Posted on 03/12/2010 2:18:46 PM PST by Pontiac
Instead they were relying on ... what? Santa Claus?
Well if you are a liberal Dimocrat; yes.
Or as some would say “Other People’s Money”.
WSJ ping
Maybe I'm naive but I don't think that many people did nothing to plan for their futures.
What do you think?
Most people in my generation (late boomers) will have to work until they die.
They have no assets. They have liabilities. Social Security will be broke. They have already spent more than they will ever earn.
Their debts will expire with them, is probably the best they can hope for.
Oh, and stealing my money.
But everyone has a big screen and cable.
The power of compounded earnings.
Yep.
With my own family I think it is worse.
I am from a family of eight. Of those eight I think only two of us put away more than just an employer retirement.
Our consumer culture seems to encourage instant gratification and little saving.
My step children despite my efforts never keep a dime in their pocket let alone in a savings account.
I believe these numbers completely. And, I think the numbers in my generation (I’m 39) are worse yet. Somewhere along the way, we became a credit addicted society...and saving just hasn’t happened for alot of people.
I find it sad, but not hard at all to believe.
Look, the vast majority of Americans have been on a 20-30 year binge of overspending, over-consuming, and virtually no saving. The party has been fun, all the goodies, trips, SUVs, toys, clothes, big screens, wine, jewelry, and of course, that (must-have-better-than-the-relatives) “dream house” that they’re now upside-down on. And China Inc. has been the chief pimp, bartender, and caterer of all this overconsumption, which has enabled hundreds of millions of rural Chinese workers to achieve a level of income they never could have under communism.
But the party’s over. We’re broke and because China kept it’s currency cheap to encourage us to keep buying, we don’t even have millions of jobs in the US for people to work at if they wanted to.
And we did it to ourselves.
I know several retirees who gambled and lost on the Dot Com bubble.
I know one in particular that took a cash option on his retirement and lost when the bubble burst. He now works land scaping in the summers and his wife works at a quickie mart kind of place.
Bump
Do you believe these numbers? I find it hard to believe that many people did not take any action to prepare for their retirement.
Maybe I’m naive but I don’t think that many people did nothing to plan for their futures.
What do you think?
3 posted on Friday, March 12, 2010 5:26:57 PM by A Cyrenian
They thought they did save for their retirement. They were told that’s what Social Security was for....but the government didn’t put it in a lockbox for them, they spent it instead. But they(the government) have to blame the citizenry, they won’t admit their guilt in screwing America...
It would be interesting to know the breakdown between conservatives and liberals, voters and non-voters.
I cannot even imagine a conservative not planning for retirement, setting aside as much as possible for a raining day.
Maybe all of us.
The Dims are working on a plan to confiscate our 401Ks and use them to shore up Social Security.
If return we will get some kind of defined annuity.
If anything would light the fires of insurrection in me it would be that.
>>But everyone has a big screen and cable.<<
Not the smart ones. I have a 15 year old tube type TV. I keep a “fund” that I contribute to every paycheck and pay cash for everything. The only debt I have is my mortgage and I will pay that off this coming year (after 13 years).
I am taking advantage of the 401K catch-up and the like and I project I should be OK by the time I hit 70 or so, assuming that SSI is nothing by the time I retire.
RE: “Maybe I’m naive but I don’t think that many people did nothing to plan for their futures.
What do you think?”
***********
I don’t know where you live, but I know several near-or-in-retirement boomers living in (or from) CA who have saved little or nothing.
A few have worked a long time at jobs in companies still providing good pensions (OR govt. jobs, with the richest benefits) but the rest are screwed, or planning to live on other peoples’ money. They’d best not count on mine.
Social security cannot be counted on to support anyone, if it even continues to exist. That alone is not enough. Lots of people left jobs for various reasons and took their 401K money and spent it or invested it unwisely in risky schemes.
I WISH I knew a lot of people who had prepared or are preparing appropriately for retirement. CA is now a disgusting welfare state and getting worse every year.
I hear you, Uncle Miltie — I believe I know all the same people you do; or there sure is a whole host of them out there!!!
You have the right idea.. I was laid off at 29 years 9 months.. at 54.. that was 2.5 years ago.. My investments have actually done quite well..
I don’t plan on SSI, if it pays off, bonus!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.