I respect my elders, and do not mean to offend. I do not see any hope for this country though.
I am a boomer, and while it is asked awkwardly, you have a good point. As we get older, our kids get out of the house, and we stop spending like teenagers, the economy (which has been boomer driven for 40 years) will slow down and contract. That is happening now, on top of the fannie/freddie, sub-prime, tanking investments fiascoes we see.
And then add to all that, the social security tab for the younger to pay for the older's social security will be out-of-the-ball-park-outrageous, but I've been telling everyone THAT for 20 years and was reminded constantly that conservatives just want gramma to eat dog food, and that I'm a fascist to boot!
Demographics are the future. It explains why our politicians ignore us when we tell them to stop the immigration mess. They know we can't survive without the extra "contributions" to our tax base. As self-indulgent as we boomers have proven ourselves to be, I don't envy your position. On the other hand, I have always known the lies behind social security, and have always known I would never be able to afford to retire.
Will the Baby Boomers bring down the country when they retire? ?
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May 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
The US is begin to fall behind other industrialized nations in several development indicators: http://www.aneki.com/comparison.php?country_1=Norway&country_2=United+States
May 15th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
maybe we should have taken the spoils of the wars we were in. That would have helped our economy, no?
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May 15th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Who's retiring? I plan to work until I drop.
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May 15th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Unfortunately, the government all their working lives took money from them they could have invested elsewhere and spent it on other things, guaranteeing a pension, sort of like an insurance company sells an annuity except they had no choice. Then the government by spending it on other things and people who had not paid in, and borrowing to fund totally separate 'wants' couldn't fulfil its commitments. If Enron does this, or an insurance company does this, even when the investments were voluntary, we are outraged. What troubles me is what I see that seems to imply it is the FAULT of those who paid in and won't get what was promised when they retire.
I agree with Ron Paul that we have to pay vested interests, just as we are bound to pay the unfair national debt. (He would cut the empire to fund this.) However I think the young kids should be let out to put their money somewhere it will actually be there for them when they retire. Give the government a social program and they WILL screw it up, because they hold themselves accountable to special, entrenched interests, rather than to us.
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May 15th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Baby boomers are not the ones that will deplete social security. Our government is the only one responsible for that, by dipping their hands into it. Baby boomers have paid their share of social security over the years just like everyone else and many have died before reaching the age of retirement. They are entitled to what they've put in just like anyone else that pays. If anyone is to blame, blame our government for robbing Americans, not the elderly for what they're entitlted to.
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May 15th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Yes. Since the early 1970's the government knew there was going to be a huge problem with Social Security when the Baby Boomers begin to retire yet they did nothing because they were afraid of AARP and the political fallout. It won't be long before Social Security fails or it will be a means test to get it like welfare. At that point, Baby Boomers will give away their assets or hide them in order to collect. It will be a mess.
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May 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I am a boomer, and while it is asked awkwardly, you have a good point. As we get older, our kids get out of the house, and we stop spending like teenagers, the economy (which has been boomer driven for 40 years) will slow down and contract. That is happening now, on top of the fannie/freddie, sub-prime, tanking investments fiascoes we see.
And then add to all that, the social security tab for the younger to pay for the older's social security will be out-of-the-ball-park-outrageous, but I've been telling everyone THAT for 20 years and was reminded constantly that conservatives just want gramma to eat dog food, and that I'm a fascist to boot!
Demographics are the future. It explains why our politicians ignore us when we tell them to stop the immigration mess. They know we can't survive without the extra "contributions" to our tax base. As self-indulgent as we boomers have proven ourselves to be, I don't envy your position. On the other hand, I have always known the lies behind social security, and have always known I would never be able to afford to retire.
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May 15th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I think you need to look at the WW 2 generation, prior to the boomers. Wasn't all their fault. When the government socialized retirement, they were not counting on people living much beyond 70
The WW2 generation paid very little into the system. And lived much longer than expected. While the boomers paid premium rates to support them. So the way it turns out in reality. Is the boomers will pretty much take out what we paid in. What will break it, is those after the boomers will pay the price for the WW2 generation, that got a free ride.
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May 15th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
It's the younger generation I'm worried about. The "Baby Boomers" have all the wealth and made enormous advances for this country. It's your own generation that will need to find ways to advance the world and make it a better place.
I've managed thousands of employees over the years that just don't seem to have the same work ethic, drive, initiative, creativity etc. that we used to see from the majority of people on a regular basis.. Don't get me wrong, we are plenty to blame for a lot of things. Like, we gave our children better lives than any generation in the history of the world. We created unrealistic expectations and made things way too easy. So easy that for the first time ever, our children's earnings and life expectancy will drop off significantly from their parents… I just read your question again and see that it's not the Baby Boomers your concerned about all, it's yourself that your worried about. Very typical of your generation, you should be worried.
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