Elderly: Asset or Liability?

[blain]

My son is the typical millennial. He has always resented that he has had to work for a living.

I'm 61 and retired, but I'm right there with him on that one. It's bugged me most of my working life.
But when I considered the alternative of hunger and homelessness, I saw the light.

One of the main things my dearly departed mother instilled in me was a sense of responsibility.
No matter how crummy the work was or how bad the management treated me, I always kept chugging along.
She did let me know how special I was. But it was understood that certification was between her and I.
The rest of the world was mostly dog-eat-dog and I'd still have to pull my weight.
~ I miss that woman very much. ~

 

[Creedmoor]

I need to see an attorney about leaving my assets to my grandchildren instead.

My Gfather and most of his 12 bro and sisters did exactly that, and only to some gchildren.
Those that weren't involved in the farm, weren't left anything.

 

[blain]

My Gfather and most of his 12 bro and sisters did exactly that, and only to some gchildren.
Those that weren't involved in the farm, weren't left anything.

Are you a farmer?

 

[Creedmoor]

For me the "balance sheet" ebbs and flows. There are times when any given person is/can be a "liability" and there are times when they are an "asset". I'm far from a communist/socialist, and don't think SS should have been mandated. It doesn't help that the govt can't figure out if they want taxes and SS, etc to be welfare programs or forced retirement programs (but it's there and should be honored for those that paid in, as should pensions, etc). People should take care of and invest in themselves for sure.


That said, taking care of yourself means investing for your future and sometimes that investment is $ in a retirement plan, but part of that investment is also investing in your family, others, community, etc, and hopefully that investment pays off. I'm not counting on the latter aspect or making that my only plan by any means.

I'm for SS to a point, I have zero issues with those putting in and taking out when of the proper age. I don't like what SS as turned into at all. I have an ex sister in law that has never worked a taxable day in her life, not one. She had a tumor and she was told she will never be able to work.
She collects SSDI, lives in subsidized housing in East Anderson, subsidized utility's, 10 a month high speed cable, a car that a family member gave her. She still has leftover money own her Snap Card from the big bump they all got during covid.
She's an artist that has no desire to make art and sell it or get a PT job doing something.
She just feels like others owe her and they should pay for her misfortune.
I meet people all over town that didnt work, out on SSDI, on SS and thats all the income they have. I usually laugh when someone says, it must be nice to be able to buy that...

 

[Creedmoor]

Are you a farmer?

My older bro and I own two farms, I own two tractors, I do not have a green thumb.
But no, said Sam I Am, I'm not a farmer.
I'm a sort of retired Union Elevator Constructor.

 

[WebSnyper]

I'm for SS to a point, I have zero issues with those putting in and taking out when of the proper age. I don't like what SS as turned into at all. I have an ex sister in law that has never worked a taxable day in her life, not one. She had a tumor and she was told she will never be able to work.
She collects SSDI, lives in subsidized housing in East Anderson, subsidized utility's, 10 a month high speed cable, a car that a family member gave her. She still has leftover money own her Snap Card from the big bump they all got during covid.
She's an artist that has no desire to make art and sell it or get a PT job doing something.
She just feels like others owe her and they should pay for her misfortune.
I meet people all over town that didnt work, out on SSDI, on SS and thats all the income they have. I usually laugh when someone says, it must be nice to be able to buy that...

I'm there with you. It's either a forced retirement program or it's welfare program. Can't and shouldn't be both.

Same with filing taxes. No one should get more back than they pay.

 

[Twangbanger]

No one can be forced into social agreements. I mean you can, slavery was a social agreement. However, social agreements are only agreements till one side gets enough numbers to say stop. There are more millennials and Gen Zers than their are gen X or Baby Boomers. Eventually, they will learn to get sick of paying into things they didn't agree on. When they learn that they outnumber those on the top end of these pyramid schemes... Watch out, because they will let them crumble. And make no mistake, that is what a pension, social security, government programs are... A pyramid scheme.

The track record on young people letting "social support systems" crumble is not real good. Mostly, they do like young people in France, and head to Paris to pump their fists and demand "their fair share."

My guess is the Gen Z'ers and Millennials will be world champions in taking their spot at the trough.

Look at what's happening with Student Loans right now. If it was put to a public vote today, it would pass with a hurrah, propelled by Zoomers and Millennials (ie, children of Boomers). The "elderly" members of the Supreme Court are the only thing stopping it.

If you made up a list of true Gen. Z libertarians, and another list of Gen. Z'ers who are still breastfeeding off their mothers' bodies...there probably wouldn't be enough quantity difference between those two lists to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

 

[sadclownwp]

A lot of the "problem" with the elderly is that we as a society have conditioned them to be looking for others to care for them.

Thinking in terms of "retirement," social security, medicare, etc, doesn't help to keep a healthy mindset towards self care.

I don't know about you all, but I am surrounded by folks, in my sixty-something age range who are "just getting old." That common phrase, along with others like "just can't do it anymore," "not able to" and "I'm too old for that."

What if there were no safety nets? No financial programs to eliminate the need to continue to contribute to society? No doctors with magic pills to fix all ailments (while creating others?) Would folks approaching older age take a more proactive approach to their health to make their later years less physically and mentally crippling to their quality of life?

This right here.

 

[BE Mike]

I'm for SS to a point, I have zero issues with those putting in and taking out when of the proper age. I don't like what SS as turned into at all. I have an ex sister in law that has never worked a taxable day in her life, not one. She had a tumor and she was told she will never be able to work.
She collects SSDI, lives in subsidized housing in East Anderson, subsidized utility's, 10 a month high speed cable, a car that a family member gave her. She still has leftover money own her Snap Card from the big bump they all got during covid.
She's an artist that has no desire to make art and sell it or get a PT job doing something.
She just feels like others owe her and they should pay for her misfortune.
I meet people all over town that didnt work, out on SSDI, on SS and thats all the income they have. I usually laugh when someone says, it must be nice to be able to buy that...

I dare say that most of us have dead beats in the family who are always looking for a hand-out. I know I do. Most of the elderly I know of have put into the work to pay their own way in their "golden years" and as they aged, their abilities to do some things has forced them to hire help when they can get a younger person who is willing to work. The elderly are also more subject to being overcharged or outright scammed, so for thieves, the elderly are an asset.

 

[cosermann]

I know the older folks in my life have been absolute treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Sometimes there's no substitute for experience. I wish every week many were still around for advice and counsel, and that I'd realized their value when I was much younger.

 

[Leadeye]

I'm 67, come and get me.

 

[blain]

I'm a sort of retired Union Elevator Constructor.

Grain, freight or people?

 

[Creedmoor]

Grain, freight or people?

We cover, passenger, freight, man-lifts, escalators, moving walkways, dumb-waiters.

 

[Expat]

Boomers Have a Retirement Problem: Boomerang Kids | NewRetirement

Baby boomers who are still financially supporting their adult children (a group called boomerang

www.newretirement.com

 

[BE Mike]

Boomers Have a Retirement Problem: Boomerang Kids | NewRetirement

Baby boomers who are still financially supporting their adult children (a group called boomerang

www.newretirement.com

A third of young people living with their parents? I'm sure that it is a shock for these young folks when they move out and the reality hits them that they can't live the lifestyle they had when mom and dad footed the bill. No wonder that so many of them hold socialist views politically!

 

[Creedmoor]

Boomers Have a Retirement Problem: Boomerang Kids | NewRetirement

Baby boomers who are still financially supporting their adult children (a group called boomerang

www.newretirement.com

I will say that, none of our fathers children have this problem with our children.
Both of my mothers children from her second marriage, are well into there 50's and still hang onto her tit.

Wheres that Millennial Video....

 

[Sigblitz]

Good for you,
I have one of those Horrible Union Pensions, I took it at 62 because I never was going to work in that industry again. I'm 65 tomorrow. I've double dipped the last few years.
I will take my SS at 66 and 8 months. I will most likely never use my SS or my 401 money.
I wish we had an annuity when I started like the The Iron-workers do. .

Happy birthday!

 

[Creedmoor]

Happy birthday!

Thank you,
Thing 2 just walked in and Thing 1 will be here in a few hours.
The laughter has already started.

 

[KLB]

I will say that, none of our fathers children have this problem with our children.
Both of my mothers children from her second marriage, are well into there 50's and still hang onto her tit.

Wheres that Millennial Video....

50s would be Gen-X. That is not the norm for that generation. At least not that I have seen.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

50s would be Gen-X. That is not the norm for that generation. At least not that I have seen.

Most of Gen-X are more likely to be able to pick out Chef Boy-R-Dee in a line up than their mom's tit. Our parents were too busy with their own lives to helicopter over us.

My son tried to join the USCG, got turned down at MEPS for medical reasons, and started as an electrician's helper 2 weeks later. He's making roughly 50k annually at 18. At his age I was making about $750/mo as a new E-1. Sad that a 50 year old would still be clinging to mommy n daddy.