[Incorrigible]

As one of those Generation X people who is actually saving for my retirement (though I plan on working 'til I drop), my concern is that spendthrift Baby Boomers will empower the government to grab my nest egg in order to pay for those who didn't prepare.  Thus making my efforts pointless.

[LibertarianInExile]

"As one of those Generation X people who is actually saving for my retirement (though I plan on working 'til I drop), my concern is that spendthrift Baby Boomers will empower the government to grab my nest egg in order to pay for those who didn't prepare. Thus making my efforts pointless."

Agreed 100% BUMP! Reduce the risk by legally putting as much as you can into extraterritorial untouchables now. Claim the taxes now, too, don't get into trouble with the IRS while you do anything. But you are right to NOT be fooled by promises that money will come out of the 401Ks and Roths without the taxman wetting his beak. There is simply too much waiting to be taken, too much that the government will need to take, if it is to pay off Boomers.

Of course, there will be Boomers that will try to make Americans pay those taxes because America made them a 'commitment.' Forcing Americans to stomach the level of involuntary servitude necessary to meet the demands of 'The Greediest Generation' will be more difficult than they think.

[tacticalogic]

Retirees Will Face Dire Straits

Will I get to meet Mark Knophler?

[Mugwump]

ENOUGH! No, I havent read the article, no, I haven't read the replies, but I just don't care!

WE ARE NOT THE ENENY! Get it? Examples:

Social Security: FDR -- born in the 1800s.
The Peace Movement: Begun during the Great Depression (in earnest) by the likes of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, et al. Born long before any boomer was a twinkle in Daddy's eye.
Socialism: Begun in earnest in the 1800s; followed on by the likes of Woodrow Wilson -- born in the 1800s.
The Peace Movement of the Sixties: Brought about by old members of various Communist movements from the NINETIEEN THIRTIES! Their operatives (I met several personally), were people more than eight to ten years older than we were.

When all this began, we were a bunch of dumb kids who fell for an idealistic line. It may interest you to know that many of us grew up. However... Count the number of actual Boomers in truly high political office. Isn't Pelosi over 60. (Sorry, Nancy the facelifts didn't work). What about Murtha? Kerry was on the very leading edge (technically, anyone born in 1945 or earlier isn't considered a Boomer.)

We really, truly didn't start thic cr*p, and most who are now perpetuating it are pre-Boomers. Yeah, I admit there are a few, but not as many as you think

So, can you all lighten up? Geeze, I get the creepy feeling that some of my fellow FReepers would cheerfully put the needle in my arm tomorrow just to rid the world of our "scourge."

< /rant>

[MarkL]

As one of those Generation X people who is actually saving for my retirement (though I plan on working 'til I drop), my concern is that spendthrift Baby Boomers will empower the government to grab my nest egg in order to pay for those who didn't prepare. Thus making my efforts pointless.

And something else that I'm concerned with is the fact that by the time I retire (and my house is paid off), my property taxes and insurance on my house will probably be more than I'm paying on the mortgage right now. Plus, although I'm putting a fair chunk of money into mutual funds through a 401K plan, I'm wondering just what the stock market will be like in another 20 years, while people are looking to cash in their funds for retirement.

I hold no hope that I'll ever see a penny of social security.

Mark

[FrankR]

My question to all of this is, where did all the years of taxes and SS money go that we boomers have been paying in all these years?

Let do a reckoning of the expenditures, and then add foreign aid, worthless government programs, and untold years of welfare fraud/over-entitlement.

By and large, the boomers had a much better work ethic, and usually worked all their life for a single company. They practiced better savings and money managment techniques, ALL THE WHILE PAYING INTO THE SYSTEM TO PROVIDE SS RETIREMENT TO THE ELDERS.

Now, the money we paid in - by rights - determines what we are paid in SS benefits NOT what the X & ME generations feel like they should pay. These over-educated young people have bought into the MSM/liberal hype that they will not be receiving any SSI benefits when they get older.

Well, maybe instead of slamming the boomers who worked all their lives, they should be looking at who outsourced America's jobs overseas. Eventually, Atlas will shrug and all the manufacturing we gave to foreign countries, will be producing imports at Americans no longer have the money to buy...because they have all our jobs.

Without a manufacturing base, we become a nation based on "information"... or paper - as worthless as those early "internet companies" are now...and the whole house of cards will come tumbling down.

The people writing those "blame the boomer" articles are the spoiled children of the boomers, who are buying into the "sky is falling" predictions of the left.

[cherry]

its NOT the baby boomers that are causing the problem.....

the problem lies solely with what today's elderly are demanding and GETTING from the govt.......

there are tons of people that have never worked yet get SS.....tons of people using Medicare like a personal fix it for every single little thing...like toe fungus....and GETTING it all for little or nothing...

SS did not always grab nearly 16% from workers......originally the percantage was very , very small....

so not only do the people collecting today get money, they often get money many times over whatever they contributed, if anything....

to be fair, shouldn't those collecting today be given cuts?

now I am not talking about those who are barely above water, or even those that live relatively well yet simply....

I am talking about the double and triple dippers, and those with massive pensions from private companies .......

[Binghamton_native]

This nation faces a massive economic crisis -- indeed a social catastrophe -- that some experts even say will be among the worst the country's ever seen.

One thing that articles such as this forget is the first 150 years or so of the history of this Republic.

In reviewing my great-grandfather's Civil War Pension file it becomes apparent that there was no such thing as retirement. You worked until you dropped unless you were one of the small number of wealthy people.

[phoenix0468]

Yes, what you have just described is the Social Security Nation. Not only will they keep borrowing from SS, they could conceivable pass laws to start dipping into your IRA's and 401K's by ending their tax exemptions.

The whole notion of SS is deplorable and wrong.

[phoenix0468]

By nearly every expert's forecast, half to three-fourths of the next few generations of retirees will live on the edge financially or in desolate poverty.

Most of whom had the opportunity to contribute to some sort of IRA or 401k program at their employment. That's the truly sad fact. These retirees have bought into the biggest lie the feds ever told. That SS will keep them safe in retirement. They were fed this crap, most of them, from the day they were born as SS had existed for over 20 years before some of them were born. The fact that this program has been allowed to persist for this long is the biggest crises of all. If SS were scrapped decades ago, it would have forced citizens to do what they should have done in the first place, take responsibility for themselves and invest in their futures. Our economy would be three times stronger now and it may have reduced the impacts of the three major recessions our nation has faced since the baby boomers were conceived. The fact that our government is continuing this sham is a crisis as well. End the lie, End Social Security!! Heck, I would be willing to donate my portion to help pay off the national debt. If we all did that it might put a good dent into it. But then again some slick politico would jump in front of that gravy train and divert the funds somewhere else, I'm sure.

[phoenix0468]

By nearly every expert's forecast, half to three-fourths of the next few generations of retirees will live on the edge financially or in desolate poverty.

Most of whom had the opportunity to contribute to some sort of IRA or 401k program at their employment. That's the truly sad fact. These retirees have bought into the biggest lie the feds ever told. That SS will keep them safe in retirement. They were fed this crap, most of them, from the day they were born as SS had existed for over 20 years before some of them were born. The fact that this program has been allowed to persist for this long is the biggest crises of all. If SS were scrapped decades ago, it would have forced citizens to do what they should have done in the first place, take responsibility for themselves and invest in their futures. Our economy would be three times stronger now and it may have reduced the impacts of the three major recessions our nation has faced since the baby boomers were conceived. The fact that our government is continuing this sham is a crisis as well. End the lie, End Social Security!! Heck, I would be willing to donate my portion to help pay off the national debt. If we all did that it might put a good dent into it. But then again some slick politico would jump in front of that gravy train and divert the funds somewhere else, I'm sure.

[GOPJ]

Much has been said about how the looming retirement of 76 million baby boomers will stampede Social Security, which is expected to start running out of money in 11 years.

It's not the old people that are breaking social security - it's the "disability is the new welfare" crowd that's breaking the bank. And that's the dems and the usual suspects...