Had lunch with a buddy yesterday. He was ranting that his mom was guilting him about them ending up homeless and alone because their kids weren't taking care of them. He said "They're collecting $4200 a month in pension. They've got $2200 a month from social security. They live in a fully-paid-for house worth $650,000 and they have a hundred grand in laddered CDs. They can tap a hundred grand in liquidity and their worst-case-scenario is sixty four hundred a month. And they're giving ME shit for eating out too much." I should bitch. According to this article I have more retirement savings than a disturbing multiple of my peers.
And they have medicare. And if they go to talk to a city official odds are they get a chat because old people vote and young people don't. Which is another post and angry screed all in itself. If you have more than $10,000 in an IRA/401(k) or retirement account you have more money than 2/3 of adults in their 30's. That scares me. I paid just south of $14K in total taxes last year; unlike many people out here I see the benefits that money gives me as someone who lives in a (relatively) clean environment, low crime, schools, working courts and at least the bones of a social safety net. I'm doing some of the taxes for a few buddies and I have to take deep breaths and calm myself to keep from bitch-slapping some sense into these guys. 20 years from now, we are going to see a serious contraction in the economy, IMO as the people in my age group go to retire and have fuck all of nothing to fall back on. They are either going to have to drop all spending and do nothing but save or say screw it and either keep working or accept the income cut and go on SSI because there are no pensions any more. People in their 40's right now if they don't wake up are going to end up working till they die which will prevent the next generation from advancing in the corporate ladders as well. I already work with people in their 60's and 70's whining about Social Security and wondering why we spend so much on schools... people making more in SSI than most 20 year olds make working. Bitching into the void of the internet does not do anything but make me pissed off that I was not paying more attention when i was younger. But a few of my friends are going to have a serious talking to about emergency funds, tax withholding and not buying stupid shit they don't need. Maybe I can get through to some of them. If not, I anticipate the smack down from you when I come back here and go off on a rant about my dumb-ass friends.I should bitch. According to this article I have more retirement savings than a disturbing multiple of my peers.