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.
The power of compounded earnings.
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.
Bump
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.
Unfortunately, one thing that probably contributed to this situation is the fraudulent notion, bought into by too many Americans, that one is “saving for retirement” by paying one’s FICA taxes.
That has created two problems. First, it has caused a lot of Americans to save less than they would have if no one else was purporting to take responsibility for their retirement. Second, it has given rise to the myth that the money they paid in FICA taxes is still “their money”, when that money is clearly gone. Maintaining the fantasy of the “Social Security Trust Fund” is crucial in perpetuating the Social Security Ponzi scheme.
I paid into my social security all my life, dadgumit, and I want my gov’mint check!
I put a portion of my money into a managed forex fund. It’s making about 4% per month so far on average. Gotta be careful though, not all funds are created equal. and there is a lot of HYPE.
The article doesn’t address the home equity of my contemporaries but it slams them for not investing in the gambling pits of the 80s stock markets?
The gov’t gave people the idea that they didn’t have to save for retirement because SSI would be there for them and that all that money that was being taken from each paycheck was being tucked away in some safe place... HA!
Instead of encouraging thrift and responsibility, the gov’t encourages consuming... they even encourage playing the lottery! They know the average lottery ticket is bought by someone with zero dollars in savings, but they encourage it anyway. How shameful is that?!
Most Americans are completely illiterate when it comes to finances and the gov’t has done nothing to change that. You could even make the case that they have made financial illiteracy much, much worse. They force people to sit through 12 years of gov’t run schools and instead of teaching them the power of compound interest (”the most powerful force in the universe” said Albert Einstein) , no instead of teaching them that, they taught them to demand social justice.
They teach kids that money earned from a for-profit business is dirty and that “rich” is a four-letter word and that anyone who wants to make a lot of money through hard work and sacrifice is a very bad person. The only acceptable way to make money (in a liberal’s eyes) is to work in Hollywood, professional sports or to make billions by selling carbon tax credits.
The government’s propaganda arm, aka Hollywood, churns out shows non-stop, such as Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, MTV Cribs, Sweet 16... shows that glorify gorging on instant gratification through debt... over-consuming became the norm in the last decade and was something to be admired. People who didn’t have a dime in savings actually paid $1,000 for a pair of high heels and $2,000 for a purse if the girls on Sex and the City wore them. Ridiculous!!
But as for the people who worked hard, saved their money and now have enough to live comfortably or even leave money to their kids? Those people are vilified by politicians as greedy and selfish.
Washington is already planning how to confiscate people’s 401K money and force them to take guaranteed future payments from the gov’t instead (as if they can guarantee anything!). They cannot stand the idea that trillions of dollars are in people’s private savings accounts and they are not free to spend it on more vote-buying entitlements!
You watch, they will swoop in after passing legislation in the middle of the night and hiding it in a 1,000 page bill and say “we need this money and we were the ones who “allowed” you to save it tax-free, we have a right to “borrow” it in this time of crisis”.
It’s sad. It’s evil. And it could have turned out so differently if politicians had the best interest of citizens and the country at heart. They could have actually taught them something in school. They could have rewarded hard work and savings. They could have praised those who made something of themselves.
If they had done that, everyone from the top to the bottom of the income ladder would be more secure. Instead, they were more interested in finding the easiest way to buy votes by promising more goodies and mortgaging the country.
Yep, retirees are broke and although I believe that ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility, the gov’t is without a doubt largely to blame.
Dave Ramsey Ping List Worthy?
A very timely article. Thanks for posting!
If I keep working for another 5 years, between real estate, various other investments, gold, silver and lead I should have a pretty comfortable retirement ahead of me.
People think I’m nuts to be as ‘thrifty’ as I’ve been (when I haven’t necessarily needed to be) but you know what? I’m going to be an old woman sooner than I can snap my fingers and statistically I’ll be ALONE in my Golden Years. I’m not going to be alone and BROKE at the same time, that’s for d@mn sure!
Cabana Boys don’t come cheap, LOL!
Those of us who saved could find our savings snatched away from us by this rapacious government, or devalued by their monetizing of the debt and thereby reducing the buying power of the dollar. And it is possible to live a joyful, fulfilled life without a lot of money--in fact, money has nothing to do with it.
A good friend of mine lost his job, has no pension, is still several years away from Social Security, has zero savings, and will soon run out of unemployment benefits, yet he keeps going to rock concerts and sports events as if there were no tomorrow. I think he is the smart one.
Stop worrying and enjoy this beautiful planet and this beautiful life. God is good.
There are also people who paid into pension plans for years, saw the company hand the pension fund to the government, and then see the pension slashed in half. They saw no need to save on their own, they already had the pension and social security, both already paid for.
BTTT
sometimes a simpler, humbler life might be better than the comfy thoughts we plan..
Live like no one else so that you can LIVE like no one else!
Thanks Diana for the ping-a-ling.
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