Posted on 04/30/2012 6:20:47 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Social Security is slated to run out of money in 2033, three years earlier than expected. So maybe it's time for politicians to stop pandering when it comes to shoring up the system and instead rethink the retirement entitlement altogether.
Maybe we just need to look back at our history.
In the early 1900s, nearly 80 percent of Americans over the age of 65 had a job. Dora Costa, an economic historian at UCLA, says people stopped working only if they were no longer physically able to. They expected to work as long as they lived.
Is that really such a terrible idea?
Look at our labor force. It's changed dramatically since Social Security was enacted in 1935. Most of us are no longer spending our time working on farms or in heavy labor. Most of us are retiring from office jobs. Should we really be funding retirement at 65 just so we can live a life of leisure for the next 15, 20, or 25 years? Some financial advisers are even suggesting that when planning for retirement, we plan to live to 100, or at least another 30 years.
Aging just isn't what it used to be. Carroll O'Connor was only 47 when All in the Family premiered -- younger than Brad Pitt. And look at Mitt Romney. He's 65; he's fit, and he surfs. While wealthy, he's hardly an outlier. The majority of us aren't sitting in rockers in our 60s. We're physically active -- playing tennis and golf, hiking, traveling. We're living longer, healthier lives than ever before.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I was actually trying not to be alarmist or over state.
I know you are mostly right though.
Don’t forget about the money they have extorted from us for FICA for all of our working careers. I’m OK with working ‘till I drop but I want my money back with the interest it would have earned.
Don’t forget about the money they have extorted from us for FICA for all of our working careers. I’m OK with working ‘till I drop but I want my money back with the interest it would have earned.
Working at what?
CEO until 80 years old? Sure.
Paper pusher, manager, typist, engineer, accountant until you are 80? It’s possible. Most cushy office jobs lilke mine (Civil Engineer) can be done until your eyesight fails or you get extreme carpal tunnel.
Or Doctor/Veterinary until 80? Sure.
Dig ditches until you are 80? Really?
Hump steel as an ironworker until you are 80? Are you kidding me.
Do you want to be a waitress on your feet all day until 80 yrs old? Really?
Do you want to install HVAC components at 79 years old? Sounds like fun.
Do you want to be climing power poles at 81? Are you kidding?
How about hauling baskets on a crab boat at 82 yrs old? Not going to happen.
How about oil roughneck at 80 years old? No.
Long haul trucker at 80? Possibly but not if your eyesight/reaction time is bad or your bowels/prostate are shot.
You see, there are all manner of white collar jobs you can do at 70 years old, some of them at peak performance since your experience is at its peak.
But is this realistic for most blue collar jobs. Not on your life. And they are the ones that are paid less and save less and have worse benefits.
Just not going to happen. This is pure hooey. The article author is living in a white collar dream world where he can work till he drops. For a lot of people, they hit disability from back injuries and other work related causes, long before they drop.
Have some pity for them. They worked far harder than us white collar folks ever did.
Thanks, you expressed it a whole lot better than I. And not only is it a question of decent human compassion and awareness, it is a theme we cannot let the liberals hijack for themselves. “Working til you drop” may impress Thurston Howell III, but if conservatism gets too associated with it, we will lose. And we will deserve to lose if we cannot come up with a better future for our nation.
A 62 yr old friend, an electronics engineer in the Nashville area, cannot get hired and is losing his home in June. He's not ready to give up and retire.
He was illegally terminated (age discrimination) as ruled by the EEOC which let him collect unemployment for a time. He got some bad and costly legal advice regarding his rights and didn't think it'd be so difficult to find a new job with his experience.
He was replaced by a 30-something he'd recently hired. He realizes his mistake was hiring someone as competent as he was.
This will become a larger problem as retirement age rises. We will see more seniors who aren't ready or "able" to retire unable to keep or find work. That's another major flaw in the sliding scale "fix" for Social Security. The economy isn't vibrant enough to support the wider population, let alone the aging demographic who will be among the first axed at the next downturn citing costs.
These people who've worked 40 years need a way to live, and not end up subsisting on welfare or undermining their retirement income/options by having to take Social Security (or pension, etc) early.
Wait until you are in your sixties. Its fortunate you have good health. Not everyone is so fortunate.
As for poor planning, when I started working years ago, SS was solvent and the economic issues facing us today were not apparent.
If there were no SS and I didn’t have to contribute to the “Ponzi” scheme, I could have invested that money in instruments of my choice.
And planning on an employer/employee funded pension is simply not poor planning. Its the way things are done - or were done.
I would continue working were I fortunate enought to have secured a position I enjoyed. Not the case. If I were a riflesmith I would work until I dropped or couldn’t see anymore. But as an office type employee, there is limited enjoyment in my job. I look forward to being able to leave - whenever that happens but it looks further and furthere i the distance - if ever.
Try 50 years old..
Ya walk in the door, and the employer immediately sees someone who needs a good salary and medical benefits etc.
You'd have a better chance of juggling flaming chain saws while roller skating.
Those 50 or over, if they had a good job and lost it, for the most part, they are absolutely screwed.
Standard of living plummeting, economy circling the drain, massive age discrimination in the work place, cut hours, no medical benefits, millions lost their homes, businesses, retirements, and....
Now it's suggested the older people work until they drop dead on the job?
Why am I not surprised by these lunatic, asinine articles?
I just turned 65 this month. I started drawing SS when I turned 62 and have already collected over 20% more than whatever I put in.
The question should be, whobis going to pay for your lifestyle? If you can afford to retire on your own, great! Do not point a gun at me or my children demanding that we pay for your retirement.
That is the point. I will die working. There will be no choice for mr or most of my generation.
The question should be, whobis going to pay for your lifestyle? If you can afford to retire on your own, great! Do not point a gun at me or my children demanding that we pay for your retirement.
That is the point. I will die working. There will be no choice for mr or most of my generation.
Trying to put a happy face on 70 and 80 year olds asking, “Do yoiu want fries with that?” is not my idea of your golden years.
Those jobs will go to college grads, anyway.
Also have to consider that once you get close to retirement age, employers start looking for reasons to fire you. They want to avoid having to pay retirement pensions.
Try 50 years old..
Ya walk in the door, and the employer immediately sees someone who needs a good salary and medical benefits etc.
You’d have a better chance of juggling flaming chain saws while roller skating.
Those 50 or over, if they had a good job and lost it, for the most part, they are absolutely screwed.
Yup. I remember Archie Bunker. I think his age in ‘All In The Family’ was 50-55. And he was constantly fearful of losing his job to a younger person because he was too old.
The question should be, whobis going to pay for your lifestyle? If you can afford to retire on your own, great! Do not point a gun at me or my children demanding that we pay for your retirement.
That is the point. I will die working.
People pay into FICA all their lives. How do you come to the conclusion that they are forcing you to support them?
Anyone that swallows this horse crap deserves to drop dead on the job at 70 years old.
Trying to put a happy face on 70 and 80 year olds asking, "Do you want fries with that?" is not my idea of your golden years.
70 years old an working at McChicken Licken?
Does that come with a lobotomy?
FICA is a tax. The money was spent the second you and I paid it in. The money is gone, and if someone receives SS, they are paid by current workers. The is no lock box, the money was spent.
I’ve read that the average age in the early 1900’s in our country was upper 40’s.....
I guess you’re a victim.
Well, when I do retire, I want to find another job if I can.
Selling guns, working as a range master, buidling rifles, selling reloads, etc.
That would be nice.
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