Posted on 04/10/2007 7:21:00 PM PDT by shrinkermd
Cassandra Devine knows how to solve the coming "entitlements" crisis, preordained when the 77 million baby boomers begin hitting 65 in 2011: Pay retirees to kill themselves, a program she calls "transitioning."
Volunteers could receive a lavish vacation beforehand ("a farewell honeymoon"), courtesy of the government, and their heirs would be spared the estate tax. If only 20% of boomers select suicide before the age of 70, she says, "Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid will be solvent. End of crisis."
OK, Devine is a 29-year-old fictional blogger in Christopher Buckley's satirical novel "Boomsday." Infuriated at the injustices awaiting her generation, she becomes an instant media celebrity with a gift for incendiary rhetoric. "Someone my age will have to spend their entire life paying unfair taxes, just so the Boomers can hit the golf course at 62 and drink gin and tonics until they're 90," she tells one TV reporter.
Her plan, once in cyberspace, incites spontaneous uprisings. In Florida, "several hundred people in their twenties stormed the gates of a retirement community. . . . Residents were assaulted as they played golf."
Buckley, born in 1952, is a boomer himself, and his novel is in the best tradition of Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745 (the writer who once suggested that the Irish relieve a famine by eating their young), of using the absurd to discuss moral outrages. Buckley's comic tale revolves around two truths usually buried in our dreary budget debates.
First, a generational backlash is inevitable. It may not come as attacks on sunbathing retirees, but the idea that younger workers will meekly bear the huge tax increases needed to pay all boomers' promised benefits is delusional. The increases are too steep, and too many boomers — fairly wealthy and healthy — will seem undeserving.
Consider: In 2007, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid constitute 44% of the $2.7 trillion federal budget. To pay all future benefits could (depending on assumptions) easily require tax increases of 30% to 50% by 2030. Many retirees are quite comfortable. About 42% of Americans 65 to 75 have assets (homes, stocks, cash) worth $250,000 or more; 23% have annual incomes exceeding $69,000, says the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Second, boomers will want even more benefits. Buckley imagines them clamoring for subsidies for Botox, grandparent day care and "giant flat-screen plasma TVs (for boomers with deteriorating eyesight)." Their actual demands may be less exotic and more expensive: closing the "doughnut hole" — a gap of coverage — in Medicare's drug benefit; more lenient tax treatment for retirement accounts; more payments for nursing homes.
Out in front will be the 38 million-member AARP, the nation's most powerful interest group. In the past four years, notes National Journal, it's spent $88 million on lobbying. AARP says that in the last election half the voters were older than 50 and a quarter were its members.
AARP's new public-relations campaign (slogan: "Divided We Fail") misleadingly aims to project an unselfish and high-minded image. In practice, it means AARP will support higher government spending for all age groups, which (of course) will increase taxes further for tomorrow's workers.
For example, AARP urges the expansion of SCHIP, a program of health insurance for poor children that, ironically, illustrates the nation's twisted priorities. In 2007, SCHIP will cost $5.7 billion; Social Security and Medicare, $1 trillion. Well, maybe SCHIP should be expanded, but only if — a test of AARP's real commitment — cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits pay for the expansion. A doubling of SCHIP would require cuts of about one half of 1%.
Social Security and Medicare are an essential part of the social fabric. Millions depend on them. But the vast benefits — paid too early and too indiscriminately — have become disconnected from genuine need. Unless the two are reconnected, these successful programs will tear at the social fabric.
It is unfair to blame only baby boomers for not acting pre-emptively to curb the known costs of their retirement. The "greatest generation" bears equal responsibility. Politicians have done nothing, because voters — present and prospective retirees — have wanted them to do nothing.
Still, boomers deserve special disapproval. "Baby Boomers," says Buckley's Devine, "made self-indulgence a virtue." Sure, that's a stereotype, but for opinion leaders and politicians, it is uncomfortably accurate.
Consider Newsweek. It has a regular feature, "The Boomer Files," that celebrates boomer musicians, comedians, sports heroes and TV series. It discusses how boomers are "redefining the 'golden years' " — but not a peep about the costs for their children.
I was born in late 1945 and count myself a part of this failure. In our careless self-absorption, we are committing a political and economic crime against our children and perhaps — when they awaken to their victimization — even ourselves.
I guess they were ignorant about it too, 'cuz they got wiped out, yet they expect me to pay for it. The fact you've even heard of a "company pension plan" shows you're a baby-boomer, those things are dead....
But don't let your ignorance stop you.
I do my own investing--401K world now y'know....
You've been laid off 4 times! Did they fire everyone or just some? Wonder why your name was on the list (4 times!)?
I was stupid enough to work in Defense in the '90s when Clinton was cancelling all the projects. If your project is cancelled by DoD, you and everyone who worked on it has to find another job. It's not 'fired', it's laid-off 'cuz the work is gone. But don't let your ignorance of private industry stop you....
Maybe you should have prepared yourself a little better.
Yeah, I guess that BSEE degree and 8 years in the Army as an officer wrecked my chances for a career....
Of course I don't 'deserve' a job like cherry's family 'deserves' a retirement. I understand one must earn things--another thing that separates me from baby-boomers....
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Show me yours - I'll show you mine. And I do expect to get my SS (maybe I'll take tango lessons). I paid into it starting in 1970. Maxxed it out in 1Q for twenty years. A deal is a deal. At least to honorable people.
You are dealing with the FED here! What is this BS about "honorable people"?
Well put. The problem with Social Security and this saying are basic:
1. "Deal" implies willing buyer and seller. SS is a government mandated system. "Do this or we jail you". That's not "Deal" it's an order.
2. Even given that the two sides of the deal are not described. It is, essentially, "Give me a percentage of your income for your entire working life and I will give you money when you are old. I won't tell you exactly how much, that's up to me".
That's a amazingly onsided 'deal'. Go buy an annuity or life insurance from ANY other entity and they will tell you in complete detail how much you pay, and how much you get including all details surrounding early death, etc.
Good one! Another thing about the Boomers is that they spent their youth raging against "the man" and "the system" and all the rules - no one was going to tell them what to do! They did whatever they wanted, and subsequent generations have paid the price.
Now, the Boomers are the ones trying to tell everyone what they can and can't do, say, think, eat, etc., etc. The Boomers are far more intolerant and oppressive than anyone they "rebelled" against back in their patchoulli stinking heyday.
I am Generation X and I hate Generation Y if they are acting like this. Killing off people. What spoiled selfish brats if you ask me.
I don't. You fundamentally misunderstand Social Security.
There is no actual account with your name on it--it's a pay-as-you-go system. The money you paid into SS funded someone elses retirement. Fortunately, there were enough baby-boomers working to pay for the WWII generation's retirements.
There are not simply enough Gen-Xers to fund all of the baby-boomers retirements, prescription benefits and other goodies they voted themselves without an odious and unsupportable tax increase on current workers.
So now what? The current solution is to import Mexicans to make up for all the kids the baby-boomers didn't have, but you gotta make them pay SS....
So keep on crapping on me: in 4 more years in the Guard I will have a military retirement in addition to my own investments, but I'll still be paying for your SS you expect to get....
DENNIS MILLER: What's happening in California is reflective of a lot of stuff we've seen since the economy went in the toilet. First people screamed for the government to pay for their abortions. Then the states started passing quality-of-life acts, and it got out of hand.
GEORGE WILL: It never occurred to people that we needed a bigger tax base to pay for the Baby Boomer retirees. Shipping half of Mexico and eastern Europe here after martial law was a start, but people don't understand that demographically we're cutting our own throats by not having children. (Crosstalk)
GERALDO RIVERA: --can afford them? That's what makes Proposition 31 so seductive. We've seen the national retail sales tax go from 23 cents on the dollar to 55 cents in just seven years.
GEORGE WILL: It's going to hit 84 cents within a decade. (Crosstalk)
GERALDO RIVERA: --we have government TV ads telling people that weed is good for them. Got to keep that revenue coming in.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: The moment of clarity for me was when the home invasion gangs started killing retirees in Southern California.
DENNIS MILLER: Yeah, I got the hell out of there in a hurry.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: People don't want to pay for the Boomers' foraging rights at the public trough, and George, I think you're on to something. But allowing polygamy and polyandry and gay marriages and group marriages is going too far. The Supreme Court killing the Defense of Marriage Act was a mistake. We need a Republican president and a Republican Congress to fix things up. That's my prescription.
(I think I was a ahead of my time.)
It's a joke. It's satirical to illustrate the economic dilemma we are in....
Oops! Sorry. My damn emotions getting in the way again. lol.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: People don't want to pay for the Boomers' foraging rights at the public trough, and George, I think you're on to something. But allowing polygamy and polyandry and gay marriages and group marriages is going too far. The Supreme Court killing the Defense of Marriage Act was a mistake. We need a Republican president and a Republican Congress to fix things up. That's my prescription.
Then we got a Republican Congress and President and they voted in a prescription drugs benefit that even Rush qualifies for!
which is also a "pay as you go" benefit without a lockbox securing it, so is as at risk as the SS system.
Which sucks.
Thank you for your service.
I don't know much about military pensions, how many years in to earn one? 30? I think in Ancient Rome it was 20 years, but life expectancy was much shorter.
Yeah, it's already been cut back since I was in from 3/4 of your highest years to 1/2.... So again, I won't have as good a deal as the boomers who were in. I also served in an Army that went from 920K to 480K, that was no fun...
I don't know much about military pensions, how many years in to earn one? 30? I think in Ancient Rome it was 20 years, but life expectancy was much shorter.
It's 20, for the basic, but it goes up the longer you are in... I'm in for 6 more this time, taking me to 22, but I'll stay as long as they'll have me....
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thank you.....btw, I retired at fifty-one with all I'll ever need.
Actually there is an exclusion for 2006 of the first $82,400 . Surprisingly, you still have to pay SS and Medicaid taxes even if no federal tax is due.
You can avoid that, or income can be higher, depending on various tax treaties and tax totalization agreements - this all depends on which country you are in.
Save now. Save as much as you can. Save as if your life depends on it, because it does.
Okay, I’m neither a Boomer nor a Y, I’m an X’er. I’m at that age where I’m now straddling the divide between old and young, and the train wreck that’s coming is plainly apparent to me. My advice to the Y’s: forget the new car, start saving your *ss*s off.
I’ve got my 401(k) maxed out, have a Roth going, and every month, like clockwork, I drive over to the bank and buy a CD (7 months at 5% annual yield, big money). Start now, because, mark my words, Social Security is going away. There is simply too much political hay to be made by either party in cutting the other party off at the knees than in fixing the problem, which guarantees that no solution will be forthcoming.
I have *no* problem with that. As things stand now my husband and I can't touch retirement until we're 70, so why should Boomers be allowed to retire before then? Will we be "less old" at 70 than Grandpa is now?
As things stand now my husband and I have to pay for the raising of our children (no problem), pay for *our* retirement (fine) and pay for *your* retirement.
Now how in the hell are we supposed to do this?
Whether or not this is right is beside the point. I'd like to know *how* one man is supposed to support all these people and still take care of himself.
You're not the first Boomer who I've heard say "we deserve it". But that careless attitude is what breeds hostility from those of us who actually have to pay for it.
Phase out social security and turn Medicare into a opt in / out system. Payouts for those who already paid in to either would be proportional to amount paid in. For example, some dude retiring right now would not be affected. In my case, paycheck deductions would end immediately and my payout would be less than someone retiring now. Someone just starting working would never be part of it. Etc.
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