Half of Gen X Doesn't Expect to Retire

At first, i was going to make a post about how things have changed so dramatically over the past 20 years, and then realisation hit me like a brick - the problem isn't that there's been so much change, but that there has been a lack of change - Instead of Human Society adapting to deal with the problems faced by the modern world, all we've done is either try to sweep the problems under the rug, or used botch-job solutions.

When was the last time you heard about water, electricity and food issues being solved indefinately?

This is no more apparent in any other place in the world than the 3rd world countries suffering from famine and droughts - the money we have showered their countries with in the form of Aid hasn't dealt with the problem, all it's done is ensure that they can have a bigger population, which ultimately means that we have a bigger problem later on.

The old 'pass-the-buck' scenario, except on an international scale.

Except with this 'pass-the-buck' it's passed down through generations, so the problems faced by the baby boomers become BIGGER problems for the Generation X'ers.

I don't even want to think about how bad it'll be for the Gen Y'ers if this social trend continues.

It may well be the case that the Buck Stops Here, and emerging powers such as China and one or two european states will start lording it over the rest of the world, the same way that America has done.

That is, of course - depending on whether or not the powers that be in America actually want to be devolved down the international food-chain.

I see two possibilities for how this ends (not the end of human society, the end of the world as we know it);

1: The powers that be acknowledge that their time is up, and walk away with what they have.

2: The powers that be refuse to acknowledge their time is up, and world-wide destruction of political borders ensues, in order to garner greater resource stockpiles.

To those who are fretting about the state of the world - stop it, the world will never get to the state where neighbour turns on neighbour (unless of course, in the situation of a civil war in which the population believe in 1 or the other, 2).

The grass will always be green, no matter which side you're on.

reply to post by kosmicjack


Excuse me, but us Boomers are not the source of your problems, X. Who has been running the world all this time? It certainly hasn't been Boomers. We are just as much a victim of the current scenario as you will be when your time comes.

How does that song go? Oh yeah.

Living Years - Mike + the Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

source

Grow up. You are the one with the straw man in your hand.

reply to post by Icarus Rising


No one is blaming anyone, this is a problem faced by every single person on this planet - the only reason no one has stopped to try and deal with it is because of our culture of competitiveness, the 'pass-the-buck' trend is a result of that competitiveness.

Instead of asking for help, which can be seen as a sign of weakness among our peers, what we do is either blame the other guy, or fix the problem to a degree in which it isn't our problem anymore.

Competition breeds in stupidity in interesting times.

reply to post by Anti-Tyrant


No one is blaming anyone? Excuse me again, but you may need to read or re-read this post by kosmicjack. Heck, I'll quote it for you.

So why can't we retire? Let's put it out there...Boomers.

They have jonesed all the jobs, assets and resources of our nation. Part of the resaon we have a housing crunch is because Boomers ran up the prices with greedy investment ventures, speculation and lavish retirement enclaves. The problem was there were few behind them that can afford the insane prices due to crappy jobs and wages - a result of failed Boomer economic policies - and the ones that could buy did so with risky loans sold to them by... Boomers, so the market has tanked with no available buyers.

I could go on but I have written at length on ATS about the lasting tragic effects of the Boomer Generation.

You can call it whatever you want, I call it projecting blame erroneously out of ignorance of circumstances.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Well at least Gen-X is getting a heads up! Start saving now and you will be able to retire. Many babyboomers underestimated how fast retirement sneaks up on you and social security really isn't a livable earning... more like a supplemental one. The advantage Gen-X has is all the advanced warnings.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
So why can't we retire? Let's put it out there...Boomers.

They have jonesed all the jobs, assets and resources of our nation. Part of the resaon we have a housing crunch is because Boomers ran up the prices with greedy investment ventures, speculation and lavish retirement enclaves. The problem was there were few behind them that can afford the insane prices due to crappy jobs and wages - a result of failed Boomer economic policies - and the ones that could buy did so with risky loans sold to them by... Boomers, so the market has tanked with no available buyers.

I could go on but I have written at length on ATS about the lasting tragic effects of the Boomer Generation. Don't get me wrong - there are many Boomers that I love and adore, individually. But I love chocolate, wine and other less legal pursuits (At least, I used to but no more, as I am a responsible adult now.

) as well but none of those are good for me in large quantities - Just like Boomers.

I hold a certain amount of comtempt for that generation. They'll probably figure out how to steal the social security I've been paying into for 20 years. I have a feeling all the privitization and deregulation let the foxes into the hen house.

Seriously though, I think alot of people are most concerned with healthcare when they get old. I will figure out how to retire no matter how frugal I have to be.

How can anyone expect to retire???

This is what has been taught to us in schools and it's what we see on the news every night. Its what we read here on ATS every day.

Nothing but doom and gloom.

well, I am 44 years old and I have been saving money for 20 years. I have over 400,000 in my retirement plan and by the time I retire I will have close to 2.5 million, a house that is 7 years away from being paid off, college for my children is funded...

maybe you folks need to learn some self reliance and stop worrying about all the "bling-bling"......

don't count on some one else.....

don't blame anyone else....

save your money....

don't make stupid investments....

don't invest your 401k in high risk investments.

diversify, diversify, diversify

and always use Dollar cost averaging....

social security....what a joke and besides, my mother's ss check is only 1100 per month.

How can anyone live on that?

You folks need to stop buying SUV's, homes you can't afford, vacations you can't afford....

Get the picture -----TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF..........

reply to post by Icarus Rising



Who has been running this country?

The boomers. (for the last 16 years)

There are no Gen Xer's running this country. Once the boomers let go, we will have our time, our time to right all the wrongs laid out before us. People call my generation lazy? Well if thats what my generation is, thats what the generation before me created. There is a difference between being tired and being lazy. My generation likes to party, to have fun, to have a great social life. We are tired of the crap we are now having to put up with from your generation. You think McCain stands a chance against Obama? No, he doesnt, he's from the old school, the old mentality and the old way of thinking. The schoolboy/churchboy mentality is a thing of the past. Your generation helped develop the technology and impliment it, my generation is the one that knows how to use it, and abuse it, and hack it.

You deserve your SSI, you paid all your money into the system. What about someone like me who pays in $4000/year that will never see a dime of it back.

You generation trusted and relied on uncle sam, my generation is just waking up, and once we all do, its gonne be time for you guys to warp speed to today, not the 50's and 60's. We don't count on uncle sam, we dont trust our government, we all know they are liars and crooks. Your generation allowed it to happen, I can only pray mine will be smart enough to turn the ship around.

I blame your generation for the direction we have gone, because it your votes, and your leaders that have gotten us here. I leave it up to myself and my generation to fix it. I'm not afraid to point the finger, because I know that if I dont want a finger pointed at me by my children, I need to make sure I leave them with a system that is fair and balanced.

[edit on 18-4-2008 by BluByWho]

[edit on 18-4-2008 by BluByWho]

reply to post by tomfrusso


I would love to give you more than 1 star for that one. I'm only 25 and even I can see the wisdom in your words. I just wish that more people I knew my age were thinking long term. Although with the way the world seems to be headed it's very hard to think long term.

reply to post by BluByWho


I disagree. The "Greatest Generation" has been running this country for the last forty years. People born in the late '20s, '30s, and early '40s. Depression era folks. The Boomers have been completely taken advantage of. I will be 44 this year, so I am technically one of the last of the Boomers, maybe "Generation W", if you will. The "awakening" you are speaking of had its beginnings in the late '60s. Ever heard of the "Summer of Love"? "Turn on, tune in, and drop out"?

Don't discredit Boomers so easily, we set the stage for reform. We changed your dirty diapers for you. The ball is in your court now.

Originally posted by an0maly33
i kind of like the idea of having a comradery with other broke, 80-year-old laborers.

I see to many people in that position at grocery stores, walmarts, etc.

I don't think anyone really liked the idea of being part of the elderly working force. I worked as a freight receiver at a major outlet and saw droves of elderly people working long hours for small wages. They sell the remainders of their life to the system that should be taking care of them.

The first Boomer president was Clinton, and during that administration Social Security was rescued, at least for the time being, and it was a period of relative prosperity. Boomers haven't been in charge of things that long; they've spent most of their lives waiting for their elders to retire. The government has to stop "borrowing" money from the Social Security funds and companies have got to become less greedy, and stop cheating their employees out of their futures in order to make more money for their CEO's and investors.

And here IS the problem. For years we heard all about the elderly on fixed incomes to the point of it being a cliche. That $1100/mo is exactly $200 less than my take home per month and I have a decent factory job in manufacturing which pays about $1 less per hour than a machinist job I had 10 years ago.

The economy has very much smooched the pooch under the watchless eye of the Boomers. Long gone are the days where the old timer would take a new guy under their wing and teach them the tips and tricks of the trade because it lowers productivity in the moment.

Gone are the days when a person could take an entry level job and advance within the company to higher positions in middle and lower management because we can hire kids right out of college that have no clue of the process nor personal investment and dedication with the company.

The cuthroat get ahead at all costs competiton means the worker that sees how to do something in a more efficient way doesn't get an attaboy pat on the back, the floor manager that brings it to the plant supervisor gets the praise and promotions for "good input and ideas."

Grubbing for the very last penny has taken us from the Henry Ford model of paying employees great wages that allowed purchase of their product and products of other local manufacturers and instead the Wal-Mart model of pay the lowest wage, with the least contribution of benefits and inform the worker that they should be happy the plant is not relocating outside the country.

Unions as corupt as Congress, CEO's making 30-40 times the lowest wage earner, profits not reinvested in the expansion of the company and product lines but into the high level executives and board of director's pockets.

All this for what? A dollar, which the exact value is a dollar. I have a Five dollar bill from 1950 that says "Pay to the bearer on demand five dollars." If I took that to a Federal Reserve Bank what wuld they give me for it? A crisp new purple Five Dollar bill. In otherwords, nothing of true tangible value. It is just a note that is worth five dollars of someone else's labor and materials. They take that exact note and hand it to someone else for the same thing. Not to come across as completely crass but it is like that one girl (you all know one) that goes from guy to guy because she has no self respect and thinks sex is love, but no guy loves her because they see her as a tramp. Sure she has plenty of sex but ages way too fast.

Yep, the era of Free Love was Boomers too. But don't worry too much Gen X, Y, Z, AA10bcd287 (or whatever uninspired description is given to the next group) things will change and those of us that do survive the complete failure and economic meltdown that the Boomers will not take responsibility for causing because it has to be us lazy younguns that settled for low wages in unstable jobs instead of just rising up and killing them all off like we should in a somewhat "Logan's Run comes to life" sort of madness, we suvivors might, just might be smart enough to prevent such a drag on society again.



[edit on 18-4-2008 by Ahabstar]

Originally posted by Mekanic
Gen-Exer here, I'm very much aware that I'm working till the day I die.


*Raises glass to toast* Here's to an early death!

Ditto...I won't EVER be able to retire. I can barely scrape by with enough to survive and feed my family as it is. Saving up anything is near impossible. The cost of living just keeps outpacing my earnings.

I apologize my blame should be laying on the shoulders of the "greatest generation". The ones who raped the pockets and the rights of their children and grandchildren, who sold their souls for money. The only blame I can lay on the boomers is being complacent. You referenced the 60's movement, and I applaud your generation for standing up for equal rights. But what happened between then and now. It seems the boomers are merely complacent these days. They had the right ideas back in the day, they put those ideas into action, then what happened?

That is why I pray my generation can stand up to the atrocities. Not just once and not just now, but for the rest of our tenure. To right the ship and keep it on the right course, not send it in the right direction and allow it to be turned around again.

My question to the poster who brought up greedy corporations. What generation do you think a majority of those CEOs belong to?

With the way the boomers have steered the country as of late, I'm not even confident that I will live to see my retirment age.

Do the boomers not make up the majority of the voters?

All I know is I got to vote in my first presidential election at the age of 18, just so happens this was the rigged election of 2000, what kind of taste do you think that left in my mouth?

[edit on 18-4-2008 by BluByWho]

reply to post by tomfrusso


You also have to take into account the rate of inflation on your $2.5million, that nest egg in todays dollars is roughly 1.1 million 20 years from now, which equals around $55K per yer (assuming you live to about 85). If thats a standard of living your happy with then your all good,

You definitely gave some sound advice, especially to those who have no financial planning experience.

I would think an annuity would be a good fit for that nest egg of yours at retirement, not only do you get guaranteed monthly income for life, you get to pass on that wealth to your children as well.

My wake-up call was the Nixon Impeachment. Agnew resigns as VP over tax fraud, Ford is appointed VP, Nixon is impeached and resigns, and Ford becomes President and pardons him before any charges are ever brought. Nobody ever cast a single vote for a ticket with Ford on it, and he becomes President of the US and pardons the biggest crook (well second biggest now) to ever hold the office. I was only 10 at the time, but even then I knew something stunk to high heaven in Washington.

The 2000 election was a real kick in the balls to me, too. Katherine Harris as Secretary of State for Florida and also Bush's Florida campaign co-chair, certifies the election result when a recount was mandatory. Can you say "conflict of interest"? USSC Justice Scalia, appointed by Reagan when GHW Bush was VP, then casts the deciding vote to give GW Bush the White House. What a farce!

Ahabstar, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for a Boomer in love, so check yourself before you wreck yourself. Dry off behind the ears before you go spouting more of your patricidal nonsense. What happened to the Boomer Revolution? They had kids and got a mortgage, tried to provide a better life for their children, and look at the thanks they get from you. I can only hope you don't get manipulated and controlled in the very same way.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective

Ditto...I won't EVER be able to retire. I can barely scrape by with enough to survive and feed my family as it is. Saving up anything is near impossible. The cost of living just keeps outpacing my earnings.

Not trying to sound rude but a "family" doesn't just happen. Shouldn't you have made a better effort to upgrade your economic status before going forward with such large obligations?

It is high time that Gen X get motivated and finish destroying the elitist upper class once and for all. The blind ignorance of the Boomers led us into this whole damb mess of over excess and it is up to our MTV watching, undereducated, mostly drunkin ass' to get ourselves out. Once this happens we'll see the reason of science and the hypocrisy of orders of mass control of the past. We should recognize the Universal Suffrage of Humankind against the historical tyranny and oppressive foces of the upper class. We were serfs and slaves to these same people 5,000 years ago, 2,000 years ago and 200 years ago. Nothing has changed except the highest job title, from king to corporate CEO. Again, the Revolution ended for us not for them, they just reshuffled the deck!

Originally posted by Scramjet76
reply to post by DimensionalDetective

 

Not trying to sound rude but a "family" doesn't just happen. Shouldn't you have made a better effort to upgrade your economic status before going forward with such large obligations?

What an uneducated and NWO thing to say. Your family is you given natural right and the primary reason we are here as a species of individuals. To make such a calous statement shows that the propaganda has not been lost you my friend. Perhaps you should read what the Club of Rome has to say about the need for your family. You see your family is the only thing that stands in the way of complete mental manipulation of the population. You family is what roots you to society and keeps you equal in the eyes of others.
So when they implant microchips in your children and finish removing their free will to eat at Mcdonalds and get fat, you can laugh at people like me who will be hiding hills with our guns and families.