# The Baby Boomers Are At The Door



## UncleJoe

Didn't really want to with everyone feeling festive an all but if I don't post this now I'll forget about it. 

Do you hear that rumble in the distance? That is the Baby Boomers - they are getting ready to retire. On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers turn 65. Millions upon millions of them are rushing towards retirement age and they have been promised that the rest of us are going to take care of them. Only there is a huge problem. We don't have the money. It simply isn't there.

The following are 16 statistics about the coming retirement crisis that will drop your jaw.....

#1 Beginning January 1st, 2011 every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years.

#2 According to one recent survey, 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings.

#3 Most Baby Boomers do not have a traditional pension plan because they have been going out of style over the past 30 years. Just consider the following quote from Time Magazine: The traditional pension plan is disappearing. In 1980, some 39 percent of private-sector workers had a pension that guaranteed a steady payout during retirement. Today that number stands closer to 15 percent, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

#4 Over 30 percent of U.S. investors currently in their sixties have more than 80 percent of their 401k invested in equities. So what happens if the stock market crashes again?

#5 35% of Americans already over the age of 65 rely almost entirely on Social Security payments alone.

#6 According to another recent survey, 24% of U.S. workers admit that they have postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the past year.

#7 Approximately 3 out of 4 Americans start claiming Social Security benefits the moment they are eligible at age 62. Most are doing this out of necessity. However, by claiming Social Security early they get locked in at a much lower amount than if they would have waited.

#8 Pension consultant Girard Miller recently told California's Little Hoover Commission that state and local government bodies in the state of California have $325 billion in combined unfunded pension liabilities. When you break that down, it comes to $22,000 for every single working adult in California.

#9 According to a recent report from Stanford University, California's three biggest pension funds are as much as $500 billion short of meeting future retiree benefit obligations.

#10 It has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of complete collapse.

#11 Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua D. Rauh of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management recently calculated the combined pension liability for all 50 U.S. states. What they found was that the 50 states are collectively facing $5.17 trillion in pension obligations, but they only have $1.94 trillion set aside in state pension funds. That is a difference of 3.2 trillion dollars. So where in the world is all of that extra money going to come from? Most of the states are already completely broke and on the verge of bankruptcy.

#12 According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes in 2010. That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016. Sadly, in the years ahead these "Social Security deficits" are scheduled to become absolutely horrific as hordes of Baby Boomers start to retire.

#13 In 1950, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 U.S. workers. In 2010, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 U.S. workers. By 2025, it is projected that there will be approximately two U.S. workers for each retiree. How in the world can the system possibly continue to function properly with numbers like that?

#14 According to a recent U.S. government report, soaring interest costs on the U.S. national debt plus rapidly escalating spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare will absorb approximately 92 cents of every single dollar of federal revenue by the year 2019. That is before a single dollar is spent on anything else.

#15 After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion dollars. A big chunk of that is made up of future obligations to Social Security and Medicare recipients.

#16 According to a recent AARP survey of Baby Boomers, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop".

The entire article is here


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## The_Blob

yet another reason that more people should be allowed to 'opt out'... of the public system & privatize, of course that needed to be done in 1950, it's TOO LATE today

teachers don't pay SSI... (except in Nebraska) they pay into a pension plan


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## iouJC

AHUM!! EXCUSE me. But I am one of those Baby Boomers and the LAST thing I would EVER desire is for the upcoming generations to "take care of me."
Which is manure anyway!! If the DC poloticians hadn't STOLEN the money out of the SS fund, it would be in GOOD shape still. However they used all of OUR money to do things like BUILD SCHOOLS and provide STUDENT LOANS for you that have come after us! After all, it's not like you ever lacked for anything in your lives anyway. I wish I had had an opportunity to get fat playing video games in an AIR CONDITIONED house when I was a kid!! But we actually DID things...like had our first jobs when we were 10 or 11 years old, harvesting peaches and strawberries, or lots of us cotton. But now none of you "AMERIKANS" "want those kind of jobs," so we have "imported" illegal aliens while you sit on your white chubby hinneys!!


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## JayJay

iouJC said:


> AHUM!! EXCUSE me. But I am one of those Baby Boomers and the LAST thing I would EVER desire is for the upcoming generations to "take care of me."
> Which is manure anyway!! If the DC poloticians hadn't STOLEN the money out of the SS fund, it would be in GOOD shape still. However they used all of OUR money to do things like BUILD SCHOOLS and provide STUDENT LOANS for you that have come after us! After all, it's not like you ever lacked for anything in your lives anyway. I wish I had had an opportunity to get fat playing video games in an AIR CONDITIONED house when I was a kid!! But we actually DID things...like had our first jobs when we were 10 or 11 years old, harvesting peaches and strawberries, or lots of us cotton. But now none of you "AMERIKANS" "want those kind of jobs," so we have "imported" illegal aliens while you sit on your white chubby hinneys!!


Well said, and if those teeny boppers are smart, they'll get into a business of a sort to take 'unreported undocumented' cash payments and learn real fast the art of bartering!!!!!!!:dunno:


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## Elinor0987

iouJC said:


> If the DC poloticians hadn't STOLEN the money out of the SS fund, it would be in GOOD shape still.


That's only part of the problem. The other part is when they designed the system, they never took into consideration the future deterioration of our manufacturing base, shipping and outsourcing jobs overseas, and the overall weakening of our economic infrastructure. They just assumed there would always be a stable economy with a steady supply of workers whose income could be taxed. There aren't enough workers today paying into the system to accommodate the ones receiving benefits. All of this has come back to bite us in the @$$ over the last few years and pretty soon it will be going for the jugular.


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## Tirediron

I guess I 'am at the tail end of the Baby boom, but when I asked an old financier friend of my empoyler,at the time,(almost 30 years ago) he said build up assets that you can use ,buy land during cheap cycles, and don't get caught up in the retirement funds game. this was from a man who had worked in the financial bussiness most of his life. his main point was that money earning interest looked good on paper but never kept pace with inflation. And I plan to die working. retirement just makes you get old anyway.


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## bunkerbob

Knock... Knock


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## BasecampUSA

I think we'll have to kick the door in pretty soon, BB 

If I don't get sick and can "keep" the farm going, I'll be alright.

I managed to put a lot of silver and gold away over the last 4 decades, 
AND like my father who went through the Weimar experience in Germany as 
a kid, - I never trusted the greenback to last eternally either.



- Basey


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## JayJay

Elinor0987 said:


> That's only part of the problem. The other part is when they designed the system, they never took into consideration the future deterioration of our manufacturing base, shipping and outsourcing jobs overseas, and the overall weakening of our economic infrastructure. They just assumed there would always be a stable economy with a steady supply of workers whose income could be taxed. There aren't enough workers today paying into the system to accommodate the ones receiving benefits. All of this has come back to bite us in the @$$ over the last few years and pretty soon it will be going for the jugular.


I read the views of a businessman stating labor wasn't the REAL varmint here...he asked the reader what would they do??

Pay exorbinant taxes, deal with unrealistic unions, and suffer costs of extreme regulations becoming more stringent each day, and don't forget health insurance, pension financing, etc.......or go to China, India, Honduras, the more business-friendly countries.

We have union employees making $30 an hour, playing the 'slow down, take many breaks, don't rush the job, ouch I stumped my toe' games while businesses can go to workers begging to make $2-$10 a day...no union bosses/strikes, no paid sick days, no paid holidays, no financed pension funds, no health insurance....

Just saying...did we shoot ourselves in the foot???:dunno:


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## Elinor0987

JayJay said:


> I read the views of a businessman stating labor wasn't the REAL varmint here...he asked the reader what would they do??
> 
> Pay exorbinant taxes, deal with unrealistic unions, and suffer costs of extreme regulations becoming more stringent each day, and don't forget health insurance, pension financing, etc.......or go to China, India, Honduras, the more business-friendly countries.
> 
> We have union employees making $30 an hour, playing the 'slow down, take many breaks, don't rush the job, ouch I stumped my toe' games while businesses can go to workers begging to make $2-$10 a day...no union bosses/strikes, no paid sick days, no paid holidays, no financed pension funds, no health insurance....
> 
> Just saying...did we shoot ourselves in the foot???:dunno:


Yes and no. There are groups of people out there that are milking the benefits system of corporations and using their labor unions to siphon off even more. There's a fine line between advocating for workers and extortion. There's plenty of other people here in the U.S. that would be glad to work for half of their wages and benefits because that still amounts to more than what they're currently getting at their job, assuming they have one.

Between that and the countless federal regulations that foster a negative environment for business, the whole system is flawed. It can't sustain itself forever. Like many others have stated, it is destined to fail.


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## JayJay

Elinor0987 said:


> Yes and no. There are groups of people out there that are milking the benefits system of corporations and using their labor unions to siphon off even more. There's a fine line between advocating for workers and extortion. There's plenty of other people here in the U.S. that would be glad to work for half of their wages and benefits because that still amounts to more than what they're currently getting at their job, assuming they have one.
> 
> Between that and the countless federal regulations that foster a negative environment for business, the whole system is flawed. It can't sustain itself forever. Like many others have stated, it is destined to fail.


There's an old saying...the democrats used to be for the working man...now they're for the man not working..

Yes, unions have their role in civil rights/human rights issues, etc, for the rich man is proven to not be interested in human rights..

Each day I read of another company moving overseas...I read also of many wealthy businessmen moving to tax-friendly states.

I know the wealthy and elites are rolling in billions....they'd have to be for they aren't stupid to have missed the true point--who's gonna buy your **** when we can't.

Another reason I think the wealthy and politicians aren't worried about destroying this nation...they have elsewhere to go..


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## The_Blob

anybody notice that Canada reduced the business tax rate to 15%?...

*still* 35% in the US :scratch


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## horseman09

Unions are like kids in a candy store. For a while it will work, but only until the kids have eaten all the candy (profits).


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## Tirediron

The_Blob said:


> anybody notice that Canada reduced the business tax rate to 15%?...
> 
> *still* 35% in the US :scratch


I think the 15% thing is just for "small " business, does the US not have a small business tax rate??

35% makes it real hard to grow much


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## GatorDude

Well, open the door and give 'em a swift kick in the arse. :wave: 

Let's write a book about them: "The Lamest Generation" 

When they didn't want to fight, they undermined their troops and lost their war.

When they wanted to rectify the civil rights injustices of previous generations, they made laws to enshrine racial favoritism for future generations and generations.

When they wanted to do drugs, they did 'em. When they wanted sex, they ushered in a sexual revolution. When they wanted to get rich, greed was good. When they wanted to get their lawns mowed cheap, they ignored immigration laws and hired illegals. They presided over the globalism and outsourcing that have crippled our economy.

I think they should endure any cutbacks and costs that Generation X and the Millenials will be expected to endure. Thinking about raising the retirement age to 70; raise it now. Thinking about rolling back benefits, roll 'em back now.

I have the utmost respect for the Vietnam Veterans, but not so much for the rest of the boomers.


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## JayJay

GatorDude said:


> Well, open the door and give 'em a swift kick in the arse. :wave:
> 
> Let's write a book about them: "The Lamest Generation"
> 
> When they didn't want to fight, they undermined their troops and lost their war.
> 
> When they wanted to rectify the civil rights injustices of previous generations, they made laws to enshrine racial favoritism for future generations and generations.
> 
> When they wanted to do drugs, they did 'em. When they wanted sex, they ushered in a sexual revolution. When they wanted to get rich, greed was good. When they wanted to get their lawns mowed cheap, they ignored immigration laws and hired illegals. They presided over the globalism and outsourcing that have crippled our economy.
> 
> I think they should endure any cutbacks and costs that Generation X and the Millenials will be expected to endure. Thinking about raising the retirement age to 70; raise it now. Thinking about rolling back benefits, roll 'em back now.
> 
> I have the utmost respect for the Vietnam Veterans, but not so much for the rest of the boomers.


GatorDude...that's pretty harsh...not every girl of the 60's was a hippie with loose morals...and my husband of the 60's IS a Vietnam vet...
I look for differences in character, not skin color.
I never did a drug in my life or smoke MJ.
I have worked my tail off and so has my husband...we don't even have illegals in our town.
What you've written isn't really about the 60's generation...it's anger toward the elites and richies..

The annual income of the richest 12,000 households is greater than that of the poorest 24 million in America today...that makes you mad??
Well, we baby boomers aren't happy with it either....:gaah:


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## horseman09

GatorDude said:


> Well, open the door and give 'em a swift kick in the arse. :wave:
> 
> Let's write a book about them: "The Lamest Generation"
> 
> When they didn't want to fight, they undermined their troops and lost their war.
> 
> When they wanted to rectify the civil rights injustices of previous generations, they made laws to enshrine racial favoritism for future generations and generations.
> 
> When they wanted to do drugs, they did 'em. When they wanted sex, they ushered in a sexual revolution. When they wanted to get rich, greed was good. When they wanted to get their lawns mowed cheap, they ignored immigration laws and hired illegals. They presided over the globalism and outsourcing that have crippled our economy.
> 
> I think they should endure any cutbacks and costs that Generation X and the Millenials will be expected to endure. Thinking about raising the retirement age to 70; raise it now. Thinking about rolling back benefits, roll 'em back now.
> 
> I have the utmost respect for the Vietnam Veterans, but not so much for the rest of the boomers.


Gator, I'm a baby boomer and I can't disagree with anything you said.

But like any other large group, let's not paint them all with the same brush. I'm a baby boomer by birth, but I was not raised, nor have I lived, nor have my wife and I raised our kids -- as discribed above.

But as a generalization about my greedy, selfcentered, selfabsorbed, hypocritical, materialistic, head-up-their-a$$ generation -- IMHO you are absolutely correct.

(With a little more time, I'm sure I could have come up with a few more appropriate adjectives. )


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## GatorDude

I don't mean to be harsh and you guys are right that I shouldn't paint with such a broad brush. However, it burns me up to see our nation's leaders planning to foist major sacrifices on future generations of Americans without current generations sharing in the sacrifices.


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## horseman09

GatorDude said:


> I don't mean to be harsh and you guys are right that I shouldn't paint with such a broad brush. However, it burns me up to see our nation's leaders planning to foist major sacrifices on future generations of Americans without current generations sharing in the sacrifices.


Lots and lots of hardworking babyboomers are paying a horrific price right now. The investments that they worked 30 years to build have evaporated due to the likes of the Chris Dodds and Barney Franks of American Government. They are too old to start a new carreer in this imploding economy.

As a generation, we baby boomers screwed things up, but I'd have to add that the following generation has been no better. As a nation, our manners, our morals, our family cohesion and our work ethic have gone to hell.


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## RoadRash

My grandfather told me his parents lost everything during the great depression, they basically worked untill the day they died. He worked hard his whole life took chances with investing did well..... 
My parents ended up with the vast majority of there money and lost as my great grandparents did. Not sure what they invested in but my father went back to work to cover his losses. does not see himself retiring completly untill 70 now he is 66 ......... 
The downfall here is the work he is doing is preventing someone younger from a good paying job. If they would have invested wiser they would be enjoying life.(too many people trusted there investers & greed also became a factor)

Me at 44 retirement will be a parcel of land that can be worked , hunting fishing for food, and being off the grid as much as possible wife and I are already looking into this. Both of us in mid 40's starting over divorced not much left in RRSP due to down fall of economy, about 14 yrs left on mortgage. we have found a couple of peaces of property I just have to get some time in at the new job to re morgtage the house!
We just pray the value of our house will stay or go up for our retirement!
We already know the Canadian Pension Plan will be bankrupt by the boomers, bankers have been telling me this for last 12 years.
I will look at differant types of work to put away as well as cost cutting to get what we will need and want for a comfortable retirement. Have to give up my Part time tax right off job because new job takes priority and can not fit in. 
Retirement for me will be like winning the lottery.........do not see it happening but keep plugging away! (and buying the odd ticket)
I think if the world keeps turning my kids may have a better shot at a retirement and maybe learn something from what us older folk have done wrong. Hopefully we can leave em something rather than debt.
L8R RR


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## gypsysue

My husband and I are baby boomers, and we've worked hard all our lives. We've paid our own way, and instilled work ethics and self-reliance in our children (as much as they would listen, anyway! lol). We've never done drugs, never drank booze to drunken states. Never hired illegals, or anyone for that matter, to take care of domestic chores. My husband was a Marine during the vietnam war. 

Now we're struggling just to stay afloat and hoping if SS still exists that we'll at least not have to worry about losing our property due to not having the money for property taxes. It might even help us keep our phone and internet, which are our only luxuries. 

It's not the baby boomers fault that the Social Security system is in trouble. It's the fault of those in charge of the funds who made poor decisions. 

The national debt is not the fault of the rank & file citizens, be them baby boomers or any of the younger generations. Most of us vehemently oppose the way the government spends our money, our taxpayer money! We're as helpless as you younger people at making them stop being so wasteful, corrupt, and/or foolish.

At least back in OUR day we rioted and marched in protest and TRIED to make changes, instead of just griping about it and "sending on forwards to 10 people in the next 10 minutes" to spread the word about how outrageous something is.  (just poking some fun....Not trying to offend anyone!)


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## mosquitomountainman

First, Social Security was not our choice. It was never anything except a pyramid scheme and doomed to failure. If a private individual or company came up with such nonsense they'd have been jailed for fraud.

That being said, the people whining about paying social security were raised by those baby boomers. Usually through a lot of self-sacrifice. 

Changes should have been made years ago to the social security program but they weren't. Now the price must be paid but take it easy on the boomers. We're the ones who paid into this government mandated ponzi scheme and we're the ones most likely to get screwed over by it. It was our money they took and it was our money they squandered and now they want to back out on the deal??? I don't think so! 

IMO the best thing to so is scrap it entirely, make a cutoff date so the those under a certain age are not entitled to it, another age group to whom participation is optional and the rest collect their share as owed them. Pay for it with taxes and phase it out over time.

Regarding tax increases? Let the government learn to do what the average citizen must do ... live within their income. If the budget is higher than their income then make the representatives, senators and president make up the difference from their own personal funds.


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## BadgeBunny

Another baby boomer here. I dunno ... I am torn by the whole thing. I don't want my kids to carry the debt burden but danggit I paid into that system my entire working life. And I worked 2 and 3 jobs at a time from the day I turned 16 until my darling husband let me retire a couple of years ago. 

As I was a single mom for most of that time I can tell you that if I could have opted out of social security I would have done it in a heartbeat. There were plenty of years that I couldn't hav made contributions to a retirement plan, but at least it would have been MY choice ... shoot, as it was I was 40 years old before I could afford to buy a house, but I finally managed to get that accomplishment out of the way. 

MMM, would you run for President, please?


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## mosquitomountainman

BadgeBunny said:


> MMM, would you run for President, please?


Uhm ... let me think about it ...

Okay, but only if it get to pick who is in the House of Representatives and the Senate. What state are you from? 

I wonder if Franco is available for director of Homeland Security?


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## BadgeBunny

mosquitomountainman said:


> Uhm ... let me think about it ...
> 
> Okay, but only if it get to pick who is in the House of Representatives and the Senate. What state are you from?
> 
> I wonder if Franco is available for director of Homeland Security?


Jeez ... you are a mess ...  All I want to know is can I be Queen of Barter Land??


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## gypsysue

:club:


BadgeBunny said:


> Jeez ... you are a mess ...  All I want to know is can I be Queen of Barter Land??


Cool! I wanna be in charge of "edge-ih-kay-shun"! Or maybe the FDA! Mwahahahaha! Good-bye, Monsanto... 

:ignore:

:lolsmash:


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## BadgeBunny

gypsysue said:


> :club:
> 
> Cool! I wanna be in charge of "edge-ih-kay-shun"! Or maybe the FDA! Mwahahahaha! Good-bye, Monsanto...
> 
> :ignore:
> 
> :lolsmash:


Oh wait ... I forgot about Monsanto ... Wouldn't it be fun to pull the plug on that mess!! 

(Goodness ... what a hijack, huh?? LOL)


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## BasecampUSA

A picture is worth a thousand words!


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## The_Blob

BasecampUSA said:


> A picture is worth a thousand words!












two thousand words


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## BasecampUSA

Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Do you think we will live to see Homer Simpson or Spongebob there?

Whew!

- Basey


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## BadgeBunny

:congrat::congrat::congrat:

OMGosh you two!! My husband thinks I have lost my mind I am laughing so hard!!! :lolsmash::lolsmash::lolsmash:


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## greaseman

I have been raiding a retirement 401k of mine for a year and a half. I paid off debt, bought supplies of all sorts, but mostly gold and silver. The rise in gold and silver has been very good to me. I had to get over the loss of 401k funds. But as i watch the dollar vaporize through inflation, and gold and silver appreciate almost daily, that worry has dissapeared.
I just keep on prepping as long as I can. I have seen nothing that tells me I made the wrong judgement call. Good luck folks.


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## tyrarobs

UncleJoe said:


> #14 According to a recent U.S. government report, soaring interest costs on the U.S. national debt plus rapidly escalating spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare will absorb approximately 92 cents of every single dollar of federal revenue by the year 2019. That is before a single dollar is spent on anything else.
> 
> #15 After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion dollars. A big chunk of that is made up of future obligations to Social Security and Medicare recipients.
> 
> #16 According to a recent AARP survey of Baby Boomers, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop".
> 
> The entire article is here




That's depressing. Many baby boomers are hapless since the traditional values have vanished. Two years ago we conducted a research on the psychological effects on baby boomers. We found out that still many of these baby boomers havent adjusted well with the societal changes.

Another problem they face is the long term care since there are less likely to receive institutional care from their children and loved ones.they also pay a lot for their care. This is why most experts recommend them to get long term care insurance for baby boomers


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## maysieriley

Retirement Crisis. And it's gonna be a world of poor baby boomers. According to a set of recent surveys, more and more people approaching retirement are *ill-prepared* for it. Many are not even conscious of the true costs that lay ahead of them. As a result, the tradition of leaving a financial legacy for the kids is rapidly becoming a quaint custom of history.


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## bunkerbob

*Be prepared*

Being prepared is not only for hard times or disasters, its also for your retirement.
We have prepared our whole adult life for both. We didn't always have the newest or best car, the wazoo house, the most toys, or take expensive vacations. We helped our two children with school and some unforeseen expenses. 
Basically we lived within our means, saved as much as we could and made tough decisions to be "*prepared".
*As some of you know my wife and I are both retired*, *have more than we need in preps, basically enough for our MAG group to be comfortable for many many months, a house that is not only built to withstand most adversities but comfortable to boot.
We decided years ago to not only be ready for most disasters but plan for the best way to reduce our cost of living by being off-grid, growing a lot of our own food, and paying off all debt.
If you make your decisions early you to can *"be prepared"*

BB


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## VoorTrekker

Ever since I was eighteen, the money I thought I could allocate for a pension/retirement plan was confiscated by the Gov't. I was always on minimum wage to just over minimum wage until I was past thirty. Never got a break on wages or opportunity. 

Had I been left to my own autonomy, I would have been stashing $11 to $14 a week from age 18 to 40, investing it in penny stock and mutuals. What would I have today? But...my grandmother's (Greatest?) generation were all a bunch of freeloader socialists whom believed that only a bureaucrat could make our life decisions. Thanks grandma...


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## Meerkat

maysieriley said:


> Retirement Crisis. And it's gonna be a world of poor baby boomers. According to a set of recent surveys, more and more people approaching retirement are *ill-prepared* for it. Many are not even conscious of the true costs that lay ahead of them. As a result, the tradition of leaving a financial legacy for the kids is rapidly becoming a quaint custom of history.


 Also many are single now where they use to have two saving for retirement,now its only one.

The fems fixed that up for the family. Never should have let us vote! All it did was put us to work and in nurseries at birth and old folks homes at late retirement.We'r now born alone and die alone.Thanks insane fems.

I use to liek beign treated like a girl,boys fighting over who would open the doors for me,having a choice of being a housewife,mother or a career woman.

All I got out of it was divorce and left with kids,and the hags put me to work and made me leave my kids to feed them.



VoorTrekker said:


> Ever since I was eighteen, the money I thought I could allocate for a pension/retirement plan was confiscated by the Gov't. I was always on minimum wage to just over minimum wage until I was past thirty. Never got a break on wages or opportunity.
> 
> Had I been left to my own autonomy, I would have been stashing $11 to $14 a week from age 18 to 40, investing it in penny stock and mutuals. What would I have today? But...my grandmother's (Greatest?) generation were all a bunch of freeloader socialists whom believed that only a bureaucrat could make our life decisions. Thanks grandma...


Not exactly,SSI was meant to be insurence fro the poor.
No more than paying home or auto insurence really and not nearly as bad as paying taxes on your own property,in reality it means you don't own a damn thing,stop paying taxes and see who the real owner is.

The Greatiest generation was war torn and raised some radicals called hippys,thats who put the first nail in this natiosn coffins,and thats who the real commys were [ not all hippys were extreme,some were just fun loving kids who liked rolling in the mud maked like hogs at concerts,haha a fairly innocent bunch] What man is his right testerone would not want all that free love? So off go the fathers and husbands chasing the 'free love'.Mine was one of the first to join . So I did'nt liek hippys.

Also some of us were left a little nest egg by our parents,all mine left me were bills! I took total care of my mother,not a dime from SSI never a stay in hospital or old folks home,set us back big time, but I would'nt change a minute of it for any amount of money.

We recieved the first SSI check the day we buried her,sent it back of course.

Most people in the 1950s,60s did'nt believe in charity,they had this thing called pride.Now a days people wear 'charity' as a badge of accomplishment.

We are dying and our kids are not having babies,so we are soon to be extinct,this is a fact.

White people have not had enough kids to keep their race alive,mayeb they will put some of us in the zoo with the other endangered species?


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## Tweto

Meerkat said:


> Also some of us were left a little nest egg by our parents,all mine left me were bills! I took total care of my mother,not a dime from SSI never a stay in hospital or old folks home,set us back big time, but I would'nt change a minute of it for any amount of money.
> 
> We recieved the first SSI check the day we buried her,sent it back of course.
> 
> Most people in the 1950s,60s did'nt believe in charity,they had this thing called pride.Now a days people wear 'charity' as a badge of accomplishment.
> 
> We are dying and our kids are not having babies,so we are soon to be extinct,this is a fact.
> 
> White people have not had enough kids to keep their race alive,mayeb they will put some of us in the zoo with the other endangered species?


My grandfather retired on his 62 birthday. Four weeks later he received his first SS check and then died the same day. He was a very hard worker and never took a dime from the government till that day. I was raised by him and my grandmother, I was 16 when he died. It had a massive impact on me for the rest of my life. I'm now 27 months from being 62 and I think about this all the time. I spent my whole adult life living below my means, saving as much as I could so that I could retire early enough to have some retirement encase I have the same outcome as my grandfather. I started working when I was 11 years old as a buss boy, then went on to washing dish's till sometimes 3 in the morning of a school day and then on to be a cook. In the summers I mowed lawns. Then I got a job at a local factory and then spent the next 10 years working the second shift and then I was promoted to management where I spent the next 20 years.I worked 50-80 hours a week for 40 years and took any job on the side to increase my income.

When some young person says that I don't deserve a retirement and that I should have to work the rest of my life so that I don't draw SS, all I can say is that I'm not seeing the younger generation working near as hard as people my age did. I can offer this to any one who cares, life isn't fair and it's up to the individual to make there own way. Work hard and keep your nose clean and with a little luck and brains their life will be fine.


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## BillS

GatorDude said:


> Well, open the door and give 'em a swift kick in the arse. :wave:
> 
> Let's write a book about them: "The Lamest Generation"
> 
> When they didn't want to fight, they undermined their troops and lost their war.
> 
> When they wanted to rectify the civil rights injustices of previous generations, they made laws to enshrine racial favoritism for future generations and generations.
> 
> When they wanted to do drugs, they did 'em. When they wanted sex, they ushered in a sexual revolution. When they wanted to get rich, greed was good. When they wanted to get their lawns mowed cheap, they ignored immigration laws and hired illegals. They presided over the globalism and outsourcing that have crippled our economy.
> 
> I think they should endure any cutbacks and costs that Generation X and the Millenials will be expected to endure. Thinking about raising the retirement age to 70; raise it now. Thinking about rolling back benefits, roll 'em back now.
> 
> I have the utmost respect for the Vietnam Veterans, but not so much for the rest of the boomers.


That was really stupid. I'm a baby boomer. I wasn't part of the sexual revolution or the drug revolution. I never hired illegal aliens. I never owned factories or closed them so I could move them to China.

So you're someone who's never had sex outside of marriage? You never tried marijuana? Do you have the moral superiority necessary to judge us?

I have to say that you're a typical liberal who sees everyone as part of a group and not as an individual.


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## Reblazed

VoorTrekker said:


> Ever since I was eighteen, the money I thought I could allocate for a pension/retirement plan was confiscated by the Gov't. I was always on minimum wage to just over minimum wage until I was past thirty. Never got a break on wages or opportunity.
> 
> Had I been left to my own autonomy, I would have been stashing $11 to $14 a week from age 18 to 40, investing it in penny stock and mutuals. What would I have today? But...my grandmother's (Greatest?) generation were all a bunch of freeloader socialists whom believed that only a bureaucrat could make our life decisions. Thanks grandma...


*Always good to have someone to blame your problems on ... isn't it?*


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## Woody

BillS said:


> That was really stupid. I'm a baby boomer. I wasn't part of the sexual revolution or the drug revolution. I never hired illegal aliens. I never owned factories or closed them so I could move them to China.
> 
> So you're someone who's never had sex outside of marriage? You never tried marijuana? Do you have the moral superiority necessary to judge us?
> 
> I have to say that you're a typical liberal who sees everyone as part of a group and not as an individual.


Thanks BillS. Does two make a group? I know there are many more of us boomers who are just like Bill describes.


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## Bobbb

BillS said:


> That was really stupid. I'm a baby boomer. I wasn't part of the sexual revolution or the drug revolution. I never hired illegal aliens. I never owned factories or closed them so I could move them to China.


Do you believe that there is merit to the following: "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

There is no denying that the boomer generation has pushed through a number of social revolutions as well as government policy revolutions and that the effects of these revolutions have splashed over onto subsequent generations.

Your position seems to be that it is illegitimate to blame the Japanese of the WWII era and the Germans of the WWII era for launching WWII because there were some Japanese and German citizens who were not in favor of launching wars, and because these individuals exist that it is improper to lay blame on Japan and Germany for the wars they started.


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## Woody

No, what we are saying is that is you lump all Germans and Japaneese into the same group. I’m sure there were many living in the mountains that did not even hear of the war until way after it was over. Same of the boomers, I had no say in making any of those laws nor did I fight any wars. I fought against nuclear power because I needed to know they had a plan for the waste BEFORE they started producing it, but that was the only fighting I did. You cannot blame an entire generation for the acts of a few. Did we try and stop them? Sure did on a lot of fronts.

Perhaps we should blame the current generation for the economic collapse because they did nothing to stop it?


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## helicopter5472

Woody said:


> Thanks BillS. Does two make a group? I know there are many more of us boomers who are just like Bill describes.


Me to I started working when I was 15, Never been a doper, never went to Woodstock, I have had two back surgeries, popped my lung and several other injuries, I'm 59 now and still work at least my 40 hrs + Every morning when I climb out of bed I crawl before I can walk. but I still make it to work, Social Security, and Medicare have been deducted from my paycheck through my working years, I could have been on SS disability since my back injuries when I was in my 20's but I chose to cowboy up and carry on with my life, I don't any medication other than aspirin, I don't own any stocks or bonds or any million dollar retirement savings. Please don't stereotype me in a group of do nothing, drug addicted hippies, From what I see, my kids generation are the lazy, drug addicted, spoiled ones, who think we owe them a living.They don't seem to think for themselves, just go with whatever the popular thing is at the time. That's why Obama is in office. But then again I'm stereotyping....


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## Bobbb

Woody said:


> No, what we are saying is that is you lump all Germans and Japaneese into the same group. I'm sure there were many living in the mountains that did not even hear of the war until way after it was over.


I understand your point. The analog is that it is illegitimate to blame Germans or Japanese for the war because by blaming the group we capture those in the tiny minority who didn't support the efforts of their countrymen.

What follows from this is that we shouldn't have fought war against Germany and Japan. It wasn't the Japanese who invaded Pearl Harbor, it was individual pilots who did so and so the just response of the United States would be to take action against only those pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor and not against the Japanese people who had nothing to do with the actual bombing of Pearl Harbor.



> You cannot blame an entire generation for the acts of a few. Did we try and stop them? Sure did on a lot of fronts.


You've got this flipped upside down. Those like you were the minority. The majority of boomers caused a large part of these problems. We see the effects all through the social science data.



> Perhaps we should blame the current generation for the economic collapse because they did nothing to stop it?


As per this example, there are some incidents which the blame doesn't fall on you because you were too young to have been the driving force behind the incident. Case in point, the 1965 immigration reform which destroyed the fabric of this nation. That cluster**** gets laid in the laps of the Greatest Generation. But you guys didn't undo it. Your generation supported the Civil Rights Act which completely gutted the right to free association and ushered in affirmative action and racial quotas but here too it was the Greatest Generation who held power. The bozos of the 60s were out marching and protesting for this crap and those their voices and support put pressure on those who held political power.

The young of today are going to get a lot of blame for Obamacare, not because they were the political leaders who passed it but because they, as a group, lent so much support to Obama's efforts.


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## invision

VoorTrekker said:


> Had I been left to my own autonomy, I would have been stashing $11 to $14 a week from age 18 to 40, investing it in penny stock and mutuals. What would I have today?


Ok, I am bored...

$728 per year, 22 years - $16,016 total invested

If you use the rule of 72 and I will be *generous* and give you 9% interest for all 22 years - I am also giving you a full year for each start date instead of trying to figure interest on $14 per week, until you have $728 for the year...

So your interest gained for each starting year of a $728 savings would be: 
$2002 - how I figured this - your 1st year of savings - $728 - 22/8*728
$1911 - your 2nd year of savings - 21/8*728 etc etc etc
$1820
$1729
$1638
$1547
$1456
$1365
$1274
$1183
$1092
$996.88
$910
$819
$725
$634.38
$546
$455
$364
$273
$182
$91

Total Interst earned for your savings: $21,373.26 (technically this number would be lower - probably by $1,000 or so because I gave you 11 months of free interest on the full amount instead of figuring in the first year of interest)

Total Savings for your $14 a week - $37,389.26

So basically enough to buy a 2011 GMC Seirra 1500 SLT with 30,000 miles...


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## Meerkat

Tweto said:


> My grandfather retired on his 62 birthday. Four weeks later he received his first SS check and then died the same day. He was a very hard worker and never took a dime from the government till that day. I was raised by him and my grandmother, I was 16 when he died. It had a massive impact on me for the rest of my life. I'm now 27 months from being 62 and I think about this all the time. I spent my whole adult life living below my means, saving as much as I could so that I could retire early enough to have some retirement encase I have the same outcome as my grandfather. I started working when I was 11 years old as a buss boy, then went on to washing dish's till sometimes 3 in the morning of a school day and then on to be a cook. In the summers I mowed lawns. Then I got a job at a local factory and then spent the next 10 years working the second shift and then I was promoted to management where I spent the next 20 years.I worked 50-80 hours a week for 40 years and took any job on the side to increase my income.
> 
> When some young person says that I don't deserve a retirement and that I should have to work the rest of my life so that I don't draw SS, all I can say is that I'm not seeing the younger generation working near as hard as people my age did. I can offer this to any one who cares, life isn't fair and it's up to the individual to make there own way. Work hard and keep your nose clean and with a little luck and brains their life will be fine.


Good post.Can't add anything to this.


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## Meerkat

helicopter5472 said:


> Me to I started working when I was 15, Never been a doper, never went to Woodstock, I have had two back surgeries, popped my lung and several other injuries, I'm 59 now and still work at least my 40 hrs + Every morning when I climb out of bed I crawl before I can walk. but I still make it to work, Social Security, and Medicare have been deducted from my paycheck through my working years, I could have been on SS disability since my back injuries when I was in my 20's but I chose to cowboy up and carry on with my life, I don't any medication other than aspirin, I don't own any stocks or bonds or any million dollar retirement savings. Please don't stereotype me in a group of do nothing, drug addicted hippies, From what I see, my kids generation are the lazy, drug addicted, spoiled ones, who think we owe them a living.They don't seem to think for themselves, just go with whatever the popular thing is at the time. That's why Obama is in office. But then again I'm stereotyping....


 I could'nt imagine the majority of youth today doing the kind of hard work and doing without some here have had to do. Not all but most.

We work circles around most of our grandkids. I can also imagine the look on their face if told in 5 below zero weather to go draw a couple buckets of water from the well 200 or 300 ft away. Or scub clothes by hand with a bar of octigon soap and washboard. Or stomp em clean over rocks in a stream . And the bad part is you can't even stripe em up with a switch.

We did'nt know what a dryer was,all was hung on line. If it rained,they were hung around the house till they dried. None of them have ever folded a diaper or washed one out.


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## drfacefixer

The problem is family structure, poor planning, and health issues. If your kids are nearby or you've planned with age to downscale and live in a manageable setting, the cost of living and upkeep if feasible. If you raised great kids, no one will take care of you like they will. Unfortunately, sometimes the lack of the parents foresight, ends up a huge financial burden as Medicare care continues to increase with trying to extend a poorer and poorer quality of life.


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## swjohnsey

The Baby Boomers have made a splash in every thing they did. I suspect old age will be no exception.


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## VoorTrekker

Reblazed said:


> *Always good to have someone to blame your problems on ... isn't it?*


Vitriolic. Not every white man was so free as you may believe. I was disadvantaged by prejudices of the public via mass media and national vanity. I could never secure work or pay above minimum wage because I was short, cute and young looking. Until I was past 25 years of age I was treated as a runaway juvenile, a "drop out," required to have high school working papers, etc. So what are you talking about? Were you in my moccasins for the mile? No! Behave yourself TROLL.


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## drfacefixer

BadgeBunny said:


> Oh wait ... I forgot about Monsanto ... Wouldn't it be fun to pull the plug on that mess!!
> 
> (Goodness ... what a hijack, huh?? LOL)


It would likely kill the entire state of Missouri.


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## VoorTrekker

Reblazed said:


> *Always good to have someone to blame your problems on ... isn't it?*


Vitriolic. Not every white man was so free as you may believe. I was disadvantaged by prejudices of the public via mass media and national vanity. I could never secure work or pay above minimum wage because I was short, cute and young looking. Until I was past 25 years of age I was treated as a runaway juvenile, a "drop out," required to have high school working papers, etc. So what are you talking about? Were you in my moccasins for the mile? No! Behave yourself TROLL.



invision said:


> Ok, I am bored...
> 
> $728 per year, 22 years - $16,016 total invested
> 
> If you use the rule of 72 and I will be *generous* and give you 9% interest for all 22 years - I am also giving you a full year for each start date instead of trying to figure interest on $14 per week, until you have $728 for the year...
> 
> Total Savings for your $14 a week - $37,389.26
> 
> So basically enough to buy a 2011 GMC Seirra 1500 SLT with 30,000 miles...


How about: 2005 $2500 invested yielding $11,000
2009 $9500 invested yielding $28,000

You are not just bored, you have no clue about investing. Stock yields rolled over into a mutual, annuities and commodities. Considering that someone on minimum wage gets a better paying job and invests more money, the yield increases. Enter the internet and online penny investing and yield increase. So $15,000 can yield $100,000 and with better informed investing, yields from annuities and dividends can bring $20,000 to $30,000 a year to a retiree.

Drive that around the block!


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## stayingthegame

how many of us boomers would be willing to downsize to one room, maybe a shared room, to live with our kids? :scratch follow their rules and listen to their views and just smile and not argue? how many of us would be willing to give our ss money to our kids so that we can stay with them?  in the old days the parents helped out around the house so the kids could do the harder labor. the grands would watch the kids and give them their first schooling. everyone helped out even the youngest. there were no games to play except maybe who can do the chore the fastest or carry the biggest hay bale. how it's you can score highest on the video game or who has the newest one. mow the grass?  didn't know that it grew, thought it just got short by it self?:dunno:
I know that I can not and will not live with mt DH's mother. she will complain about how I cook what I cook how we pay our bills and what we buy. she will bitch about how we live and where (it should be where SHE wants to live). I would not be cleaning the house the way she says. in other words, she would only bitch. vract: her money is HER money and she would not help to pay for anything, after all we should be helping her she shouldn't be helping us. this lady has several hundred thousand dollars in the bank ( a lot more than DH an I) and thinks we need to help with her bills, she says that she may need her money when she gets older, she is 84 years old. if she wants something go and buy it don't ask me to buy it for you!


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## drfacefixer

I'm just saying that unless you die in your sleep or suddenly - You will age and become somebodies burden. The best way to lessen this burden, is to have it finacially planned out and well communicated with your next of kin. Should you have an accident, a heart attack, stroke, suffer chronic long term medical issues.... something will lessen your livelyhood and eat away at your finances and means of being independent. Its just a fact of life. You came into this world in diapers and most of us will leave it that same way. More times than I can count, I've had to talk with family members about what to do with there loved ones being discharged from a hospital. The kids always want to know how long its going to before they are back to being on thier own and seem to only want to be inconvienced for a few weeks at most. Then, its looking into the cost of long term care, assisted living, and a slew of other what ifs. Its stressful and costly for the family, it ruins relationships, and it's a horrible set up for the patient. Yet, Its everyones fault because people were just too stubborn to talk about it and actually plan for that day, thinking it wouldn't happen to them. 

If you can afford to do it without family, good for you. If you want your money to go to assisted living care so you don't have to inconvience loved ones, then plan for it and put it in a living will - so it happens. Alot of people can't, they think they are going to live in thier homestead till the day they die. And slowly life proves them wrong, taking everything from them little by little.


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## invision

VoorTrekker said:


> Vitriolic. Not every white man was so free as you may believe. I was disadvantaged by prejudices of the public via mass media and national vanity. I could never secure work or pay above minimum wage because I was short, cute and young looking. Until I was past 25 years of age I was treated as a runaway juvenile, a "drop out," required to have high school working papers, etc. So what are you talking about? Were you in my moccasins for the mile? No! Behave yourself TROLL.
> 
> How about: 2005 $2500 invested yielding $11,000
> 2009 $9500 invested yielding $28,000
> 
> You are not just bored, you have no clue about investing. Stock yields rolled over into a mutual, annuities and commodities. Considering that someone on minimum wage gets a better paying job and invests more money, the yield increases. Enter the internet and online penny investing and yield increase. So $15,000 can yield $100,000 and with better informed investing, yields from annuities and dividends can bring $20,000 to $30,000 a year to a retiree.
> 
> Drive that around the block!


You need to re-read your original post bud, and take a poke and roll with it. No harm was meant... You said $14 a week for 22 yrs, and you never said anything about where or how it is invested OR any increases to the $14 per week contribution... . So I gave an example of perhaps a CD investment strategy.... Hell you could have bought Microsoft during the first year of their public offering - say a few 100 shares like my dad did - now that was a buy and hold... Same could be said with apple, google, or hell go old school Exxon, Walmart, Pfizer... The long on all of them is amazing considering the splits, dividend reinvestments, etc. However, not every investment you make has/is going to be a positive one for you either... If your doing better than the rule of 72 then good for you, props even, especially playing in the penny stock stuff... You show your good years, congrats, we have all had them... Imagine a 401k with over $200,000 in it, 2007 timeframe - moved completely out of equities by the time the market hit 11,500 on the second downslide in 08 and then put back into equities when the dow started to inch back above 8,100... Think of the gains my wife made on that advice from me... Yeah, I don't know nothing about investing... Oh not to mention, that I won the office pool on how low the Dow would go at one of the top 100 Asset Management companies in the world... All those Harvard, Yale, MBA & PhD grads and the CEO of their IT Consulting vendor wins it.... Over 50 in @ $100 each winner take all... Hmmm, and I don't know anything about investing, yeah right bro....and I will wager my income has/is far greater than yours - and I am not a boomer just turned 42 yesterday. I made director level and my first six figure salary at age 29, steady climbing each year to 35 where I made my first year over $500,000, then at 40 I cut my own salary by 50% on purpose due two heart attacks in 2 years followed my a quad bypass last year.. So, today I work 5 days per month and still net over $250,000 a year - also, I did this without a degree either...

Not hating on you like you are so quick to do, just giving you an introduction of who you are talking too.,,, I actually feel sorry for you that your so defensive, please take a chill pill dude, ya won't gain anything on here bashing every post that opposes your point of view or makes light of a post.... We all work hard for our $, some through manual labor others sitting at a desk and pounding on a keyboard... the one thing I can say about everyone on here, is I bet there is no one that hasn't worked a hard day in their life and except for the few mall ninjas that pop-on occasionally to get eaten by Magus we all have the same basic mindset.


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## Reblazed

VoorTrekker said:


> Vitriolic. Not every white man was so free as you may believe. I was disadvantaged by prejudices of the public via mass media and national vanity. I could never secure work or pay above minimum wage because I was short, cute and young looking. Until I was past 25 years of age I was treated as a runaway juvenile, a "drop out," required to have high school working papers, etc. So what are you talking about? Were you in my moccasins for the mile? No! Behave yourself TROLL.


Whoa ... Having a rough week? I have no idea what the race comments, or any of the next 3 sentences, are about but I think you might need to take a couple of deep breaths and calm down. No, I have not been in your 'moccasins' any length of time at all ... nor have you been in mine.


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## Gravlore

Semi retire at 35 and work just enought to pay the bills. Have more free time when you can actually enjoy it and stay semi retired until the death bed. Part time for life. The grind of 40+ hours a week is for bankers and government coffers. Use the free time to garden (save money on food that would be purchased by working more), take up a hobby or hobby job if thats what floats your boat. When you semi retire for life your paycheck follows (supposed to) inflation, so no nest egg is needed. Just another option if you want to enjoy your family time and life before cancer or some other BS of existing comes a knockin. This is the new thought process of the younger generations since less crap (materialism) means more time. Sure they have gadgets (Smart phones, games and some hipster bike) but how much does that really cost compared to the older generations RV's, Boats, Cottages etc? My prediction is that the system suffocates and their is nothing left to tax since people will just 'shut down'.


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## Country Living

I think our favorite Uncle should lock this thread.


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## drfacefixer

Gravlore said:


> Semi retire at 35 and work just enought to pay the bills. Have more free time when you can actually enjoy it and stay semi retired until the death bed. Part time for life. The grind of 40+ hours a week is for bankers and government coffers. Use the free time to garden (save money on food that would be purchased by working more), take up a hobby or hobby job if thats what floats your boat. When you semi retire for life your paycheck follows (supposed to) inflation, so no nest egg is needed. Just another option if you want to enjoy your family time and life before cancer or some other BS of existing comes a knockin. This is the new thought process of the younger generations since less crap (materialism) means more time. Sure they have gadgets (Smart phones, games and some hipster bike) but how much does that really cost compared to the older generations RV's, Boats, Cottages etc? My prediction is that the system suffocates and their is nothing left to tax since people will just 'shut down'.


Sounds like portlandia. It's a great way of life if you can do it. If more people did this, there would probably just be more contentment. There will always be enough people that want two houses, more than what they need, ect. If you find a nice life in a lower tax bracket, sounds ideal. I had a great adviser tell me once that the wealthy have the same headaches with bills, they just play with more zeros.


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