal years ago that when I turn 25 I would start a 401k, I’m now 29 and I still don’t have a 401k or any other type of savings. Thanks to this website, NIA and other’s out there, I now see the truth about the future of the dollar, our economy and our country and I am thankful for not investing my hard earned money into any kind of savings program.
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We should still save, but convert your fiat currency to things that will still have value when fiat currencies collapse–food, clothing, guns, gold, silver, etc.
I still save (in cash) but I have also been stocking up on supplies over the last few years to prepare for any major crisis that is coming our way. As far as silver and gold, gold is too expensive for me to buy and just as I was about to buy silver @ $50 per ounce, it collapsed to near $30 in about a week and haven’t recovered since then.
Forget Gold and Silver.
When you are young, get education and skills. Find a butcher to work for, a farmer or a carpenter. Those skills are always handy to have.
Forget fashion. “Fashion is so ugly that it needs to be replaced every half year.” Buy stuff that is still useful in 20 years, and MAINTAIN your stuff. Learn to sew and buff your boots.
DON’T EVER lend out your tools.
Most money is wasted on replacement of lost or used or consumed things.
In America 70% of all money is spent on consumables. In China 70% is spent on infrastructure.
When you buy stuff buy good stuff. (That’s why my camera has AA batteries not special ones)
Gun? Learn to run instead. It’s best not to be where trouble is, to recognise potential trouble and to get away from trouble or potential trouble as fast as possible.
Learn to become invisible. If you are taller than the rest you are visible to everyone else in the crowd as long as you are walking with the crowd. When you sit down, you are invisible.
The government literally stole our money!
Everyone should be made aware of the fact that the Social Security fund was not meant to be touched by the Federal Government, but left alone for its intended use – and that a DEMONCRAT President – Johnson – raided it in order to hand money over to minorities (essentially re-enslaving them by making them totally dependent upon the government) in his “great society”, as well as to help pay for an unnecessary and unwanted war in Vietnam.
Then the REPUGNICANS and DEMONCRATS didn’t correct the issue in the ensuing 45 years, so now it looks like the young had better get used to not having any better jobs than McDonalds, despite their massive college loan debt, because the people who had TRUSTED their own government (erroneously) and RELIED upon the word of (supposedly) “their” politicians, have been conned, lied to and robbed – so must work until age 75 or maybe even die in harness and never retire at all.
Remember; it was the people’s own money which was set aside for their retirement, and it has been ROBBED from them. This isn’t an “entitlement” program (i.e. freebie handouts to those who do not deserve it).
You are mistaken. The Supreme Court decided in May of 1937 in Helvring vs Davis that the money collected must go into the general treasury and could not be earmarked for any special purpose. Some will disagree but if you would like, look in Mark Liven’s Liberty and Tyranny. He is a smart guy. We have all been taken for a long ride.
oh, so now it’s the fault them darkies?
Social Insecurity. Yet ANOTHER example of a gov’t system that gives citizens insentives to do the wrong thing. Plus, the most self centered generation every to “grace” this country, much like the grasshopper, is now realizing that ant who spent the summer stockpiling while they were binging as fast as they possibly could, was actually very wise. Hope they enjoyed keeping up with the Joneses while the Smiths were very modest but could retire in security.
I’m willing to bet that even the Jones’ lost their shirts!!! Now you and I don’t have “anyone” to try to keep up with. Kinda freeing, isn’t it?
Loosen Up People
When I was in my 20′s never planned on receiving SS Benefits as they wouldn’t be there –
Guess What I now receive my benefits and yes I live a nice life. My house,cars,etc all paid for. If a government IOU was put in the program then the Gov must pay it back. Don’t listen to LIES from GOV. and don’t blame the older generation for the GOV failures.
I find it interesting that we are worrying about
#18, but no one is discussing the fact that the
payroll tax is once again proposed to be reduced. Doesn’t anyone realize that the payroll tax funds Social Security and Medicare? The politicians are slowly eliminating Social Security and Medicare by not funding them instead of being honest about it and telling us what’s going on.
It is just one large scam. Good luck.
The economic model for growth in this country is that people buy what is produced. The cash flow necessary is now about 77% which is on the low end that shows we are recessionary – a dip in the economy.
With more new “boomers”, people spending their Federal Insurance Old Age check- this will benefit the economy. If you are concerned about the trillions in debt, fear not,The Fed will just print RED money and default on the old GREEN paper promises cranked out by the Banks.
What sustaines the economy cash flow is the pension system: fundamentally the Social Security checks and the Medicaid checks and other pension system cash flow back into the public coffers.
With out this constant cashflow to sustain “growth underpinings” we would all be in a terrible 10th century hunger state.
Untill our economic model can no longer rely on the pension systems the Social Security payments will continue to be made no matter what the political pressure smoke and mirror trick rantings are to take the funds and put them into the stock market. Albeit more taxes, more socialism like Sweden. Well they live good, I do not see them leaving in droves. Just keep payimng taxes.
This whole speil about the anti-Social Security system has been going on since the early 1920′s; however within this time frame in this country, and other countries who even predated this model (see Germany), Granny has a home and a meal, maybe not the best but she is not under a bridge, Granny is just redirecting Federal Insurance Program money in the economy.
Being a Christian country we take care of the less fortunate and that implies that not everyone is going to be a Wall Steet Banker- rich and smart to get ahead. We do have a great deal of disadvantaged people that we care for and that the growing elder care business creates jobs, and new enterprises.
For the average worker who is caught up in political idealogy that Social Security is evil- let him speak after he becomes 65-70 and starts to feel what old age is like. I am sure he will not turn down his pay check- neither do the congressmen either.
The babble about working till you are 80 PLUS- you will not likely make it. You just wear out.
More on this in my web- http://www.Basck2theLand.com ramble around in the archives a bit. The worry factor for a collaspe is simple just like history has shown us – go Back 2 the Land and grow your own food, hunt, fish, trap, raise stock and lots of babies.
Let us all thank Michael for his column to keep us up to date on trends and information.
God Bless,
Old Timer
Thank you for the kind words Old Timer.
Michael
The problems that all of those figures represent are so large that there is no solution to them, but they are small potatoes compared to the main problem that the ECB has mentioned many a time – the ticking time bomb of derivatives – weapons of financial mass destruction.
The fuse was lit when they were conceived and there’s not much fuse left remaining. The explosion will probably occur in Europe very very soon.
I played Blackjack to supplement my income for ten years, and then decided to quit my very good job where I was extremely happy so I could “play” full time to earn more money – which I did for three years until the game was changed and made very difficult to find a table where the player had the mathematical advantage over the casino.
So, I have spent thousands of hours around serious Gamblers (I was not a Gambler – just the opposite) and know them very well. All have the same personalities. I can tell you that without a doubt that no matter how confident, sure of themselves, and in control these Gamblers seem to be, they are all very mentally ill (refuse to live in the real world) and totally out of control. They have the Inspector Clouseau complex – IT IS WHY THEY GAMBLE!!!! They are extremely intoxicated drivers and the rest of us are their passengers – they don’t even realize that they have passengers and if they did, they would not care that you are going to die – like a drug addict (gambling is and addiction), gambling is all they care about.
Turn on MSNBC and you will see the exact same people that are always in casinos, as guests and hosts. They call themselves “Traders”.
These Gamblers are being intentionally allowed to rape Western monetary systems with the certain knowledge that they will destroy it so that the new World Monetary System can be introduced.
If there is one demand that OWS should make to silence (yea right) the PTB’s claim that the un-bathed, public urinating and crapping OWS Hippies don’t know what they want and don’t have any solutions – it would be to rescind the Glass-Steagall Act and severely regulate or completely ban derivatives but that will not ever happen since they have been allowed behind the wheel.
Sorry, but I don’t feel bad at all. The baby boomer generation is the one that blew up this country. They ran up debts they couldn’t pay back, they got us into wars we shouldn’t have been in, and their greed has bankrupted the entire world economy. The environment and its ability to sustain life has been just about destroyed due to their consumerism and inability to use birth control. Don’t even get me started on these idiot tea baggers which are mostly baby boomers.
They deserve to spend the rest of their lives eating dog food.
Cam
The boomers don’t know how to use birth control?
Where’d you get that idea?
I know many of my peers who had ZERO children so impacted were we by the 1970′s and 80′s population time bomb theories.
My great grandma had 13 children, my grandmother had 5, my mother 3, myself none.
Get the picture here?
You need to investigate a little more before you hand out blame. Sounds like you have been brainwashed.
Its the Baby Boomers’ parents who didn’t wear the condom. Population has been net declining since then, Baby Boomers can’t afford to have as many kids either.
now don’t forget the best stuff the boomers brought to us… abortion disguised as “famiy planning”, decay of our society as a whole, free-hippie love and drugs, anti-Vietnam vet sentiment, divorce, decline in family values, removing God from our country, revisionist history in schools, etc, etc, etc…
funny the 50 million American babies that have been killed since the boomers made abortion legal might have helped bouy their ss payments? Maybe??? Seems a little karma has been in play here.
May the boomers all see the mayhem they allowed and promoted in this country and take SOME responsibility for themselves as a “group*”.
*yes I realize there will be individual boomers whose views differ from the rest of their group, but I am speaking to the group as a whole. The most morally bankrupt generation… who raised another even more spoiled and morally bankrupt group the OWSers!
And just for the record, I was born in 1972.
All federal programs for individuals will have to be placed on a means test.There isn’t another way out.
“Sadly, most of our politicians just keep kicking the can down the road. They hope that somehow things will just magically “work out”.”
-ah yes, that magical, mystical Hidden Hand of the market that somehow works per conservatives/libertarians
They kick the can down the road hoping it will all hold together so long as they are in office and benefitting from it.
The final question:”So what do we do?” was not followed with a single answer, suggestion or example of sacrifices necessary to solve the problems listed. I am interested to read what solutions commentors come up with other than “get back to God”.
The USA has a large inventory of vacant manufacturing facilities. Many of these could be converted into dormitories (warehouses) for senior citizens. These would not be condominiums but would be better than homeless shelters or tent cities.
Each dormitory could have a community garden for growing vegetables. If necessary, these could be placed on roof tops. Sixty percent of the vegetables consumed in Cuba are grown in urban gardens. Consuming healthy food would lower medical expenses.
Larger dormitories could eventually become self supporting communities.
China is already one step ahead of the USA. Many Chinese manufacturing facilities include dormitories for workers.
Senior citizens opposed to dormitory living need to review their saving, spending and voting history for the past 45 years.
CNBC I meant. What’s the difference?
I held elected office for 16 years (Democrat.) My side yaks about “infrastructure” and putting people back to work. With what ($) I say. The other side says leave it up to the “entrepreneurs”…the “risk takers”. They’ll fix this mess out of the goodness of their hearts…translation…her’s a swift kick in the balls-again. Both parties turn my stomach. Albeit one- more than the other.
Bush spelled it out over 6 years ago, “There is no seperate Social Security Fund,just a filing
cabinet with a bunch of government IOU’s.”
Why is everybody acting as if its a big secret?
He said then “SS needs reforming we cant afford to pay increasing numbers of people.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7393649/ns/politics/t/bush-social-security-trust-fund-just-ious/
It wasnt only the politicians who were ‘kicking the can down the road’,its a lots of ordinary SS contributors who refused to take on board the warning and didnt start asking questions about what right government had to rob the fund for general federal spending and insist that the fund was made financially sound and the IOU’s cashed back into the fund
Another point is that while these IOU’s were lying in a filing cabinet the $1.7 trillion fund was losing over $100 billion in yearly interest!
The SS Scheme was originally set up based on a couple having on average 4 children, and they each in turn would have 4 children, so by the time each set of grandparents retired they would have at least 16 family members paying in to the fund to support them in retirement and it would be financially viable.
The SS is not financially viable when the birth rate has dropped to below half that. We should all realise that SS is destined for the same fate as the Titanic unless it is reformed soon.
WHAT BUSH SAID AND WHAT HE MEANT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS HE WOULD OF LOVED TO TRANSFER ALL OUR SSI TO PEOPLE LIKE THE BANKSTERS SO WHEN THE BOTTOM FELL OUT ALL THE BIG BANKS WOULD OF WALKED OFF WITH ALL OUR SSI MONEY. I COULD SEE RIGHT THROUGH HIM. I SURE ALOT OF OTHER PEOPLE COULD SEE THROUGH HIM TO.
When originally established, SS was for RETIREES. First thing I would do is eliminate anyone who is not retired and has not contributed to our system. There are a lot of fraudulent disability claims that have been sucking the system dry for years.
Then I would drop medicare & medicaid completely and let the system revert back to what it was in the fifties. Too many people don’t take care of themselves because they know they will get a free ride. I get so sick of the endless brainwashing drug ads, directed at seniors in particular, that lead them to believe they need to run to their MD and get the latest untested medicine for some imaginary disease. Acid reflux??? What genius created that concept? Just don’t be such a glutton and eat fresh foods. Forget that factory food because that is what is making you sick.
Then I would indict those at Treasury who have looted the SS funds and left their worthless IOU’s. And I would put the fed government retirement funds into SS. We the people need Equal Protection from those vampires.
Go Gran
Please tell me that you are running for President? If not, you should!
The US government has taken about $2.6 TRILLION of excess paid-in Social Security taxes and spent that on unnecessary wars, stupid pork, and normal govt operations over the past 40 years. PAY this stolen money back to the S/S system. Then, and only then, am I willing to hear complaints about Social Security. The problem is that the govt can not pay this back….the federal govt is bankrupt, thanks to the Smirking Chimp and war criminal Bush and the failed Obummer.
Isnt it the Boomer generation that decided to crack the entitlement lock box fund to fund much needed alphabet soup social programs?? Lets allow those who broke the box refund the program with their own hard earned monies and not from my pocket aka more and new taxes. The rest of the problem stems from a gradual expansion of these programs to include every one including those who came to our great republic for a freebie. Time for new rules, no in no out.
Lyndon Johnson, and his Democratic Congress was the first to raid the SS ‘Trust’ fund when he was president in 1963-1969.
Since Johnson was born in 1908 I don’t think he qualifies as a boomer, nor would most of the people in Congress at that time.
I don’t understand why anyone would expect Social Security benefits to cover the cost of their retirement. SS was intended as a supllement to a person’s retirement funding, not the entire thing.
Forty years ago we had serious doubts that SS would be there for us after a lifetime of paying into it. This is not new news. It should have made my generation –and every generation following–aware of the need to plan for retirement privately.
The first paragraph here states 10,000 a day are retiring and most have not enough savings. So why are they retiring? There is nothing guarranteed about retirement.
the crap private sector eliminated pensions. All that is left is SSI. Wall street lost everyones 401K which is in itself a scam (401k) need defined bennefit and a strong union movement to FORCE the private sector to pay up. they are sitting on tons of monrey so they can afford to pay.
Social Security was sold to the voting public as a closed system. Deductions from citizen’s paychecks were to go into a special fund that would be held against future draws.
Unfortunately, and all to commonly, once the program was voted in and implemented, Congress and the president changed the rules. Initially the program was to be voluntary. You probably notice that has changed.There were limits set on the deductions and no taxes were to be charged on benefits.
But the biggest and worst change involved putting the SS monies into the General Fund and borrowed against it to balance the budget. Lyndon Johnson and the democrat Congress first did this and used the funds partly to pay for the Vietnam War. Using the supposedly untouchable ‘Trust’ funds has now become common practice.
That’s where the money went.
I know a young 26 year old spanish man who is receiving $674.00 a month from SSI because he said he’s suffering from depression. Yet he’s running his ass off every night with his friends drugging it up. There’s not a damn thing wrong with him. This is typical in my town. People like this man who never paid one dime into the social secuity system taking money from those who have.
That is a very good point.
Michael
If you have 6 children that are depressed, you can get 6 SSI checks every month!
Yes, you don’t even want to know how deep the fraud goes…of course if you are like me, you get it thrown in your face every day. And we can’t rule out that the Gov. may have had this as part of their mega plan to get as many dependents as possible.
The economy has me depressed. When can I pick up my Social Security payment?
SS doesn’t give a false expectation that the government will take care of you, it offers the false security that the government can be trusted with your money.
STOP giving them your money!
When SS was first inplemented it was to be an all voluntary program. This was the premise under which it was voted into being. That rule and many others changed once the program was law.
This is one of the main reasons most entitlement programs far exceed their original boundaries—the government had no intention of abiding by the boundaries in the first place.
I bet a lot of these BBers would want to settle in retirement in countries of lower cost and less political/economic madness.
But such countries in reasonable compatible to American way of life are few indeed. Unless one is prepared to make the most drastic change in lifestyle. The following comes to mind:
- Some African countries like S. Africa.
- Australia, NZ & Canada but their cost of living is high, immigration strict and the immigration line up long.
- Some C. American countries like Costa Rica
- Maybe Ireland, Chile.
One more thing. Even when you managed to get residency in them, just settle in and live quietly. The reputation of America worldwide is at an all-time low. America kicked a lot of asses on the way up; get ready to feel what’s like on the way down.
Just another reason why I am glad that we have bought and continue to buy food storage. We are in our late 50′s and know that we will not have much Soc. Sec. coming. We are starting to expand our garden each year and hope to add some rabbits next spring. Our food storage from http://www.shelfreliancesanantonio.com will certainly come in handy even if there is no SHTF event. We buy the food now and eat it in 10+ years to supplement our retirement living. It’s a WISE investment for anyone.
this article hits the nail on the head.
Baby boomers today are in for a very rough
ride ahead.
In fact, all of America is going to face
very hard economic times in the years
ahead.
I hope the younger generation is preparing
themselves for what they will experience.
The good old days are gone forever.
We are in an entirely new global economy
now.
America has gone through 6 stages and
when they finish the seventh it is all
over.
To see the 7 stages go to:
theelevationgroup.net/presentation/register.php?a_aid=160667&a_bid=290b868b&chan=y
Massive wealth is going to be transferred
in the near future.
Only those that have seen the future via
the past can prepare themselves for what
is to come.
Take a look at the short video and see
for yourself what has caused this crisis
and where we are headed.
SSI has been cannibalized since it first started with FDR. When Reagan raised the retirement age, I had a feeling it was toast.I expect that whoever is elected in 2012 will be the one to deliver the Coup de grace. Instead of a payment the boomers will get an IOU from the government.1st they steal your youth by forcing you to eat the lies from their bowl at their public school,then they feed you more lies from their bowl in college so you go into debt,then they lie,cheat and steal most of what you earn during the rest of your life and feed you more lies, then finally when your to old to fight back they steal your dignity along with anything thats left and feed you a bowl full of lies so your always hungry for the truth…..the truth is in Christ.
I remember a college class in Anthropology back in 77 where the teacher addressed cultural collapse, and made a speech that shook students out of their seats, literally, class ended, because the teacher addressed baby boomer retirement and the collapse of the current economy, at that time. Ohm my, and your Gods it caused a major conflict – the teacher was fired.
I was in my early 20′s and finally getting serious about school, the truth hurts, once you have to face it. Then, it requires a deeper connection to purpose and reason of life. Keeps going, on into infinite awareness of living connection even through loss.
The federal government will just print money to pay for Social Security benefits. This way the politicians will be able to say they’re meeting their obligations, unfortunately it will be with worthless dollars.
Yes it is all my fault. I very foolishly spent $130,00.00 on my kid’s collage education when I should have invested all that money for my retirement. Shame on me.
I sold my hose on the beach 2 months before the market crashed and bought a nice piece of land a good barn, with good water on it and plenty of space to put anything else I need on it, livestock, smokehouse, water pump, etc. the res ist in gold and silver and food. the people who are going to hurt are those living in the cities.
“Could you live on less than 300 dollars a week?”
Well I could not live on that because I have a house/rent payment. But when you are older and retire you should have your house paid off. That is the one reason that renting doesn’t pay off. I would also expect that at a certain point you would downsize your house so you don’t spend 500/month on heating/cooling.
What is killing seniors is the rising cost of school/property taxes. It is the local municipalities that are forcing homeowners to pay for school. We need a reform of that system if we expect to retire and live comfortably.
Today, too many seniors have mortgage payments and car payments, of course you can’t retire when you have those kind of bills. I’m not saying that there aren’t other problems, but seniors must also bear some responsibility. Staying healthy by excercising and eating moderately…will help with that too.
I take issue with the statement that we do not have money to pay for the promises we made to baby boomers. They made those promises to themselves knowing there wasn’t any money for it and planning to steal from the rest of us. The boomers are the most selfish generation in history and have brought the greatest nation in the world to the brink of failure.
“They made those promises to themselves knowing there wasn’t the money for it and planning to steal from the rest of us.”
Hardly, Patrick. There was money for it–the money was deducted from everyone’s paycheck. In that sense everyone paid for their own SS benefits. It is not an entitlement if you paid the money originally.
When SS was first proposed, the funds were to be kept completely seperate from other government money. That is the major premise under which the plan was implemented. The funds were to be there when it came time to draw on them.
Did the boomers decide to raid the SS funds for their own nefarious needs? No. Congress under Johnson raided the funds. The boomers HAD NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT.
In the 1960′s when Johnson was raiding SS funds the boomers WERE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE. They couldn’t have stopped it.
Yes, something should have been done about this problem a long, long time ago. But those who talked about it during Primary Campaigns a long, long time ago were rejected by the Baby Boomers whose years of gold are now turning to dark matter.
The solution is simple…the government simply has to STOP GIVING AWAY MONEY…
The only people that should receive government benefits are those that paid money in…no foreigners, no welfare recipients, no food stamp recipients…no SSI…
America owes a debt to those that have contributed…those that have not contributed have to be sent back across the border, or allowed to figure out how to finance their own lives, but taken OFF OF THE GOVERNMENT DOLE…
The government should only pay bills and pay benefits to those that have paid in…not give grants to colleges for research…not give grants to NPR or Planned Parenthood…not give grants to ANYONE…except those that have paid into Social Security and Medicare…
Back when there was plenty of money, we could afford to “help” people…but now, people are going to have to “help themselves”…
The returns on SS monies paid in are very low. Most people with decent financial guidance could do much better investing on their own.
I saw a chart once that took the average amount paid into SS by the average taxpayer and modeled the returns on three levels:
1) a very good investor with a good result over 50 years
2) an average investor with an average result over 50 years
3) a poor investor with a poor result over 50 years
Even the poor investment beat the returns you get from SS.
War is expensive! But if you are an oil-chasing Bush or Cheney, ANYPLACE you can find more oil is fair game for war for whatever reason! I see a lot of gung-ho Re-puke-lickans cheer every war and invasion we’ve gotten into for the past 15 years! Let THEM pay for these wars! There is also another definition of war: SATANIC SACRIFICE!
Your misguided if you think Democrats are different. Think those nations in the Middle east are falling because of internal revolts? Notice that the US presence just happens to be in and around oil resources? It’s not so bad that we’re doing it but the excuses are dishonest.
All of geo-political moves are posturing to secure resources. The concern is not terrorism, that’s an excuse. The concern is China.
Democrats feed from the same corporate bowl as Republicans. Follow the money.
Come see us in Ecuador:http://JourneymanJack.com/
Quito is the Capital, right on the Equator, at 9,350 ft. (1.77 miles) above sea level in the heart of the Andes Mountains, where the weather is 50′s in the evening, and 70′s during the day all year round. Valley of Eternal Sprintime! Do not hesitate to contact me for your relocation or exploration needs!
Hi:
Complaints! Complaints! Complaints!
Give some solutions
You want solutions, http://www.FixSSNow.Org. We list all solutions with unbiased analysis. If we are missing one, tell us what. If we are wrong, tell us where.
We attempt to provide 1-stop shopping for people concerned with the state of Socail Security.
I understand that you want solutions, but these are not complaints. These are facts. It was not overnight we got here, and I believe the solutions you are looking for are not of any interest to the people who could actually impose them. I want solution and action too, but we might be inline for the end game.
I am hoping, as well, you were not wanting nor expecting any one person / group / idea to be the saving plan here. There are way too many cooks in this kitchen to have a simple and elegant dinner. This is going to be a messy, sloppy buffet style where you might have to bus your own table and BYOS (Bring Your Own Solution).
I think the above URL is a great idea (I have not visited it or am affiliated). We do need more places for resources to enable people to start taking care of their own life and accept the government is not going to do it for you. I would suggest if you are looking for solutions, you need to start looking at what you can do for your own situation, because only you know the real problems you are facing. Once those are identified, figure out where to get the help and support to overcome them.
Bill Still’s The Money Masters
Excellent history of banking. If you are short on time, the solution starts at about 3:06:00.
remove the cap on ssi tax so the rich pay more. Tax capital gains to get ssi.
Again this is a easy one-make the rich pay.
Tax the greedy to help the needy.
How about poor people start planning ahead so rich people don’t have to take care of them?
Seriously. Let me see how that works. Take the nothing they have left over at the end of the month. Save that for, lets say, 20 years. haha.. Hmm.. still nothing. Granted, Some poor people could do better.. but not all of them. How you going to generate that many jobs? the rich are not making any new ones. Basically you probably prefer they die or something. Rich could be smart, help the poor.. and earn more profit in doing so… because they do better when poor spend money. So those taxes probably would just go right back to them.
So many of them are using their left over for cell phones, Cable, other luxuries.
This is corporate media tripe. Too many of the working poor go without basics, like heat and healthcare because of the inflation coupled with wage stagnation we’ve seen over the past decade. Cell phones are replacing land lines as they are cheaper and help make ends meet. In many places, cable is required to get basic TV service since the FCC sold off the airwaves older televisions used to provide free service. The idea that the poor who work full time or more should live in dirt, so that the rich and upper middle classes don’t have to pay a little more taxes is a big problem in this country, one perpetuated media shills who let them off the hook by calling refrigerators and emergency cell phones a luxury.
I am a 1950 BBoomer, Among other things I taught retirement planning. I also retired at 50. Say what you will; but people have made much of their own misery. I tried to tell people that: Get rid of Pop, Cigs. Booze; and pack your own lunches, Is most of what it takes to retire a millionaire, No one ever listened. I have a few apartments; on a Monday the whole trash dumpster is full of beer cans and pizza boxes When they move it’s full of barely worn shoes Two weeks after Xmass it’s full of junk Don’t believe me? Go to a large mall look around and ask yourself: “How much of this junk does a person actually need?”
Agree with what you say.
Can’t become a millionaire from manual work, but at least can take care of yourself.
And how much stuff do you need? And if you take care of your stuff it will keep. I still have a winter jacket that’s 30 years old. It’s warm. And guess what – it became modern again. Just saved me 150 bucks.
Shoes don’t last forever, but if you replace the sole before you walk on the upper leather, they will keep for ages.
Good shoe polish costs much less than a new pair of low quality shoes.
And right now I don’t want to miss my down quilt and woollen blanket.
Well let’s start with the rich people own the corporations that the poor people work for. So I will title this “Corporate Rape”. Then we move on to the government paying the corpoation to stay in the local. (Don’t believe me check Hawker-Beech Wichita, KS). Then the rich peolple pay the poor people low wages and cut out mom and pop businesses, And last but not least we have HOA, Zoning, Ordinances and the giant corporations funding the politition campaign.
Planning ahead shouldn’t be a problem when at the end of the month there is still some money left to put aside for bad times.
Just increase the wages, and the poor are happy to plan ahead.
In fact, the poor finance the rich, not the other way around.
Gary2 promoting his gangster government of using lying, corrupt, power hungry politicians to steal from his neighbors. Gary2′s greediness needs to be outlawed. The entitlement and welfare state needs to be phased out and personal responsibility phased in.
SS is nothing more than a wealth stealing pyramid scheme destined to fail by design. SS tax rate has gone up 600% since inception. The retirement age keeps going up. The income cap keeps going up. Yet, the liberal fascist system is still FAILING.
The American people have been given a bad deal from the get go thanks to FDR’s New Deal. Government should give people the choice to at least opt out of this junk. All in favor?
Less government and more personal responsibility. Count me in.
I’m with ya!
Gary2, you have been using your Big Government for 50 years to covet the wealth of those who earned it. How’s that working out for you? If I’m not mistaken, God had something to say about that. Remember Him?
Gary 2
I have not agreed with your “tax the rich” before, but I do now! Especially since I read that GE paid no taxes on billions of profit!
If the SS fund had not been raided time and time again, the statistics would not be so dismal.
Many seniors who had saved and invested lost much of their retirement savings during the 2008 stock market disaster.
It’s a disgrace that the United States government has been so STUPID and so CORRUPT that it cannot pay back what was paid into the SS fund not only by the individuals but also by their employees. Extortion is the word that comes to mind!
Amen brother. I’m 40 and have apartments too. Same scenario and getting rents from these entitled masses is just as difficult. I then happened to go to Wal-Mart at the wrong time this week (Black Thursday nite) and saw a tenant leaving with new big screen TV! I don’t have a ####ing big screen TV and yet this person who doesnt even seem to have a job is buying one on a whim. The concept of poor in America is BS! Don’t believe me go to any Central or South American country. Anyone poor in the US who isn’t mentally retarded or severly mentally or physically disabled (and not the millions of fakers in this country) has done it to themselves. And those POS in Washington have helped them right along.
All of a sudden… death panels don’t sound like a bad idea.
Let you be the first volunteer…
Death panels are STILL a very bad idea!
they are called insurance companies. they are the real death panels/
If there’s one bright spot in all of this, it is that we can predict what will happen. The government will run the printing presses rather than have hundreds of thousands of baby boomers at the doorsteps of the White House wondering where why their social security check doesn’t pay the cable bill anymore.
So because we know that the end game is that the government has no choice but to print, we can prepare accordingly. Those who can and do prepare will do well and perhaps even increase their wealth.
Despite our grim future, as a prepared 28 year old I look forward to our collapse.
You overestimate the voting power of the Boomers. If you are 42 you are scheduled to retire the year that the Trust Fund hits zero. The number of people who are going to get substantially less than promised is growing rapidly. Today, more than 1/2 of voting aged Americans are going to get less than what was promised. Next year, it will be a majority of registered voters. By 2014, it will be a majority of registered/active voters. It is no surprise that 2010 was the year that they made the first payroll tax cut in history. In 2011, you have politicians talking about a ponzi scheme. The demographics are crumbling.
I’m getting pissed about the Boomer bashing. It’s obvious these bashers know little of history. Yea, we’ve made our mistakes but we’ve also paid our dues. I was born in 1948, this mess we are in hit high gear in August of 1971. I was 23 years old. My contemporaries weren’t part of the political scene. Richard Milhouse Nixon took us off of the international gold standard. I was blindsided and didn’t understand the ramifications of his action. Just kept plugging away and doing what I was taught. Work hard, be loyal and enjoy your retirement plus what little Social Security kicked in. Fiat money, debt money changed the game. You youngsters grew up in this world, us Boomers had to adapt. We are entering the final phase of a con game engineered by banksters one hundred years, maybe more, ago. Quit blaming “generations” and start looking at how we get our collective asses out of this mess.
Darrold, I surf the web looking for opinion on Social Security. This is pretty tame stuff here. The fact is that Boomers have run-up a 15 trillion dollar debt; and expect the next generation to pay-off that debt plus take care of the boomers in retirement. You can’t really be all that surprised if the next generation says no.
I’ve got news for you! The Boomers did not run up the debt! It was done by shyster banksters, federal reserve, and politicians for their own political and greedy gain. If 1.3 Trillion of bailouts that this admin has done had gone to the people, it would have paid off all our debts and the money would have gone to the businesses and banks who held the debt and been recycled back into the system 9 times over and the whole country would have propered. Instead they used the majority of it for the derivative markets which are a big crapshoot and bankster game.
Darrold,
I agree with you totally. A lot of this “boomer bashing” appears to be contrived, similar to the “class warfare” and I think it is more a distraction to the real issues than anything constructive.
I am also a boomer, being born in 1950 (no more my choice than anyone else’s choice of when or where to to whom they were born). I agree to some extent with those who say some people in my generation caused problems, but who were they? Politicians mostly (I’d also blame a lot of teachers, especially college professors). The politicians were not necessarily anyone I voted for (most of the people I voted for didn’t win). I am not a lawmaker, other than bearing some collective responsibility as a citizen who voted for a few referendums (peanut stuff) that I voted directly for during the time I lived in California. So why are you (those who do) blaming ME for what other people did?
If you are younger, do you honestly think you have control over politicians who are the same age as you?
If you vote for someone, yes you have some degree of responsibility for that… but only if they did what they told you they were going to do and only to the extent whatever percentage of people you are among those who also voted likewise.
As to retirement: if I had the money, I’d do it in a heartbeat (I’m tired of working all these years, I’m 61) but I don’t so I won’t. Unfortunately for some younger person, that means with my skill set and experience I will not be getting “out of your way” so some young person can take over my job (I work with a lot of much younger “Gen Y” people, who are a cut-throat bunch for the most part).
I’ve paid into SS for over 40 years. Chances are there won’t be any or much there when I get old enough I could theoretically retire. I worked for most of my life in non-profit organizations (a few universities and mostly government, mostly local and now federal). I did it in part because it interested me, I had the ability, and I thought I could use the gifts I was given (mainly in analyzing data) for the common good (mostly working in public health, but I also spent a few years working in environmental planning). I wasn’t making all that much money so savings are modest. Most of the places I worked did NOT have any pension, other than a 401K … except for at my current job (but I’ve only been there 5 years) so I don’t expect to quit working unless I get too sick to or die.
My father was a firefighter, he advised all us kids to consider a career as a civil servant — but his attitude was that we needed to remember the “servant” part of that, and that we would be serving our communities. Technically my dad died in the line of duty (he had a massive heart attack while fighting a fire, although he didn’t die for quite a few years later, but it was clearly from the damage to his heart. Firefighters are at very high risk for heart attacks, even when they otherwise live healthy).He advised us that way partly because it was more secure than a lot of other jobs, even though typically not as well paid. He grew up in the Great Depression (he was in late teens and early 20s then), so he had his reasons for that.
There were 5 of us kids (all of us boomers”). Two of us have worked mostly for government. One brother has worked over 20 years in the water department, in a support position for engineers for most of it, currently he is works marking the water lines before construction (dangerous, he could get blown up if you accidentally hit a gas line) and also works on the snow plows. Another brother has worked as an X-ray tech in an ER.
I honestly don’t think any of us are responsible for the “mess” we’re in or have anything to feel bad about for the work we chose.
I think we all need to pick our battles wisely… and put the blame where the blame belongs, not just lashing out in anger towards a whole group of people who may or may not have had anything to do with the thing you are concerned with.
We are ALL responsible for our own behavior, be it bad or good, wise or foolish!
I don’t blame the younger generation to objecting to raising their taxes massively to pay for the boomers social security and Medicare.
1. The young will never see the benefits of these programs in their lifetime. No chance. I would be pissed too. If I were a young worker and had the option to opt out of Social security, I would not hesitate to do so.
2. The public was sold a lie by the democrats that these programs were solvent and sustainable. The boomers have been scammed and bought into the lie and there is no way to pay for the promised benefits. Just like Madoff’s customers who were cheated, the public needs to admit they have been screwed and quit trying to force this bankrupt program to pay. The sooner they accept it was a scam, the sooner everyone can try to get on with life.
Seems to me that we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Voting Republican might reverse our irresponsible fiscal policies but at what cost?A people that have become so dependent on government are not going to be as stoic as they were in 1933. Ironically, the repression by force of street riots could become the first sign of a loss of freedom that we had expected from the Left.
And voting for President Obama will likely mean getting deeper in debt, not because the man is politically motivated but because Democrats have an entirely different view of the role of societal compassion in government..
In the past we have been able to find middle ground because our leaders put the country’s interest first. But this time I truly think the racial issue has contaminated the political atmosphere to the point where compromise is impossible. There is no other explanation to the intensity of the personal attacks on President Obama. In FDR’s time race was not an issue — Communism and Creeping Socialism were. Greed may be behind many of our problems but Fear is a close second.
Personal attacks on Oabama? Oh please! The leftists drag out the tired old racist card when anyone dares to question the Obama administration’s policies. Enough already! Instead of being the great uniter, the Obama administration is the great divider who has divided this country along racial and ethnic lines. Never ending socialist entitlements and crony capitalism is bankrupting this country!
Amen, DeLeon!
Pass employee free choice act to increase union power. Force the scum bag companies in the private sector to spend the cash they are sitting on on a defined benefit program.
Watch all those companies take that cash and invest it in new overseas facilities, beyond the reach of scumbags like Gary2 who think they’re entitled to stick their paws in other peoples’ pockets.
Watch all those unions go on strike Friday and come back on Monday to a plant with a “Closed, moved to Mexico”—or China, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Phillipines—sign posted on the gate.
Take a drive through Flint, Michigan sometime if you want to see how well Gary2′s plans work out in the real world.
What the unions should have done was to take over the plants before they were moved and formed a collective. I doubt the workers would fuck themselves over the way the bosses do. If you don’t think a revolution is brewing, you have your head up Rush Limbaugh’s ass.
Those so called ‘scum bag companies in the private sector’ Will be this countries only salvation.
Clinton is the one that pushed NAFTA and sent all our dollar over seas for manufacturing… or to Canada and Mexico. World largest most modern automobile factory… making the Challenger? As seen on Modern Marvels….. MADE IN CANADA!
Our country NEEDS those private sector companies that put people to work! Re-Industrialize our country!!! It’s the de-industrialization that is a HUGE contributor to our downfall. Cut our gov’t in half. Immediately. Stop expecting gov’t to supply better retirement plans than the private sector can afford.
IT’S UP TO EACH INDIVIDUAL TO SAVE YOUR OWN DAMN MONEY. EXPECTING OTHERS TO DO YOUR JOB IS THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I don’t trust my dog with the entire bag of dog food, so why should I trust my money to crooks???
yeah those private companies making record profits while paying workers peanuts are such a big help.
Pay back will be a bitch!
So what’s the big deal? Divert all the money we flush down the toilet in Iraq, Iran and the 700 plus military bases around the world and there wouldn’t be a problem. Or look at it this way, in the last few years we’ve given TRILLIONS to bail-out the banksters and “captians” of finance. And they take more every day while more and more Americans face life on the streets. Average people are getting more and more angry. . . no wonder the police state is cracking down. And I mean in the US.
“Social Security system is on the road to complete and total disaster.”
The Social Security Administration does not agree. They say they can pay out 100% of the benefits until 2037 if no action is taken. After that, they say they can pay out 80% of the benefits if no action is taken. If they can pay 100% benefit for the next 25 years, it hardly sounds bankrupt as SS’s detractors claim.
The tax cap is approximately $106,000. The Social Security Administration claims that if that is lifted, it would not be necessary to throttle back benefits in 2037.
Corrupt politicians have been spreading this alarmist disinformation for the past 3 decades. It is the big lie. If we have enough money for war, we have enough to take care of our elders. The dirty little secret is they want to eliminate the Social Security benefit but continue collecting the taxes which maintained the trust fund. They would like to spend that money on more wars that line the pockets of their wealthy supporters.
bobcat
We have enough money for everything. There is no shortage of money. As expenditures exceed revenues (and they do) they just print more. The problem is the value of money.
Totally Agree
You are wrong bobcat. There is no trust fund. All there is are IOUs. Social Security started running a deficit last year. If we can not borrow the money to pay the social security checks they will not go out. That is why Obama threatened he could not send the checks out if the debt ceiling was not raised. And if you haven’t noticed we are having to borrow massive amounts of money. If we can’t really borrow it, the FED will have to print the money. However this will ultimately cause dollar for dollar inflation. Once we start down this path, we will soon lose our reserve currency status and that is when all hell will break lose.
“This crisis was ignored, dealing with it was put off time after time and all the doomsayers were laughed at.”
Many of those people laughing were the boomers themselves who bought into the “morning in America” nonsense so popular in the 80s. Sad fact is that they’re going to suffer with the rest of the 99%. The party’s over and it really is mourning in Amerika.
I agree, they bought into the lie and voted to keep this ponzie scheme going year after year. Just like any other imprudent investor who made a bad investment. They will have to face the loss. I mean even Madoff’s customers realize they are screwed and have given up on getting their money back.